Amazing Fun and Interesting Facts

Amazing Fun and Interesting Facts about Cats

September 25, 2023

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Amazing Fun and Interesting Facts about Cats

Cats are one of the most beloved animals in the world. They are graceful, agile and playful, and they make wonderful companions. There are also many intriguing facts about cats that you might not know! From their amazing sense of smell to their extraordinary jumping abilities, here are the Top Facts about cats.

The oldest known pet cat existed 9,500 years ago

This interesting fact about cats is guaranteed to wow at your next dinner party. Did you know that originally it was thought that Egyptians domesticated the cat? But in 2004, French archaeologists discovered a 9,500 year old cat grave in Cyprus. This makes this the oldest known pet cat and it predates Egyptian art about cats by over 4,000 years!

Cats spend 70% of their lives sleeping

If you thought cats spent a lot of their lives sleeping, you’d be right. According to Veterinary Hub, Cats actually spend 70% of their lives sleeping, which works out to around 13-16 hours a day. It’s a cat’s life!

A cat was the Mayor of an Alaskan town for 20 years

An orange tabby cat called Stubbs was the mayor of Talkeetna, a small town in Alaska for 20 years! He had several uncontested elections and although he didn’t hold any legislative power, he was loved by locals and tourists alike.

The record for the longest cat ever is 48.5 inches

Domestic cats are usually considered to be quite small and dainty creatures. But did you know the world’s longest cat was a Maine Coon called Stewie, and was measured at 48.5 inches? Whereas, the record for the tallest cat belonged to Arcturus at a whopping 19.05 inches tall! Those are some big cats.

The richest cat in the world had £7 million

The richest cat in the world according to Guinness World Records is Blackie. When his millionaire owner passed away he refused to recognise his family in his will and instead gave his 7-million-pound fortune to Blackie! We can’t believe that interesting cat fact!

Cats walk like camels and giraffes

Have you ever noticed that cats walk like camels and giraffes? Their walking sequence is both right feet first, followed by both left feet, so they move half of their body forward at once.

Camels and giraffes are the only other animals to walk this way.

Isaac Newton invented the cat door

The scientist is most famous for calculated gravity, but it’s also believed that Isaac Newton invented the cat door. How Stuff Works writes that when Newton was working on his experiments at the University of Cambridge he was constantly interrupted by his cats scratching at the door. So he called the Cambridge carpenter to saw two holes in the door, one for the mother cat and one for her kittens! Apparently these holes can still be seen at the university today.

In 1963 a cat went to space

You’ve heard of monkeys and dogs in space, but did you know that a cat braved the great unknown too? On October 18th 1963 Felicette, also known as ‘Astrocat’ was the first and only cat to go to space.

Ancient Egyptians would shave off their eyebrows when their cats died

According to Ancient History Encyclopedia, Herodotus wrote in 440BC that when a pet cat died in Ancient Egyptian times the family members would shave off their eyebrows in mourning. Now that’s an interesting cat fact!

House cats share 95.6% of their genetic makeup with tigers

This fun cat fact will really blow your mind. A study discovered that our little house cats share 95.6% of their genetic makeup with tigers!

They also share a lot of the same behaviours such as scent and urine marking, prey stalking and pouncing.

A house cat can reach speeds of up to 30mph

If you’ve watched your little kitty charging around the living room when they’re feeling lively you know that cats are pretty quick, but you won’t believe this fun cat fact. They can hit speeds of around 30mph which is so fast that they could beat Usain Bolt in a 200-metre dash!

The oldest cat in the world was 38 years old!

The oldest cat to have ever lived was 38 years and 3 days old when he passed away. Creme Puff, born on 3rd August 1967 lived until 6th August 2005, and his owner Jake Perry also owned the previous oldest cat record holder, Grandpa Rex Allen, who passed away at the grand age of 34! Whatever Jake Perry’s doing, he’s doing it right!

The record for the loudest purr is 67.8db(A)

Merlin, a black and white cat from Torquay, UK, currently holds the record for the loudest purr by a domestic cat. His purr is 67.8db(A) and for context, this is nearly the same volume as a shower! Most cats purr at around 25db.

Didga the cat can perform 24 tricks in one minute

If you think cats can’t do tricks, then you’ll be shocked to learn this cat fact. The most tricks performed by a cat in one minute is 24! Didga completed a series of tricks from rolling over to even jumping a bar whilst on a skateboard!

Cats put their best foot forward

Some cats can have a dominant front paw, there have been a few studies to show that females favour their right paw, and males tend their left.

30 muscles…and counting

Cats have a total of 32 muscles in each of their ears, alone! This allows them to swivel their ears to hone in on an exact noise. All these muscles help cats rotate their ears 180 degrees!

