Some Pet Facts

1. Small quantities of grapes and raisins can cause renal failure in dogs. Chocolate, macadamia nuts, cooked onions, or anything with caffeine can also be harmful.


2. Every year, nearly four million cats are eaten in Asia. YUCK!!


3. Dogs have sweat glands in between their paws.


4. A cat can’t climb head first down a tree because every claw on a cat’s paw points the same way. To get down from a tree, a cat must back down.


5. Unlike dogs, cats do not have a sweet tooth. Scientists believe this is due to a mutation in a key taste receptor.


6. Puppies are sometimes rejected by their mother if they are born by cesarean and cleaned up before being given back to her.


7. There are more than 500 million domestic cats in the world, with approximately 40 recognized breeds.


8. The most popular male dog names are Max and Jake. The most popular female dog names are Maggie and Molly.


9. Cats make about 100 different sounds. Dogs make only about 10.


10. The name of the dog on the Cracker Jacks box is Bingo. The Taco Bell Chihuahua is a rescued dog named Gidget.


11. While it is commonly thought that the ancient Egyptians were the first to domesticate cats, the oldest known pet cat was recently found in a 9,500-year-old grave on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. This grave predates early Egyptian art depicting cats by 4,000 years or more.


12. A puppy is born blind, deaf, and toothless.


13. Cats are North America’s most popular pets: there are 73 million cats compared to 63 million dogs. Over 30% of households in North America own a cat.


14. The Basenji is the world’s only barkless dog.


15. Approximately 40,000 people are bitten by cats in the U.S. annually.


16. In early Christian tradition, Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelers, is sometimes depicted with a dog’s head.


17. The group of words associated with cat (catt, cath, chat, katze) stem from the Latin catus, meaning domestic cat, as opposed to feles, or wild cat.