• Cats are lovely and charming creatures. It’s probably one of the reasons why pet lovers enjoy having them around. But did you know that aside from the alluring, charismatic characteristic that cats have, they also possess features that can literally make our jaws drop from amazement. Read on.
• A cat’s brain is more similar to a man’s brain than that of a dog.
• Both humans and cats have identical regions in the brain responsible for emotion?
• Cats eyes are awesome! They can see about 6 times better than humans at night, and they need only a fraction–1/6 to be exact—of the amount of light that a human does for they have a layer of extra reflecting cells which absorb light. Also, they’re field of vision goes up to about 185 degrees.
• The cat’s clavicle, or collarbone, does not connect with other bones but is buried in the muscles of the shoulder region. This lack of a functioning collarbone allows them to fit through any opening the size of their head.
• Aside from the eyes, they’re ears do an amazing job too. Cats’ hearing is much more sensitive than humans and dogs. It stops at 65 khz (kilohertz); humans’ hearing stops at 20 khz. They’re ears ability doesn’t stop there. Cats have 32 muscles that control the outer ear (compared to human’s 6 muscles each). A cat can rotate its ears independently 180 degrees, and can turn in the direction of sound 10 times faster than those of the best watchdog.
• Cats have a special scent organ located in the roof of their mouth, called the Jacobson’s organ. It analyzes smells – and is the reason why you will sometimes see your cat “sneer” (called the flehmen response or flehming) when they encounter a strong odor.
• A cat’s tail is responsible for maintaining the balance of its body as almost 10% of a cat’s bones are in its tail. That’s why even if a cat falls down from anything of height, they will be in its standing position—paws flat on the ground—as soon as it lands.
• In addition to the characteristics of their tail, cats’ present state of mind can be learned by observing the posture of his tail. Also, the domestic cat is the only species able to hold its tail vertically while walking.

Cats are indeed fascinating animals and their intelligence is definitely astounding. For pet owners, you can actually discover all your cat’s hidden skills and cleverness through test and training. How Cunning is Your Cat has compiled nine quick and fuss-free tests that will enable you to gauge how cunning your kitty is. You’re guaranteed to be surprised even if you haven’t finished the test yet! So see for yourself now.

• Smiling at a dog causes him to think you are baring your teeth to show aggression.

• Newfoundlands have webbed feet, making them great swimmers and divers.

• The Bloodhound doesn’t need to smell blood to find someone who is lost. It is said that his name instead means blooded hound, or aristocratic.

• Dogs are capable of locating the source of a sound in 6/100ths of a second by using their swiveling ears like radar dishes.

• The first search and rescue dog on the scene at the World Trade Centre 9/11 in 2001 was Bear, an 11 year old Golden Retriever. He began recovery efforts immediately working 18 hours days in the beginning.

• The most successful mountain rescue dog ever was a St Bernard named Barry, who lived during the early 1800’s and saved 40 lives.

• Dogs have about 100 different facial expressions, most of them made with the ears. Unfortunately the likes of bulldogs only have 10 due to their breeding.

• It was recently discovered that dogs do see in colour, just not as vivid as the colour that humans see.

• Dogs first distinguish objects by movement, then brightness, and finally by shape.

• Dogs have a sense of smell that is one of the keenest in nature. Humans might smell a pot of stew cooking on the stove, but a dog can distinguish the smells of each individual ingredient, from the beef itself to the potatoes.

• Whippets can reach a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour.

• Many dogs’ eyes reflect the color green in the dark, but some also reflect orange or red.

• The Poodle haircut was originally meant to improve the dog’s swimming abilities as a retriever, with the pom-poms left in place to warm their joints.

• Lastly, did you know that when a puppy is born, he is blind, deaf, and toothless? It’s pretty much surprising how puppies grow up to be skilled and smart creatures.

Some capabilities of canines are innate, while some are acquired in dog trainings, like “How Smart Is Your Dog?”,a self-scoring intelligence test for dogs, developed by Dr. Stanley Coren of the University of British Columbia. It is designed primarily to determine a dog’s IQ from the series of tests included in the package.

It would be best to train your puppy while they’re still young. So they’d grow up to be as intelligent as you are… or who knows, with “How Smart Is Your Dog?”, perhaps your puppy could even outsmart you.