Orbs 'r' Us

CAT FACTS:....FUR FACTS [facts taken from various vet sites]

- Cats with white fur and skin on their ears are very prone to sunburn. Frequent sunburns can lead to skin cancer. Many white cats need surgery to remove all or part of a cancerous ear. Preventive measures include sunscreen, or better, keeping the cat indoors on sunny days.

- A large majority of white cats with blue eyes are deaf. White cats with only one blue eye are deaf only in the ear closest to the blue eye. White cats with orange eyes do not have this disability.

- Cats have true fur, in that they both have an undercoat and an outer coat. They feel the heat more than a dog would.

- The gene in cats causes the orange coat color is sexed linked, and is on the X sex chromosome. This gene may display orange or black. Thus, as female cat with two X chromosome may have orange and black colors in its coat. A male, with only one X chromosome, can have only orange or black, not both.

- If a male cat is both orange and black it is [besides being extremely rare] sterile. To have both the orange and the black coat colors, the male cat must have all or part of both female X chromosomes. Thus this unusual sex chromosome combination will render the male sterile. So for every 3,000 tortoiseshell or calico cats born, only one will be male.

- Siamese coat color and crossed eyes may be caused by the same gene.

- The color points in Siamese cats is heat related. Cool areas are darker.

- A cat's whiskers are actually sensory organs that provide feedback on how near objects are.

- Most cats have no eyelashes.

- Brushing your cat daily will cut down on hairballs. A little vegetable oil daily will help to prevent fur-balls and bring a shine to your cat's coat.