But urban legends about cats do not stop there: even about their health and behavior were born purely invented myths that nevertheless continue to propound us as if they were absolute truths. So let's find out what is true and what is false in these urban legends about cats.
It's not true that... the cat without vibrissae loses balance. It is true that the cat uses the whiskers especially to assess in conditions of scarcity of light, the presence of objects in the vicinity and avoid obstacles, or to interpret the presence of other beings by sensing the movement of the air that affects vibrissae, but does not have to do absolutely nothing with the balance. Then count that the vibrissas are however modified hairs, so they also subject to moulting. It's normal that every now and then the cat loses its old vibrissas to make way for the new ones. In addition, vibrissas can also indicate the emotional state of the cat at that time.
It's not true that... the cat gets the tapeworm. Our domestic cats usually take tapeworm, Dipylidum caninum, ingesting infected fleas. Those in the country could catch tapeworm by eating raw prey like some rodents. But cans absolutely do not give the cat tapeworm.
It's not true... that cow's milk is good for the cat. Actually cats really like milk, the problem is that most of them do not tolerate it because they do not have the enzymes necessary to digest it. And here he could easily go into diarrhea.
It's not true... that the sterilized cat gets fat. Or rather, it is true that sterilizing the cat eliminates estrogen and testosterone that keep the metabolism active, but it is also true that basically the cat increases weight because it does little movement and because we feed him every time he asks him exaggerating with daily doses. Proof of this is the fact that most of our domestic cats have classic soft cat bacon sterilized even before sterilization.
It's not true... that the cat purrs only when it's happy. Actually purring in the cat does not only indicate happiness, rather a state of intense emotion. Remember that cats purr even when they are very sick or when they feel a lot of pain, there are also pre-agonic purrs that the cat does shortly before dying.
It's not true that... cats always fall on their feet. First of all, if the cat falls from the sixth floor of a building, it is true that it will have time to turn in the air to land on its paws, but the speed of Fall taken in six floors of fall, most likely will cause such an impact as to still cause fractures to the pussy. If instead the cat falls from the third floor down, it will not have the material time to turn around and therefore it may still impact badly on the ground.
It's not true that... red cats are always male and tricolour cats are always female. Most red cats are male, but females also exist. As for the classic scales of turtles or tricolors they are almost always females, but there are also very rare males that have a genetic heritage XXY and are sterile. In the course of my practice, all I saw was a male squeaky turtle. It's not true that Black Cats are bad luck. Why discriminate against a pussy for the color of its hair? The problem is that in the Middle Ages black cats were associated with the devil and witches, but since we are no longer in the Middle Ages it is time to stop believing these superstitions.
It's not true... that cats steal their breath. Well, yes, there are people who are convinced that cats can steal the breath from newborns or even adult people. Of course, if a cat sits with a big ass on a small child's face, it might stop them from breathing, but it doesn't steal their breath for some demonic reason. I've always slept with cats on my head or chest and apart from the discomfort of having to bear five kilos of weight and purring on my chest, I've never had any particular breathing problems.
It's not true... that cats predict people's deaths by snuggling up near the dying. There is a perfectly rational explanation: the cat, as we well know, loves to be close to heat sources. A dying person may have a higher body temperature or it is simply to stay warm he has more blankets on her, so here the cat takes advantage of the situation and frowns where it is warmer.