We may be more alike than you think!

Biologically, a cat’s brain is somewhat similar to the human brain to that of a dog. Humans and cats have identical emotional regions in their brains.

They are VERY popular in South America

Cats outnumber dogs as pets in South America with a huge amount of 73 million pet cats as opposed to 63 million dogs! Over 30% of homes in South America own a cat as a pet.

They can change colour – well Siamese cats can

Whether your Siamese kitten prints turn blond or brown in colour is dependent on their body temperature. The Siamese cat carries albino genes which work at a body temperature of 36 Degrees Celsius.

Fingerprint or nose?

Your cat has their own unique print, much like we do with our fingerprints. A cat’s nose is formed of a unique pattern of ridges, which are very similar to the individual ridges of the human finger.

The Tower of Towser

There is a tower in Scotland which has been built in commemoration of a cat named Towser. The tower is a celebration of all the mice she killed in her lifetime, which is a number over 30,000.

Cats are musical creatures!

Much like birds, cats make many different noises. Cats can make up to 100 sounds, whereas dogs only make 10! Now, that’s some musical talent.

Cats can jump up to 6 times their height.

That’s right!

Cats are really good jumpers and can jump really high.

You can often see them on the top of a garden fence or on a really high wall!

They have very strong muscles in their legs which catapults them into the air

They have a total of 18 toes.

That’s a lot of toes!

Cats have 5 toes on each of their front paws.

They then have four toes on their back paws.

There are over 500 million pet cats!

There are lots of cats across the world as they are one of the most popular pets to have.

According to PDSA, in the UK, 51% of adults own a cat!

Cats sleep for around 13 to 16 hours a day (70% of their life).

Have you ever noticed that cats are always sleeping?

They do this to save their energy.

In the wild they would be saving their energy to go and hunt for their food.

House cats obviously don’t need to do this but it just comes naturally to them.

1 year of a cats life equals to 15 years of a humans live.

Cats age much faster than humans and live for a shorter amount of time.

This means that when a cat is 1 year old, that actually equals to 15 human years!

One of the largest domestic cat breeds is a Maine Coon.

The Maine Coon is one of the largest domestic cat breeds there is.

In fact, the Guinness World Records gave Barivel, a Maine Coon, the award for being the longest domestic cat ever!

Barivel is 120cm long and lives in Italy.

The smallest cat breed is a Singapura.

The smallest cat breed is the Singapura.

It originates from Singapore.

They are around half the size of a normal house cat.

Purring means a cat is content.

Most of the time a cat will purr when it is happy and content.

This is mostly when it is getting a nice stroke from it’s owner.

They use their purr as a way of communication.

A cat can run up to 30mph.

Cats are very speedy.

They can run up to 30mph.

That’s about as fast as a car will travel on a typical road!

The oldest cat was 38 years old.

The oldest recorded living cat lived up to 38 years old.

He was called Creme Puff!

Most domestic cats live for around 16 – 17 years.

Facts About Cat Anatomy & Physiology

A house cat’s genome is 95.6 percent tiger, and they share many behaviors with their jungle ancestors, says Layla Morgan Wilde, a cat behavior expert and the founder of Cat Wisdom 101. These behaviors include scent marking by scratching, prey play, prey stalking, pouncing, chinning, and urine marking.
Cats are believed to be the only mammals who don’t taste sweetness.
Cats are nearsighted, but their peripheral vision and night vision are much better than that of humans.
Cats are supposed to have 18 toes (five toes on each front paw; four toes on each back paw).
Cats can jumpup to six times their length.
Cats’ claws all curve downward, which means that they can’t climb down trees head-first. Instead, they have to back down the trunk.
Cats’ collarbonesdon’t connect to their other bones, as these bones are buried in their shoulder muscles.
Cats have 230 bones, while humans only have 206.
Cats have an extra organthat allows them to taste scents on the air, which is why your cat stares at you with her mouth open from time to time.
Cats have whiskerson the backs of their front legs, as well.
Cats have nearly twice the amount of neurons in their cerebral cortexas dogs.
Cats have the largest eyes relative to their head sizeof any mammal.
Cats make very little noise when they walk around. The thick, soft pads on their paws allow them to sneak up on their prey — or you!
Cats’ rough tonguescan lick a bone clean of any shred of meat.
Cats use their long tails to balance themselveswhen they’re jumping or walking along narrow ledges.
Cats use their whiskers to “feel” the world around them in an effort to determine which small spaces they can fit into. A cat’s whiskers are generally about the same width as its body. (This is why you should never, EVER cut their whiskers.)
Cats walk like camels and giraffes: They move both of their right feet first, then move both of their left feet. No other animals walk this way.
Male cats are more likely to be left-pawed, while female cats are more likely to be right-pawed.
Though cats can notice the fast movements of their prey, it often seems to them that slow-moving objects are actually stagnant.
Some cats are ambidextrous, but 40 percent are either left- or right-pawed.
Some cats can swim.
There are cats who have more than 18 toes. These extra-digit felines are referred to as being “polydactyl.”

