Have you ever wondered why it would be like to be a cat?

While no one can truly experience the world like another species does, here are some highlights of the differences between humans and cats.

A cat’s vision is quite different from a human’s. Cats see colors, but not in the same way we do, and the muted colors make it easier for them to see movement. They also see well in light conditions that would render a human virtually blind.

On the other hand they can’t focus on anything that’s closer than a foot away, and they use their whiskers for detecting objects close the their bodies.

Cats also move quite differently from humans. They have a unique skeletal structure that lets them scale vertical walls, balance on the top of fences, and land on their feet. Their posture allows them to move quietly as well as absorbing the shock of falling from heights many time their size. In addition to all this, their back legs work almost like springs and can propel them upwards and forwards at great speed.

The cats’ ears are also different from a human’s. They can rotate their ears independently up to 180 degrees, and they can hear a wider range of sounds than we can. A cat with normal hearing can detect 11 octaves, which is two more than a human and even more than a dog. They also have a much larger number of neurons between the ear and the brain than most other mammals, so they can decipher all this information quickly.

So, what about the sense of smell? A cat has a sense of smell at least 100 times better than a human, and it can distinguish between thousands of smells. They also have a secondary scent organ above the roof of their mouths to help them detect odors when they breathe.

Cat cafes originated in Asia and offer tea, coffee, food, and cat cuddling. They are extremely popular in cultures where people might not be able to have a pet themselves, and today there are cat cafes in Europe and Canada as well. Thus far, the US has lagged behind.

New York City saw a pop-up cat cafe earlier this year, but it might be Los Angeles that gets the first permanent installation. The first try starts today and will be open through October 5th 2014.

The cafe partners with no-kill shelter Best Friends Animal Society Los Angeles, and with the Chinatown Business Improvement District. There will be cats available for petting and adoption, costumed butlers, and entertainment.

Hopes are the cat cafe can become a permanent installation, and the plans include space to house homeless cats as well as showing visiting shelter cats seeking new homes. There are also plans to open cat cafes in Portland, San Francisco, and Oakland.

The dreams of a permanent NYC cat cafe might also come to fruition soon – there is currently a crowd funding campaign attempting to raise startup funding.

Read more about the pop up cat cafe here.

This sounds like a bizarre holiday, but there is a reason for it. Most humans visit the doctor and dentist annually. Dog owners are generally pretty good with taking their pooches to the vet at least once a year for a check-up. Cats, on the other hand, are often forgotten.

Whether it is because they’re so independent, seem so healthy, or put up a fight when it’s time to get in the carrier, many cats only get to see the vet when there’s something evidently wrong with them. This results in needless suffering and high veterinary bills that might have been avoided if kitty had gotten routine checks.

Cats are excellent at hiding when something is wrong with them, and by the time an owner realizes their kitty is sick, the problem has usually escalated.

Most dogs get annual tests for worms, regular inoculations, and blood screening. Cats need this too, so any problems can be caught early. Take your cat to the vet for a check-up and find any medical problems before they require extensive and expensive treatment.

Cats might not be able to talk like humans do, but they do communicate. Unfortunately, we often misunderstand the attempts of communication and think the cat is “bad” or just weird.

Here are some instances when kitty might be trying to tell you something.

From time to time, cats chow down on strange things, but if your cat eats cardboard, plastic, paper, or something similar and looks at you when he/she starts eating, it’s probably a call for attention.

When kitty deliberately knocks things on the floor it’s not to mess with you or a sign of disliking your decorations. This too means that the cat wants attention – which could mean food.

A cat presenting its butt to you might not seem like a good thing, but in cat language this is a huge compliment. It means that you’re a trusted friend.

The Cat Tracker is a new mapping project that encourages cat owners to put GPS collars on their cats in order to monitor their habits. The information can give new insight into cat behavior, and help conservationists save wildlife. Anyone in the USA, New Zealand, or Australia can participate. 

There are at least 95 million pet cats in the USA and millions more feral cats, and ecologists are concerned about their impact on wildlife.  The project will show whether cats in general kill wildlife routinely, or if just some cats engage in this. It can also help show whether cats that do kill and eat during their outdoor adventures have a higher incidence of parasites, and if these parasites are dangerous to humans.

The project will also track cats’ habits – some have been known to live with more than one household – and how large their areas are. A similar project tracked a cat with a home range of more than 1,300 acres. Does your cat stay close to home, or does he/she roam?

In order to participate in the program, the cat must be yours, and it needs to spend time both indoors and outdoors. Naturally, local leash laws must be observed.

If you want to learn more about the cat tracker project, click here!

Cats love to scratch things. It removes the dead outer layer of their claws and keeps their claws sharp and conditioned. It’s a way for kitty to mark territory – cats have scent glands on their feet, and the scratching leaves a scent mark. Scratching also helps cats stretch while flexing their feet and claws.

Unfortunately, we humans don’t share the cat’s enthusiasm over scratching up the new sofa.

Observe in which rooms your cat likes to scratch, and on what. Then, substitute that object with something similar that’s okay for both you and the cat. For example corrugated cardboard, a log, or a carpeted post.

Cover the forbidden object in something cats don’t like, for example aluminum foil, cotton balls with perfume, or double-sided tape. Then, place the new and acceptable object close by.

Patience is key. Let your cat get used to the new acceptable object, and move it gradually – nor more than 1 inch every day – to a spot more suitable to you. The closer you can keep it to the cat’s preferred location, the bigger the chance this will work in the long run.

Keep the unappealing foil, tape, or cotton balls on the forbidden object until the cat has used the acceptable object in its right place for at least a month.

If you cat likes cat nip, looking for a scratching post with catnip hidden under the surface might help motivate him or her to use the “right” object for scratching.