Animal Antics
- In 2004, there were 6.8 million dogs and 9.58 million cats in the UK
- There are 6.1 million cat owning households, 5.2 million dog owning households, 4.1 million fish owning households, 1.96 million rodent owning households and 1.39 million bird owning households
- Dogs are dichromats which means that their eye sight is equivalent to red-green colour blindness in humans
- Dogs have nearly 220 million smell-sensitive cells, compared to 5 million in humans
- Dogs detect sounds as low as 16 to 20 Hz frequency, compared to 20 to 79 Hz in humans
- Dogs sweat through pads on their feet. Their main method of controlling body heat, though, is by panting.
- Dog breeds show more variation in size, appearance and behaviour than any other domestic pet
- 208 breeds of dog are registered with The Kennel Club
- The smallest dog is a Chihuahua and the largest dog is a Great Dane
- An average dog litter consists of approximately 6 puppies
- Most dogs have pink tongues apart from the Chow Chow and the Shar-pei, both of which have black tongues!
- Dalmatians are born pure white, with their spots developing as they mature!
- The oldest cat lived from 1903 to 1939, that is 36 years! He was a tabby cat called ‘Puss’
- Cats’ whiskers help them manoeuvre themselves at night.
- Cat urine glows in the dark under ultra violet light
- A cat only has 473 taste buds, compared to a humans’ 9,000
- There are 67 breeds and 531 varieties of rabbit. The smallest breed is the Netherland Dwarf Rabbit, weighing just 1kg when fully grown, and one of the largest is the Flemish Giant Rabbit, which weighs up to 6kg.
- The word 'rodent' is derived from the latin word 'rodere' which means 'to gnaw'.
- Guinea pigs are extremely good swimmers but cannot climb
- Queen Elizabeth I had a pet guinea pig
- The name "ferret" is derived from the Latin furittus, meaning "little thief," a likely reference to the common ferret penchant for secreting away small items.
- A hot rat will lie on his back as it can only sweat through his feet
- The word ‘hamster’ comes from the German word ‘hamstern’ which means ‘to hoard’
- Degus have yellow or orange coloured teeth
- As a natural defence against predators, degus can loose their tails if caught by them
- Chinchillas can’t sweat, but they expel excess heat through their ears
- The first gerbils were introduced in 1964 and were a Mongolian species
- Gerbils were once simply called ‘desert rats’
- Mice have an average of eight to ten babies a litter
- In China in 1162 only members of the Song Dynasty were legally allowed to keep the yellow variety of goldfish
- Goldfish dislocate their jaw to enable them to pick food off the bottom of the tank. This enables them to eat without standing on their head!
- The longest goldfish ever measured 47.4cm
- A group of goldfish is called a troubling
