loves them, and almost no one understands them. Why do they purr? "(Cat purring)" What's all the meowing about? "Meow!" Let's explore the feline brain and get to
the bottom of it. Wild at heart No one's sure when cats first moved into our
homes and our hearts, but it's probably between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago. By comparison, dogs have been domesticated
for around 40,000 years, and over those years we've selectively bred hundreds of types to
fill certain roles, from hunting and herding to nestling into purses.
Cats, on the other paw? Experts say the 40 or so breeds of housecat
are semi-domesticated or self-domesticated at best, meaning they're choosing to tolerate
being tamed. Slightly. In exchange for creature comforts but
would totally still stalk and kill a sparrow if given the chance. Genetically, the domestic housecat still has
most of its DNA in common with its wild cousins, and unlike many dog breeds, cats could survive
quite well if they were released into the wild.
Cat code Cats have developed a super-top-secret language
that they use only to communicate with humans: meowing. "Meow." "Meow." Yep: that's just for us! Cats that live together don't usually meow
to each other, and studies of feral cat colonies have found that cats in feline-only company
are actually pretty quiet. It's people they won't shut up around Researchers in 2013 showed that cat owners,
after listening to a recording of a dozen different cats meowing, were able to understand
the context of only one meow: the one coming from their own cat. In other words, your cat learns to make specific
meows in order to get what it wants out of you it's not some universal cat language.
Op-PAW-sites attract Animal psychologists wanted to see which paw
certain cats favored, so they gave 42 cats a small jar with a bit of tuna in it. The only way they could get it out was to
reach in and, well, fish it out which would reveal their dominant paw. Surprisingly, the results were split almost
perfectly based on the sex of the cat. There were 21 males and 21 females in the
test, and after dozens of trials, 20 of the males were left-pawed, with one ambidextrous
over-achiever, while twenty of the females were right-pawed, with one favoring the left.
The experts say this probably has something
to do with hormone levels, and it's only true when performing particularly challenging feats. "Meow." Two-way street Everybody knows somebody who's allergic to
cats, so they miss out on the joys of living with a plastic pee and poop-filled box in
their house at all times. But it's estimated that about 1 in every 200
cats suffers from a cat version of asthma, which looks and sounds like this: "(difficulty breathing)" The biggest cause? People. The monsters.
That's right: plenty of cats are allergic
to people, with human dandruff cited as a major cause. The asthma can also be triggered by other
irritants that humans bring into their homes, such as cigarette smoke. Some cats can have such a powerful allergic
reaction to humans and their habits they could suffer collapsed lungs or even broken ribs. Asthmatic cats can usually have their conditions
managed, but vets consider it incurable.
Walking heat maps Here's a less-depressing feline fact: Some
cats are heat-sensitive, and can change the color of their fur based on their environment. How cool is that? There are eight different sets of genes in
each cat that governs what color they're going to be. Siamese cats and their cousins have a gene
modifier called a Siamese allele. That modifier blocks color from getting to
the cat's fur, which should, in theory, make them albinos.
But it doesn't, because it's only activated
by heat. Once the temperature gets up to around 100
degrees, the color stops. That's why the cooler parts of a Siamese cat's
body, such as the nose, ears, and paws, are usually dark, while the rest of their fur
stays light. It doesn't just happen once Siamese cats
can change color any time when the temperature of their environment changes.
So this means their paws actually lighten
if covered for long enough with a bandage, or if you made them wear socks or mittens... "Finally, there's an elegant, comfortable
mitten for cats!" "Meow." "I couldn't hear anything!" Why cats purr While it's true that cats purr when they're
happy, that's not what the purring means or the only time cats do it. Experts say that the most accurate translation
of a purr is something like "Don't go anywhere, please." They're asking to be cared for, not telling
you how happy your care is making them. But cats also purr when they're injured or
scared, and researchers think that it has something to do with the healing power of
the purr.
Cats purr at a frequency of 26 hertz, the
same frequency that's been found to promote healing in bone and other body tissues. Sounds crazy, right? But it's the same idea behind exercise for
rehabilitation in humans: bones respond to pressure by making themselves stronger. It also might be why healthy cats will often
curl up with an injured cat and purr. They're trying to help regrow its bones.
How cool is that? Nice job, cats. Thanks for watching! Click the List icon to subscribe to our YouTube
channel. Plus check out all this cool stuff we know
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