Even though humans have kept dogs and cats as pets for thousands of years, we still believe so many things about them that are simply not true. And because of these beliefs, many of these animals are ill-treated and suffer.

Here are some misconceptions.

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• A cat purrs when it is happy: Purring is generally the first sound kittens make by the time they are 48 hours old. While nursing, both mom and kittens can be heard to purr. But while purring is often heard at times of contentment, cats also purr when in pain and in the throes of death.
• Stray cats are loners: Feral cats are not solitary; they usually live as a group near a food source.
• Cats are nocturnal creatures: Cats are most active at dusk and dawn, when mice and other small prey come out and hunting is easier. The construction of their eyes allows them to see well in low light. Cats only need one-sixth of the light humans do in order to decipher shapes. However, they cannot see in absolute darkness.
• Cats hate water: While most cats hate baths, many find running water fascinating and paw at dripping taps. It is possible to give a cat a bath without being scratched and mauled.
• Cats can be fed an all fish diet: An all fish diet is bad for cats because high levels of magnesium and oil can increase Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease and other diseases. If nature wanted cats to just eat fish, it would have made them swim. This mythology was spread by the British because, as a cat crazy island, it was importing meat for them and it was easier to get fish.
• Cats have nine lives: This probably goes back to ancient Egypt, where nine was a mystical number. The Egyptian god Atum had nine lives and took the form of a feline whenever he visited the underworld, so the nine lives became associated with the cats.
• Cats always land safely on their feet: Cats are naturally flexible and have the ability to right their bodies while falling. But that doesn’t necessarily protect them from harm. Cats break their front legs and jaw when they land on their feet.
• Cats need milk in their diet: Although many cats do like milk, it is not necessary in their diet. In fact, many kittens get diarrhoea after drinking milk.
• Pregnant women must give up their cats: While toxoplasmosis is a risk for foetuses, a woman is more likely to catch it from handling raw meat, or digging in the garden, than from her cats.
• Dogs with warm, dry noses are sick: A dry nose has nothing to do with a dog’s health. Normal canine body temperature ranges from 101 to 103 degrees — a dog may still have a cold, wet nose while running a temperature of 105 degrees. Feel the inside of the ears.
• Old dogs can’t learn new tricks: Old dogs and old people continue to learn throughout their lives. I have found old dogs pick up orders in a new house quicker than puppies. Very old dogs may not learn well because they may be impaired by progressive blindness or deafness.
• A dog wagging his tail will not bite: The wag of a dog’s tail tells nothing about his aggressiveness. It simply is a sign of excitement. Other aspects of his behaviour can tell more about aggressiveness, such as ear position, whether the dog is staring, growling, or barking.
• If a dog scoots (drags his anus) across the floor, he has worms: Although dogs with tapeworms will scoot due to the itchiness of the worm segments, not all scooting dogs have worms. Allergies, diarrhoea, or stuffed anal glands, can cause this behaviour.
• If your dog eats his faeces, he has worms: Many dogs eat faeces, theirs or another’s. It is not necessarily a sign of intestinal parasites. Many mother dogs will do this to clean her newborn puppies and some pets will do it as an attention getting behaviour. The problem may also be poor nutrition and a learned habit.
• Female dogs should have at least one litter of puppies before spaying: There is no benefit to allowing a pet to reproduce. In fact, there is evidence that spaying a female before her first heat may reduce her risk of developing breast cancer.
• Some dogs have jaws that lock: All dogs have the same facial muscles and structure — none has locking jaws. All dogs can be taught to be gentle and to release on command.
• Dogs eat grass because they are sick: Many dogs will eat grass and then vomit, but this does not mean that they are sick. It is normal for dogs to eat grass in very small amounts — their ancestors ate grass. It’s roughage. You need to add more greens to their food.
• Dogs can be spiteful if left alone at home: Dogs can become stressed when left alone and may seek comfort by finding a scent of you in your favourite chair or shoes, and may express their stress by chewing or urinating.
• Dogs require annual revaccinations: It is now known that certain vaccines, such as distemper and rabies, don’t need to be given yearly after initial doses and boosters.
• Neutering and spaying makes dogs fat and lazy: It has no effect. Eating too much and not enough exercise makes animals overweight. Same goes for cats.
• Dogs and cats are colour-blind: Both dogs and cats can see in blue and green, and they also have more rods – the lightsensing cells in the eye – than humans do, so they can see better in low-light situations. Reds and pinks may appear more green to cats, while purple may look like another shade of blue. Dogs, meanwhile, have fewer cones – the colour-sensing cells in the eye – so scientists estimated that their colour vision is only about one seventh as vibrant as ours.
• Pit bulls are vicious killer dogs: The pit bull is not born vicious, nor is it in its DNA. German shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans, and Chows are the genetically aggressive dogs. Pit bulls are only aggressive when they’ve been trained to be that way.
• Dogs can detect cancer: Dogs are capable of detecting smells linked to cancer. In one study the dogs had an accuracy rate of 98 percent for sniffing out colorectal cancer in humans.