Interesting Pet Facts

Dogs

Your dog is as smart as a two-year old! Ever wonder why children around this age seem to have a special bond with the family dog? It could be because they speak the same language, roughly 250 words and gestures in fact.

A study at UCSD claims your dog is jealous... When your dog sees you display affection for another creature, your dog may show signs of jealousy.

Man's best friend? Petting a dog and gazing into their eyes releases oxytocin(i.e the "love hormone") for you and your dog.

Spayed or Neutered? Statistically dogs who are spayed or neutered live longer than dogs who are intact.

Dogs are compasses! When your dog is carefully choosing the perfect place to do his business, it is because they prefer to go #2 in alignment with the Earth’s magnetic field.

Cats

No sweets! Unlike humans, cats cannot detect sweetness–which likely explains why they are not drawn to it at all.

Self-healing? A cat has the ability to heal themselves by purring. A domestic cat’s purr has a frequency of between 25 and 150 Hertz, which happens to be the best frequency for muscles and bones to grow and repair themselves.

Who's smarter, dogs or cats? A cat’s cerebral cortex contains about twice as many neurons as that of dogs. Cats have 300 million neurons, whereas dogs have about 160 million. Cats rule, dogs drool!

Sweaty cats? Cats only sweat through their paws.

Proper labels... A female cat can be referred to as a Molly or a Queen, and a male cat is often labeled as a Tom.

Hedgehogs

Hogwarts? The name for a baby hedgehog is a hoglet...

That's a lot of spines! Every adult hedgehog has about 5000 spines, which last about a year.

Illegal animal? In Arizona, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, New York City, and Washington D.C. hedgehogs are considered endangered and are illegal to own. In states like Maine, you need permits in order to own one.