by Nomi Berger
 
Have you ever wondered why cats’ coats in general and yours in purr-ticular change color?
 
If so, consider some of the paws-ible reasons for this feline phenomenon.
 
1) Changes in temperature: Some cats, like Oriental Himalayans and Siamese, known as pointed breeds, are genetically predisposed to changes in their fur color depending on the temperature of their skin. Their skin is naturally cooler at their bodies’ extremities – faces, paws and tails – which partly accounts for their white or light cream bodies and darker-hued faces, paws and tails. The temperature of the environment in which any cat lives can also play a role in her coloring. Owners may notice that their cats are darker during the cold months of winter and lighter during the warm months of spring and summer.
 
2) The sun’s rays: If your cat -- as most do -- LOVES the sun, her fur will change color and fade because of her prolonged exposure to its rays. Most noticeable in black cats whose coats lighten and turn “rusty,” it results from the sun’s UV rays destroying the dark pigment, melanin, in their bodies that protects their delicate skin from being burned. Thankfully, however, cats are constantly replacing melanin, meaning their fur will eventually return to its normal shade, but they’ll have to go through an entire shedding cycle before this happens. Nor does this type of fading apply only to outdoor cats. The coats of indoor cats who spend too much time stretched out on sunny window perchs will also fade. 
 
3) Lack of important nutrients: Dark-haired cats may appear lighter or redder than usual due to an insufficient amount of the amino acid tyrosine in their diet. Considered a non-essential amino acid since it’s created within their own bodies, cats require twice as much tyrosine as their bodies can produce (the average cat needs over 5g of tyrosine daily). Tyrosine is needed to make melanin, and if cats don’t have enough of it in their diet, their fur can begin turning a reddish hue. Similarly, a diet high in such elements as copper or zinc may also cause their coats to change color.
 
4) The natural aging process: If your cat is 10 years or older, her body will automatically begin producing less melanin. But unless her coat is pure black as opposed to either a paler coat or one with stripes, you may not notice the change until her coat starts turning from its normal color to a browner and then, finally, to a grayer tone. Gray hairs customarily appear first around a cat’s muzzle and fan out from there. 
 
5) Stress and physical pain: While still controversial, some experts believe that stress or pain may be responsible for turning a cat’s fur gray. Such premature graying is linked to heightened levels of noradrenaline, a hormone constantly released by a cat’s body in small doses. Noradrenaline is connected to the nervous system, and during times of intense stress or pain, it will, literally and figuratively, flood her body.
 
If, on the other hand, your cat’s fur has changed color seemingly overnight, there could be a medical reason for it, and you should arrange to have her seen by your vet.

by Nomi Berger
 
Whatever their purr-ferred position, cats typically sleep with their paws over their faces.
 
While obviously comfortable and undeniably cute, why DO our feline friends cover their faces when they sleep? Here are some of the most plausible explanations for this behavior.
 
One reason is warmth. When they’re asleep, they lose more of their customary body heat due to the fact that they’re lying still. And since most of that heat comes from their paws, ears and the tips of their noses, covering their faces with their paws or curling themselves into a ball helps keep that essential heat inside while they sleep. They also instinctively curl themselves up more tightly in winter because the cold can be dangerous for them. Should their body temperature drop below a certain level, they can get hypothermia, which, in worst case scenarios, can lead to coma and even death.
 
A second reason is it blocks out the light. Since cats are crepuscular -- most active during the twilight hours – by nature, they spend most of their days sleeping. This means they must sleep when it’s light outside, often in direct sunlight thanks to its soothing warmth, and they use their paws to cover their eyes the way we humans use sleep masks.
 
A third reason is it blocks out noise. For most cats, even the slightest noise can wake them from their slumber. An instinct born as a survival mechanism for cats living in the wild, they would snap awake at the slightest noise, and if that noise meant danger, they could swiftly flee. How likely your own cat is to be wakened by a loud noise depends on how deeply she sleeps and how well her ears are covered.
 
A fourth reason is a sense of security. While cats, primarily outdoors and feral cats, are predators, hunting birds, mice and other small rodents, cats in the wild are the prey of many larger animals. Most vulnerable when asleep, their faces are vulnerable too, and should their faces be attacked, these cats’ chances of survival would be slim. And although your inside cat isn’t in danger of being attacked by a predator when she’s asleep, this behavior is, once again, instinctual.
 
A fifth reason is exhaustion. Cats don’t only use their paws to cover their faces when they sleep, they also use their paws to self-groom. Obsessively devoting nearly one third of the day to grooming themselves – a tiring feat in and of itself – if they fall asleep in the middle of washing their faces, their paws will land directly over their eyes. The very act of moving their paws down in order to sleep may, quite simply, be too much of an effort for them.
 
Last, but not least, your cat may be covering her face while she’s sleeping as a hint to the rest of her loving household that she needs her space and purr-fers to be left alone. Think of it as an unwritten “Do Not Disturb” sign and respect your favorite feline’s wishes. Rest assured: she’ll amply reward your thoughtfulness when she wakes up.