Facts About Cat Health & Wellness

A cat’s average lifespan increased by a year over the span of time between 2002 and 2012, according to a study by Banfield Pet Hospital.
According to The Huffington Post, cats typically sleep for 12 to 16 hours a day.
Cats are crepuscular, which means that they’re most active at dawn and dusk.
Cats are fastidious creatures about their “bathroom.” If you have more than one cat, you should have one litter box for each.
Cats can spend up to a third of their waking hours
Cats live longer when they stay indoors.
Cats’ purring may be a self-soothing behavior, since they make this noise when they’re ill or distressed, as well as when they’re happy.
Cats will refuse an unpalatable foodto the point of starvation.
Despite popular belief, many cats are actually lactose intolerant.
Female cats have the ability to get pregnant when they are only 4 months old!
Grapes and raisins, as well as onions, garlic, and chives, are all extremely harmful foods for cats. Grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure — although the reasoning behind that isn’t clear. Meanwhile, onions, garlic, and chives wreak havoc on your cat’s gastrointestinal system and can cause anemia.
If you keep your cat active during the day, he will sleep better at night. If you’re not free-feeding your cat, you can also help her get a good night’s sleep by providing her with a substantial evening meal.
It’s believed that catnip produces an effect similar to LSD or marijuana in cats. The effects of nepetalactone — the chemical in catnip that can makes cats crazy — wears off within 15 minutes, and won’t surface again for a few hours, even if your cat remains in sniffing distance.
Kittens can be spayed or neuteredwhen they are only eight weeks old. If possible, these procedures should be performed in the first 5 months of your cat’s life.
Male cats who have been fixed need fewer caloriesto maintain their weight.
Spaying and neutering can extend a cat’s life. The Banfield Pet Hospital studyfound that neutered males live an average of 62 percent longer than unneutered cats and spayed females live an average of 39 percent longer than unspayed cats.
Your cat’sgrooming process stimulates blood flow to his skin, regulates his body temperature and helps him relax.

Facts About Cat Communication Cues

A cat with a question-mark-shaped tailis asking, “Want to play?”
According to Wilde, a slow blink is a “kitty kiss.” This movement shows contentment and trust.
Cats have a unique “vocabulary”with their owner — each cat has a different set of vocalizations, purrs and behaviors.
Cats have up to 100 different vocalizations— dogs only have 10.
Cats find it threateningwhen you make direct eye contact with them.
Cats mark you as their territory
when they rub their faces and bodies against you, as they have scent glands in those areas.

Cats may yawn as a way to end a confrontation with another animal. Think of it as their “talk to the hand” gesture.
Hissing is defensive, not aggressive, says Wilde. “It’s an expression of fear, stress or discomfort of a threatened cat communicating ‘stay away,’” she says.
If cats are fighting, the cat that’s hissing is the more vulnerable one, says Wilde.
If your cat approaches you with a straight, almost vibrating tail, this means that she is extremely happy to see you.
Kneading— which some people refer to as “making biscuits” — is a sign of contentment and happiness. Cats knead their mothers when they are nursing to stimulate the let-down of milk.
Meowing is a behavior that cats developed exclusively to communicate with people.
When a cat flops over and exposes his belly, it’s not always an invitation for a belly rub. A cat does this when he’s relaxed and showing trust.
When cats hit you with retracted claws, they’re playing, not attacking.
When dogs wag their tails, they may be expressing happiness. But this isn’t the case for cats! When your cat wags her tail, it’s her way of warning you that you are getting on her last nerve.
When your cat sticks his butt in your face, he is doing so as a gesture of friendship.
Whiskers are also good indicators of a cat’s mood. When a cat is scared, he put his whiskers back. But when a cat is in hunting mode, he puts his whiskers forward.
Your cat drapes its tailover another cat, your dog, or you as a symbol of friendship.

