Today (August 8) is International Cat Day; a day where feline lovers around the world celebrate their purr-fect pets with cuddles and nibbles.
But when it comes down to cat-lovers and dog-lovers, one argument normally goes unresolved; are cats better than dogs? Newsweek has paw-trolled the Internet to find the real scientific breakthroughs of our time as to why cats are better than dogs.
Cats evolve better than dogs
According to research published in PNAS, Felidae (cats) accelerated the extinction of canids (dogs) with their migration from Eurasia. An international team including scientists from the Universities of Gothenburg, São Paulo and Lausanne analyzed over 2,000 fossils and revealed that the arrival of felids to North America from Asia had a deadly impact on the diversity of the dog family, contributing to the extinction of as many as 40 of their species.
"We usually expect climate changes to play an overwhelming role in the evolution of biodiversity. Instead, competition among different carnivore species proved to be even more important for canids" says leading author Daniele Silvestro at the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg.
Political gold dust
Cats seem to be better within the political area than dogs, especially on the local stage.
Mayor Stubbs was a cat that officially held the highest office for 20 years in Talkeetna, Alaska.
However, Mayor Duke, a dog, only served for five years as mayor of Cormorant Township, Minnesota, before retiring. He died in February 2019.
Cats live longer than dogs
According to the Guinness World Records, Crème Puff the cat was 38 years and three days old when he died on August 6, 2005. The owner, Jake Perry, had also owned the previous oldest cat record holder, Grandpa Rex Allen, who passed away at 34.
However, the oldest dog was a collie named Bluey who died at the grand age of 29 years and five months. According to Guinness World Records, Bluey worked among cattle and sheep for nearly 20 years before being put to sleep on November 14, 1939.
Cats inspired Sir Issac Newton
Whether this story is true, remains to be seen, however, according to HowStuffWorks, famous scientist Sir Isaac Newton invented the cat flap because his experiments were constantly being interrupted during his time at the University of Cambridge.
The cats would scratch at his office door and Newton became so annoyed that he summoned a carpenter and had him saw two holes in his door; one of the mother cat (a molly) and a small one for her babies (kittens).
While there is no consensus whether the story is true, but there are indeed two plugged holes of proper dimensions for the respective egresses of cat and kitten in his door in the University of Cambridge to this day.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Sophia Waterfield is a reporter for Newsweek based at its London bureau. She has written for publications such as Metro UK, ... Read more
