Good question! And glad you are not finding either the scratching or the cat hair to be a problem. I think a lot of that has to do with people's different standards and also with how comfortable the cat is. In a household where the cat is at ease there is going to be less destructive behavior!
One myth I would love to see completely discredited is the one about cats always landing on their feet. Cats can indeed be hurt by falling from a height and people who believe this particular myth often don't protect their cats from situations where they might fall and do serious damage to themselves.
As a matter of fact most of the myths I've heard about cats tend to put the cats in danger of some kind if people believe them, sad to say.