Facts About Quirky Cat Behaviors — And Why They Happen

Cats are very fussy about their water bowls; some prefer to ignore their bowls entirely in favor of drinking from the sink faucet.
Cats groom other cats — and sometimes people — in a ritual called allogrooming.
Cats like to sleep on things that smell like their owners, such as their pillows and dirty laundry(ick!).
Cats love to sleep inlaundry baskets, too, because they’re basically hiding places with peep holes.
Cats often attack your ankles when they’re bored.
Certain cats go crazy for foods you wouldn’t expect, like olives, potato chips, and the hops in beer.
For some reason, cats really dislike citrus scents.
If you can’t find your cat, you should look in a box or a bag, as these are some of their favorite hiding spots!
Male cats who try to get to a female in heat can showvery bizarre behavior — for example, some have been known to slide down chimneys!
Many cats like to lick their owner’s freshly washed hair.
Some cats love the smell of chlorine.
Thieving behavior is not uncommon among cats. They will often grab objects like stuffed animals, feather dusters, and other things that remind them of prey.

Facts About Cats Who Made History

A green catwas born in Denmark in 1995. Some people believe that high levels of copper in the water pipes nearby may have given his fur a verdigris effect.
It turns out that Abraham Lincoln was a crazy cat president! He had four cats that lived in the White House with him.
Maria Assunta left her cat, Tomasso, her entire $13 million fortune when she died in 2011.
President Bill Clinton’s cat, Socks, was a media darling during the Clinton administration and was said to receive more letters than the President himself.
Stubbs, a 17-year-old orange tabby, is mayor of the historic district of Talkeetna, Alaska.

Other Surprising Cat Facts You Didn’t Know

A cat’s learning styleis about the same as a 2- to 3-year-old child.
A cat’s purr vibrates at a frequency of 25 to 150 hertz, which is the same frequency at which muscles and bones repair themselves.
A group of kittens is called a “kindle.”
A house cat could beat superstar runner Usain Boltin the 200 meter dash.
About half of the cats in the world respond to the scent of catnip.
Cat breeders are called “catteries.”
Cats can be toilet-trained.
Cats can drink sea waterin order to survive. (In case you’re wondering, we can’t.)
Catsdon’t have an incest taboo, so they may choose to mate with their brothers and sisters.
Cats dream, just like people do.
Cats have contributed to the extinction of 33 different species.
Cats perceive people as big, hairless cats, says Wilde.
Cats were first brought to the Americasin colonial times to get rid of rodents.
Collective nouns for adult cats include “clowder,” “clutter,” “glaring,” and “pounce.”
Each cat’s nose print is unique, much like human fingerprints.
Every Scottish Fold cat in the world can trace its heritage back to the first one, which was found in Scotland in the 1960s, says Cheryl Hogan, a Scottish Fold breeder and the committee chair for the breed at The International Cat Association (TICA).
It’s not uncommon to see cats in food storesin big cities as a form of free — and adorable — pest control.
Kittens in the same litter can have more than one father.This is because the female cat releases multiple eggs over the course of a few days when she is in heat.
Male cats are the most sensitive to catnip, while kittens under 3 months old have no response at all.
Most world languages have a similar wordto describe the “meow” sound.
People often think that they’ve stumbled over a purebred as a stray or in a shelter, but Hogan says that this is very uncommon. “Ninety-nine times out of 100 what you have found on the street will not be purebred anything,” she says. “Very seldom do breeders sell kittens that are not already spayed or neutered,” as purebred cats need to meet very strict standards.
Some 700 million feral cats live in the United States, and many shelters run trap-neuter-releaseprograms to stem the population growth.
Studies suggest that domesticated cats first appeared around 3600 B.C.
The first known cat videowas recorded in 1894.
There are about 88 million pet cats in the United States, which makes them the most popular petin the country!
Two hundred feral cats prowl the park at Disneyland, doing their part to control rodents — the ones who don’t wear funny outfits and speak in squeaky voices.
White cats with blue eyesare prone to deafness.

Weird Facts About Cats

When they walk, cats move paws on one side of their body simultaneously, as this video shows. If you look closely, you’ll notice they also place their rear paws in the same spot their front paws just left, like this. Only camels and giraffes have a similar stride.
A group of cats is called a clowder.
Cats have tiny glands in their paws that give off a strong scent, which can provide valuable information when meeting an unfamiliar cat.
While a cat’s jaw opens quite wide up and down, it can’t move from side–to–side.
Felines don’t taste sweetness—they lack the taste bud receptors. The lead author for this study, Joseph Brand, indicated in an NPR interview that if your cat nibbles on your cake or ice cream, they want the fat, not the sugar. (Kitty shouldn’t have either as treats, by the way. Here are safer human food options.)
However, Posluns says cats can taste the air. “They half-open their mouths to activate their specialized nasal anatomy, giving them the ‘taste’ of a scent.” They do this with the Jacobson’s organ (also known as the vomeronasal organ) located behind their upper incisors.

