Fact and Fantasy : Those Color-Blind Felines and People-Finding Dogs Don’t Exist

Many people don’t believe a black cat means bad luck or a howling dog signals a coming death.

What of other old pet myths? Some are just that--myths. But others have their basis in fact, explains author Chris Lamb.

A well-known myth is that each year in the life of a dog or cat is equal to seven human years.

Actually, there’s no one convenient number that can be used to compare a dog’s or cat’s age to a human’s. A 6-month-old dog is roughly as mature as a 10-year-old child. When the pup reaches 2, it’s as mature as a 24-year-old adult. After that, each year of a dog’s life equals about four human years. Cats usually live longer than dogs and small dogs usually live longer than big dogs.

People often believe dogs and cats are dreaming when they move their legs and growl in their sleep.

Researchers know many animals dream when they sleep--just as people do--and, if a pet has a bad day, a bad night may follow. What do animals dream about? Once asleep, a hunting dog may continue to hunt the game it did not take.

Another myth is that Saint Bernards can find lost persons in the snow.

The image of the Saint Bernard bringing brandy to the lost was not created in Hollywood. The breed, native to the European Alps, has been trained for snow rescue just as German shepherds have been trained to help the blind. The Saint Bernards of the Hospice du Grand St. Bernard in Switzerland have been credited with saving more than 2,500 lives since 1750.

It’s hard not to believe that cats are antisocial but this myth exists primarily because we compare cats to dogs. Dogs are pack animals and more social by nature. Cats are more independent. In a natural setting, they would hunt alone. The fact that domestic cats will share a home with a human family is proof of the feline’s social flexibility. And, as any cat owner knows, felines crave affection as much as dogs.

It’s also not true that cats are color-blind. Cats can see colors but not very well. Colors are not as important to cats’ lives as they are to humans’. It’s a myth that cats can see in the dark, though they need just one-sixth the light people do.

One positive myth is that owning a dog or cat can lower a person’s blood pressure. Researchers discovered recently that simply petting an animal can reduce stress and blood pressure. Even talking to a pet will help reduce stress. The love and affection pets freely give has literally made the difference between life and death for folks who developed heart trouble because of stress.

Another popular myth is that cats always land on their feet when they fall.

A cat’s ability to quickly right itself while it falls is instinctive--and it usually does land on all four.

Anyone who has ever owned a dog or cat has probably noticed that they seem to know what time it is. Actually, a dog or cat doesn’t know noon from midnight. But it will know when it’s time to wake, sleep, exercise and eat. An animal’s daily routine usually mimics the habits of its owner.

A potentially dangerous myth is that, if a dog wags its tail, it must be friendly.

Not necessarily. A dog that wags its tail may be in a state of conflict. An example would be when your pet can’t decide whether to stay by its food dish or see what the noise is in the front yard. The urges cancel each other out. The animal stays put, and its state of tension causes it to wag its tail.

One peculiar myth that rings true is that animals can predict earthquakes.

Cats--like many other animals--are very sensitive to sudden shifts in the earth’s magnetic field. It is common for a cat to become intensely agitated--its fur may literally stand on end, or it may begin meowing frantically--just before an earthquake. If you live in an earthquake-prone area, keep an eye on your cat.