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The Korea Times' recent coverage by Lee Hae-rin concerning stray cats and the Seoul Metropolitan Government's endeavors to stabilize their population and treatment is laudable. Also, the solo volunteer citizens and civic groups that mend and tidy up the 46-odd park feeding stations and other designated feeding areas are to be commended.
Through investigation, I've learned much about cats recently. Quite interestingly, they are the only mammals that cannot taste sugar! Now, hoping that curiosity does not kill the cat, as the proverb goes, I, too, looked into this fact further.
Scientists at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in the U.S. have let the cat out of the bag after evidence showed that cats show no preference between sweetened water and regular water. Biochemistry studies revealed that cats lack the gene coding for sweetness. Thus, they are "sweet blind," as well as all the "big cats."
They have no taste receptors that can detect sugar. If indeed, they eat sweet things then it is likely the carbohydrate fat and salt content is what they are drawn to. Too much of it will cause obesity and the onset of type 2 diabetes. All 42 pedigree breeds are carnivores and the continents' combined population now outnumbers the canines. As one did say "Take one female cat over a seven-year period. If all the kittens survived and bred, she would be responsible for 21,000 cats." Thus, trap-neuter-return (TNR) activities are essential to control a population explosion.
So, this information spurred me on to learn other things about house and/or stray cats, like they still share 95 percent of their genetic makeup with tigers and exhibit many of the same behaviors: scent marking, prey stalking and pouncing. Cats are alert, fierce, furtive hunters and will hunt even if they are not hungry.
I never thought I would like Felis catus/domesticus, other than Sylvester, the Warner Brothers tuxedo cat who was always chasing Tweety, the yellow canary. My interest resulted from visits to my friend's house. Upon arrival, we always sit in his garage to converse and listen to music among the five usually quiet cats moving about on their tiptoes. I suspect my friend concurs with Albert Schweitzer, "There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats." They have been companionate pets and mousing for more than 9,500 years.
Anyway, some of the unusual fun facts about cats include: They dream and have short and long-term memory function. Young cats purr in monotone; older ones produce two or three resonant notes. Little wet footprints tell us that cats sweat through their paws. They are connoisseurs of comfort and do not suffer from insomnia, spending between 13 and 16 hours a day napping or sleeping. Their night vision enables them to hunt in complete darkness with the same skill they have in the light of day.
There is an industry of billions of dollars built around cats: pets and vets, toys and foods, and films since Thomas Edison's 1894 footage of "boxing" cats and cartoons like "Hello Kitty" and music and numerous accessories, etc.
I feel if the citizenry knew a bit more about our feline cohabitants, negative perceptions and mistreatment would abate.
There is so much more to know about cats, but what I know for sure is that cats do not speak English and if you play with them expect to be scratched!
The author (wrjones@vsu.edu) published the novella "Beyond Harvard" and presently teaches English as a second language.
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