Funny Facts About Cats

One reason scientific studies of cat intelligence are less prolific than dog studies is because cats are notoriously hard subjects to test. “Many cats drop out of the studies by walking away from the test site,” Posluns says. Doesn’t surprise us one bit.
For 20 years, Stubbs—a stately orange Manx—was “mayor” of the unincorporated community of Talkeetna, Alaska, until his death in 2017. Now holding the mayoral gavel betwixt their paws are Aurora and Denali, who help promote tourism.
Cats spend about 15–20 hours a day resting or sleeping.
Posluns says cats are social learners and have been studied for their ability to imitate humans. That’s right: You may be living with a copycat.

Facts About Black Cats

There are more than 20 domestic breeds that can sport solid black coats, including the Bombay, Norwegian forest cat, British shorthair, and American shorthair.
Unfortunately, due to a phenomenon called “black cat bias,” Posluns says kitties with black coats are adopted less often and euthanized more than other shelter cats. “People may not see how sweet and friendly black cats are because they can’t read their facial expressions as well as those of other cats,” she adds.
Ancient Egyptians revered black cats because of their resemblance to the goddess Bastet.
Black panthers aren’t a classification of wild cats. This term is used to describe a color variant of a leopard or a jaguar, and if you look closely, you can see their inky spots.

Cool Facts About Cats

The only cat to travel into space was a black-and-white stray named Félicette in 1963.
Cats use their whiskers and sensory hairs on the sides of their legs and head to help feel their way through environments in the dark.
Felines have working, short-term, and long-term memory like other animals and actually remember people.
“Cats have evolved sophisticated communication abilities with humans,” Posluns says. “They follow where our finger is pointing and know where we’re looking. Skills like these help them understand us better.” They also use purrs, slow blinks, and other behaviors to show they’re comfortable with and (dare we say) even love us.
A polydactyl cat is a kitty with the genetic mutation of extra toes, usually on the front paws, prompting the nickname “mitten cat.” The most famous polydactyl cats live at Ernest Hemingway’s home and museum.

Interesting Facts About Cats

A 9,500-year-old gravesite discovered in Cyprus revealed a human buried with a pet cat. This predates Egyptian art featuring cats by more than 4,000 years.
Cats have excellent distance vision, but objects up close can be blurry. So when playing with your cat, it’s good to keep toys further back so they can see the “prey,” Posluns says.
Some behavior experts believe cats vocalize over 20 distinct sounds with various meanings.
A feline’s body has more than 500 muscles and over 200 bones. There are approximately 23 bones just in their tail.
Why do cats “make biscuits”? They first learn comforting kneading behavior as kittens, when they’re ready to bed down, or they’re emitting scent from their paw pads onto you as a sign that you’re a favorite human.
The average healthy kitty can jump several feet high and wide. Waffle the Warrior Cat is the current Guinness World Record holder, reaching a laudable leap of 7 feet.
“At just 4 months old, kittens can reach reproductive maturity and get pregnant, which is why it’s so important to spay them early,” Posluns says.

Fun Facts About Cats

Cats are scientifically proven freeloaders, Posluns says. While many animals prefer to “work” for their food, even when there is a free food option, cats do not. “If you give your cat a puzzle toy next to an identical bowl of food for free, they’ll choose the meal requiring no effort,” she says.
The Egyptian mau is considered the fastest domestic cat, able to sprint up to 30 mph.
Not all kitties go crazy for catnip—most scientists believe this is an inherited trait.
Since 1994, various types of Persians have won Best in Show at the CFA International Cat Show a whopping 17 times.
Contrary to popular belief, cats are highly trainable with positive reinforcement methods, Posluns says. They can learn an extensive repertoire of skills and tricks and walk on a leash.
Unlike dogs, cats do not have a sweet tooth. Scientists believe this is due to a mutation in a key taste receptor.
When a cat chases its prey, it keeps its head level. Dogs and humans bob their heads up and down.
The technical term for a cat’s hairball is a “bezoar.”
A group of cats is called a “clowder.”
A cat can’t climb head first down a tree because every claw on a cat’s paw points the same way. To get down from a tree, a cat must back down.
Cats make about 100 different sounds. Dogs make only about 10.

