The family tree
So I was reading that scientists have unraveled the cat genome. This matters not so much for pet cloning, which is inevitable, but because cats can have over 250 disorders which are “similar to genetic pathologies in humans,” according to the findings published in the journal Genome Research.
Among other things, cats can get a version of AIDS, eye diseases, and of course, diabetes. Unraveling the genes is the first step to new medicines for cats and their not-to-distant cousins: us.
So good for us and good for the estimated 90 million house cats in the United States.
Now, one hundred million years ago we and cats and dogs and monkeys and presumably whales, all had a common ancestor. I’ve been spending a lot of time studying a cat at close range these last few months; and I’ve come to the conclusion that we humans are more similar to dogs than cats. In lots of ways, but especially in eating habits.
If you turn the average dog lose in a dog food factory over night you will find it dead in the morning. Dogs will eat until they are out of food or until they explode. Just like most humans. Cats, on the other hand, just eat what they need. You can leave a huge bowl of cat food out and the cat will graze as needed.
Amazing.
How do we become more like the cat branch of the family?
Among other things, cats can get a version of AIDS, eye diseases, and of course, diabetes. Unraveling the genes is the first step to new medicines for cats and their not-to-distant cousins: us.
So good for us and good for the estimated 90 million house cats in the United States.
Now, one hundred million years ago we and cats and dogs and monkeys and presumably whales, all had a common ancestor. I’ve been spending a lot of time studying a cat at close range these last few months; and I’ve come to the conclusion that we humans are more similar to dogs than cats. In lots of ways, but especially in eating habits.
If you turn the average dog lose in a dog food factory over night you will find it dead in the morning. Dogs will eat until they are out of food or until they explode. Just like most humans. Cats, on the other hand, just eat what they need. You can leave a huge bowl of cat food out and the cat will graze as needed.
Amazing.
How do we become more like the cat branch of the family?
posted by Wil | 6:15 AM
7 Comments:
Woah. That's the coolest thing I've learned all week. I wonder what the cats have, that we don't, that allow them to have such self-control over their eating habits.
Hmmm...I always thought cats had more attitude than brains...of course, so do some people :) Now can someone explain why my Tiger finds it necessary to yowl every day at 4AM?!
Kathy (araby62 on TuDiabetes)
organ transplants? there's a start..(if that were possible)
Beats me, but thats an pretty interesting fact.
I'm not sure you can say that all humans behave (or eat) like dogs rather than cats. I regularly push my plate away when I cannot eat anymore.
I think overeating is a socialized condition imposed largely by parents making stupid statements like "children are starving in other parts of the world, so eat everything on your plate" (the world has few places where starvation prevails, obesity is a significantly larger threat today).
To say that all humans behave more like dogs than cats is not correct, rather, it is a learned behavior that fortunately, not everyone has learned!
Wouldn't it be something if they cured diabetes in cats first? I can understand why; it's so much harder to give them insulin.
I had read something awhile back about cats not being able to taste sugar. I found the link.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/24/AR2005072401107.html
This probably has a significant effect on why they don't crave food to excess like we (and dogs) do. We all know how addictive a sugar rush is.
If you have problems with the link, go to Google and put in cats +sugar +taste
Basically the theory is right. However my (x) dog got into the dog food one day while we were at work. We came home to a dog witha big belly, but she did not die. She did not eat for 2 days. No telling if she had had more access to the "warehouse" if she would have continued eating over the next few days..
When I was a pharmacy tech, a man called and said his diabetic cat was thirsty, and urinating alot, and wondered what was wrong with her. I asked how long he uses insulin after he opens the bottle; he said a couple months til it is gone. I told him the mfgr recommends 28-30 days, and at a certain point, its like injecting her with water. He said he did not know that , thanked me and came in for a fresh bottle.
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