Many people in China consider cats a “warming” food that is perfect to eat during the winter

Every year, nearly four million cats are eaten in Asia.
There are more than 500 million domestic cats in the world, with approximately 40 recognized breeds.
Approximately 24 cat skins can make a coat.
While it is commonly thought that the ancient Egyptians were the first to domesticate cats, the oldest known pet cat was recently found in a 9,500-year-old grave on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. This grave predates early Egyptian art depicting cats by 4,000 years or more.
During the time of the Spanish Inquisition, Pope Innocent VIII condemned cats as evil and thousands of cats were burned. Unfortunately, the widespread killing of cats led to an explosion of the rat population, which exacerbated the effects of the Black Death.
During the Middle Ages, cats were associated with withcraft, and on St. John’s Day, people all over Europe would stuff them into sacks and toss the cats into bonfires. On holy days, people celebrated by tossing cats from church towers.
The first cat in space was a French cat named Felicette (a.k.a. “Astrocat”) In 1963, France blasted the cat into outer space. Electrodes implanted in her brains sent neurological signals back to Earth. She survived the trip.
The group of words associated with cat (catt, cath, chat, katze) stem from the Latin catus, meaning domestic cat, as opposed to feles, or wild cat.
The term “puss” is the root of the principal word for “cat” in the Romanian term pisica and the root of secondary words in Lithuanian (puz) and Low German puus. Some scholars suggest that “puss” could be imitative of the hissing sound used to get a cat’s attention. As a slang word for the female pudenda, it could be associated with the connotation of a cat being soft, warm, and fuzzy.
Approximately 40,000 people are bitten by cats in the U.S. annually.

Cats are the world’s most popular pets, outnumbering dogs by as many as three to one

Cats are North America’s most popular pets: there are 73 million cats compared to 63 million dogs. Over 30% of households in North America own a cat.
According to Hebrew legend, Noah prayed to God for help protecting all the food he stored on the ark from being eaten by rats. In reply, God made the lion sneeze, and out popped a cat.
A cat’s hearing is better than a dog’s. And a cat can hear high-frequency sounds up to two octaves higher than a human.
A cat can travel at a top speed of approximately 31 mph (49 km) over a short distance.
A cat rubs against people not only to be affectionate but also to mark out its territory with scent glands around its face. The tail area and paws also carry the cat’s scent.
Researchers are unsure exactly how a cat purrs. Most veterinarians believe that a cat purrs by vibrating vocal folds deep in the throat. To do this, a muscle in the larynx opens and closes the air passage about 25 times per second.
When a family cat died in ancient Egypt, family members would mourn by shaving off their eyebrows. They also held elaborate funerals during which they drank wine and beat their breasts. The cat was embalmed with a sculpted wooden mask and the tiny mummy was placed in the family tomb or in a pet cemetery with tiny mummies of mice.
In 1888, more than 300,000 mummified cats were found an Egyptian cemetery. They were stripped of their wrappings and carted off to be used by farmers in England and the U.S. for fertilizer.
Most cats give birth to a litter of between one and nine kittens. The largest known litter ever produced was 19 kittens, of which 15 survived.
Smuggling a cat out of ancient Egypt was punishable by death. Phoenician traders eventually succeeded in smuggling felines, which they sold to rich people in Athens and other important cities.
The earliest ancestor of the modern cat lived about 30 million years ago. Scientists called it the Proailurus, which means “first cat” in Greek. The group of animals that pet cats belong to emerged around 12 million years ago.
The biggest wildcat today is the Siberian Tiger. It can be more than 12 feet (3.6 m) long (about the size of a small car) and weigh up to 700 pounds (317 kg).

Cats have 300 million neurons; dogs have about 160 million

A cat’s brain is biologically more similar to a human brain than it is to a dog’s. Both humans and cats have identical regions in their brains that are responsible for emotions.
Many Egyptians worshipped the goddess Bast, who had a woman’s body and a cat’s head.
Mohammed loved cats and reportedly his favorite cat, Muezza, was a tabby. Legend says that tabby cats have an “M” for Mohammed on top of their heads because Mohammad would often rest his hand on the cat’s head.
While many parts of Europe and North America consider the black cat a sign of bad luck, in Britain and Australia, black cats are considered lucky.
The most popular pedigreed cat is the Persian cat, followed by the Main Coon cat and the Siamese cat.
The smallest pedigreed cat is a Singapura, which can weigh just 4 lbs (1.8 kg), or about five large cans of cat food. The largest pedigreed cats are Maine Coon cats, which can weigh 25 lbs (11.3 kg), or nearly twice as much as an average cat weighs.
Some cats have survived falls of over 65 feet (20 meters), due largely to their “righting reflex.” The eyes and balance organs in the inner ear tell it where it is in space so the cat can land on its feet. Even cats without a tail have this ability.
Some Siamese cats appear cross-eyed because the nerves from the left side of the brain go to mostly the right eye and the nerves from the right side of the brain go mostly to the left eye. This causes some double vision, which the cat tries to correct by “crossing” its eyes.
Researchers believe the word “tabby” comes from Attabiyah, a neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq. Tabbies got their name because their striped coats resembled the famous wavy patterns in the silk produced in this city.
Cats have “nine lives” thanks to a flexible spine and powerful leg and back muscles

A cat can jump up to five times its own height in a single bound.
Cats hate the water because their fur does not insulate well when it’s wet. The Turkish Van, however, is one cat that likes swimming. Bred in central Asia, its coat has a unique texture that makes it water resistant.
The Egyptian Mau is probably the oldest breed of cat. In fact, the breed is so ancient that its name is the Egyptian word for “cat.”
The first commercially cloned pet was a cat named “Little Nicky.” He cost his owner $50,000, making him one of the most expensive cats ever.
A cat usually has about 12 whiskers on each side of its face.
A cat’s eyesight is both better and worse than humans. It is better because cats can see in much dimmer light and they have a wider peripheral view. It’s worse because they don’t see color as well as humans do. Scientists believe grass appears red to cats.
Spanish-Jewish folklore recounts that Adam’s first wife, Lilith, became a black vampire cat, sucking the blood from sleeping babies. This may be the root of the superstition that a cat will smother a sleeping baby or suck out the child’s breath.
Perhaps the most famous comic cat is the Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. With the ability to disappear, this mysterious character embodies the magic and sorcery historically associated with cats.
The smallest wildcat today is the Black-footed cat. The females are less than 20 inches (50 cm) long and can weigh as little as 2.5 lbs (1.2 kg).
On average, cats spend 2/3 of every day sleeping. That means a nine-year-old cat has been awake for only three years of its life.
Most cats sleep around 16 hours a day

In the original Italian version of Cinderella, the benevolent fairy godmother figure was a cat.
The little tufts of hair in a cat’s ear that help keep out dirt direct sounds into the ear, and insulate the ears are called “ear furnishings.”
The ability of a cat to find its way home is called “psi-traveling.” Experts think cats either use the angle of the sunlight to find their way or that cats have magnetized cells in their brains that act as compasses.
Isaac Newton invented the cat flap. Newton was experimenting in a pitch-black room. Spithead, one of his cats, kept opening the door and wrecking his experiment. The cat flap kept both Newton and Spithead happy.
The world’s rarest coffee, Kopi Luwak, comes from Indonesia where a wildcat known as the luwak lives. The cat eats coffee berries and the coffee beans inside pass through the stomach. The beans are harvested from the cat’s dung heaps and then cleaned and roasted. Kopi Luwak sells for about $500 for a 450 g (1 lb) bag.
A cat’s jaw can’t move sideways, so a cat can’t chew large chunks of food.
Cats don’t actually meow at each other, just at humans. Cats typically will spit, purr, and hiss at other cats.
Like humans, cats tend to favor one paw over another

Female cats tend to be right pawed, while male cats are more often left pawed. Interestingly, while 90% of humans are right handed, the remaining 10% of lefties also tend to be male.
A cat’s back is extremely flexible because it has up to 53 loosely fitting vertebrae. Humans only have 34.
All cats have claws, and all except the cheetah sheath them when at rest.
Two members of the cat family are distinct from all others: the clouded leopard and the cheetah. The clouded leopard does not roar like other big cats, nor does it groom or rest like small cats. The cheetah is unique because it is a running cat; all others are leaping cats. They are leaping cats because they slowly stalk their prey and then leap on it.
A cat lover is called an Ailurophilia (Greek: cat+lover).
In Japan, cats are thought to have the power to turn into super spirits when they die. This may be because according to the Buddhist religion, the body of the cat is the temporary resting place of very spiritual people.
Most cats had short hair until about 100 years ago, when it became fashionable to own cats and experiment with breeding.
One reason that kittens sleep so much is because a growth hormone is released only during sleep.
Cats have about 130,000 hairs per square inch (20,155 hairs per square centimeter).
The heaviest cat on record is Himmy, a Tabby from Queensland, Australia. He weighed nearly 47 pounds (21 kg). He died at the age of 10.
The oldest cat on record was Crème Puff from Austin, Texas, who lived from 1967 to August 6, 2005, three days after her 38th birthday. A cat typically can live up to 20 years, which is equivalent to about 96 human years.
The lightest cat on record is a blue point Himalayan called Tinker Toy, who weighed 1 pound, 6 ounces (616 g). Tinker Toy was 2.75 inches (7 cm) tall and 7.5 inches (19 cm) long.
Approximately 1/3 of cat owners think their pets are able to read their minds.

The smallest feline is a masterpiece.

– Leonardo da Vinci

The tiniest cat on record is Mr. Pebbles, a 2-year-old cat that weighed 3 lbs (1.3 k) and was 6.1 inches (15.5 cm) high.
A commemorative tower was built in Scotland for a cat named Towser, who caught nearly 30,000 mice in her lifetime.
In the 1750s, Europeans introduced cats into the Americas to control pests.
The first cat show was organized in 1871 in London. Cat shows later became a worldwide craze.
The first cartoon cat was Felix the Cat in 1919. In 1940, Tom and Jerry starred in the first theatrical cartoon “Puss Gets the Boot.” In 1981 Andrew Lloyd Weber created the musical Cats, based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.
The normal body temperature of a cat is between 100.5 ° and 102.5 °F. A cat is sick if its temperature goes below 100 ° or above 103 °F.
A cat has 230 bones in its body. A human has 206. A cat has no collarbone, so it can fit through any opening the size of its head.
Cats control the outer ear using 32 muscles; humans use 6

Cats have 32 muscles that control the outer ear (humans have only 6). A cat can independently rotate its ears 180 degrees.
A cat’s nose pad is ridged with a unique pattern, just like the fingerprint of a human.
If they have ample water, cats can tolerate temperatures up to 133 °F.
Foods that should not be given to cats include onions, garlic, green tomatoes, raw potatoes, chocolate, grapes, and raisins. Though milk is not toxic, it can cause an upset stomach and gas. Tylenol and aspirin are extremely toxic to cats, as are many common houseplants. Feeding cats dog food or canned tuna that’s for human consumption can cause malnutrition.
A 2007 Gallup poll revealed that both men and women were equally likely to own a cat.
A cat’s heart beats nearly twice as fast as a human heart, at 110 to 140 beats a minute.
In just seven years, a single pair of cats and their offspring could produce a staggering total of 420,000 kittens.
Relative to its body size, the clouded leopard has the biggest canines of all animals’ canines. Its dagger-like teeth can be as long as 1.8 inches (4.5 cm).
Cats spend nearly 1/3 of their waking hours cleaning themselves.
Grown cats have 30 teeth. Kittens have about 26 temporary teeth, which they lose when they are about 6 months old.
Cat paws act as tempetature regulators, shock absorbers, hunting and grooming tools, sensors, and more
Cats don’t have sweat glands over their bodies like humans do. Instead, they sweat only through their paws.
A cat called Dusty has the known record for the most kittens. She had more than 420 kittens in her lifetime.
The largest cat breed is the Ragdoll. Male Ragdolls weigh between 12 and 20 lbs (5.4-9.0 k). Females weigh between 10 and 15 lbs (4.5-6.8 k).
Cats are extremely sensitive to vibrations. Cats are said to detect earthquake tremors 10 or 15 minutes before humans can.
In contrast to dogs, cats have not undergone major changes during their domestication process.
A female cat is called a queen or a molly.
In the 1930s, two Russian biologists discovered that color change in Siamese kittens depend on their body temperature. Siamese cats carry albino genes that work only when the body temperature is above 98° F. If these kittens are left in a very warm room, their points won’t darken and they will stay a creamy white.
There are up to 60 million feral cats in the United States alone.
The oldest cat to give birth was Kitty who, at the age of 30, gave birth to two kittens. During her life, she gave birth to 218 kittens.
The most traveled cat is Hamlet, who escaped from his carrier while on a flight. He hid for seven weeks behind a panel on the airplane. By the time he was discovered, he had traveled nearly 373,000 miles (600,000 km).
In Holland’s embassy in Moscow, Russia, the staff noticed that the two Siamese cats kept meowing and clawing at the walls of the building. Their owners finally investigated, thinking they would find mice. Instead, they discovered microphones hidden by Russian spies. The cats heard the microphones when they turned on.
The most expensive cat was an Asian Leopard cat (ALC)-Domestic Shorthair (DSH) hybrid named Zeus. Zeus, who is 90% ALC and 10% DSH, has an asking price of £100,000 ($154,000).
The cat who holds the record for the longest non-fatal fall is Andy. He fell from the 16th floor of an apartment building (about 200 ft/.06 km) and survived.
Rome has more homeless cats per square mile than any other city in the world.
The richest cat is Blackie who was left £15 million by his owner, Ben Rea.
The claws on the cat’s back paws aren’t as sharp as the claws on the front paws because the claws in the back don’t retract and, consequently, become worn.
Cats can drink seawater.
There is a show in Iceland called “Keeping Up With the Kattarshians.” It’s a cat reality show that features 4 kittens who live together in fully-furnished “cat” house, Big Brother-style.
Researchers say your cat *does* know her name. She just doesn’t care.
The Hungarian word for “quotation marks” is “macskaköröm,” which literally translates to “cat claws.”