FACTS ABOUT CATS
They’re cute, fluffy, and playful. But they can also be sassy, feisty, and bossy.
They live with us and are affectionate. But they can also be independent and territorial.
What are they? Our favorite cats.
Cat owners already know a lot about their pets’ habits. But you’ve wondered why cats do certain peculiar things.
Here are 18 fun & interesting facts that you might not know about cats.
- Almost 40 million American households own cats. Statistically speaking, cats are the #2 most popular pet in the US. If you know who holds the #1 spot, please comment down below.
- That said, however, there are still some 2 million cats that go to an animal shelter. This suggests that when circumstances change, people often send their pets to shelters. This is a good lesson for us. Before we start owning a cat, we need to think twice and weigh everything well, so that these wonderful creatures don’t later suffer because of our inconsistency. Only 24% of cats that enter shelters get adopted.
- Did you know you can understand what your cat’s feeling by his ears? A cat has 32 muscles in its ears. The position of their ears can often tell us how they’re feeling.
For example: if your cat’s ears are straight up and forward-facing, it means he is alert and interested. You may notice this when he’s looking at a bird outside the window or when you walk into the room. If the cat’s ears are flattened down and facing backward, oftentimes it means your cat is nervous, anxious or fearful. Therefore, watch your cat’s ears to understand what he’s feeling.
- Do you like to sleep? People usually sleep about 33% per cent of their entire life. But cats sleep about 75% per cent of their life. That’s about 16-20 hours a day. Do you know why?
Despite the stereotype, it’s not because they’re lazy. Cat behavior expert Pam Johnson-Bennett stated, “Hunting requires energy and when you add the stress factor of cats being both predator and prey (because of their size), the cat needs to make sure he’s well prepared … Sleep is needed to conserve energy and recharge for the next hunt.”
Cats sleep for both long and short periods of time. The term “cat nap” originates from their brief naps, usually between 5-30 minutes. However even in their short naps, they remain on high alert.
Can you imagine sleeping each night but on high alert always? That would be exhausting.
- Have you ever been to Outer Space? Most of us haven’t. But can you believe even a cat has? The first cat in outer space was Felicette, aka Astrocat. France sent her out in 1963.
- A cat usually has 12 whiskers on each side of its face.
- A single pair of cats and their offspring can produce 420,000 kittens in just 7 years. Imagine that! If my mom had that many kids … well, never mind …
- Cats can’t taste sweetness. Their tongues lack the sweet gene, so they don’t have functioning taste receptor that detects or signals sweetness. Cats are the only mammals known to lack this gene. However, because they lack this gene as well as other digestive components that metabolize carbohydrates, cats may have health issues from cat food, which typically contain 20% carbs. This may be the reason why cats are getting diabetes, according to Joe Brand, biochemist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.
- Did you know that cats meow to communicate with people. But interestingly, adult cats rarely meow to fellow cats although they do purr a lot.
- When a cats meows, do you think he wants a bowl of milk? Actually, did you know that cats are often lactose-intolerant?
- Female cats are typically right-handed – I mean – rightpawed. Male cats are usually left-pawed.
- Cats are naturally attracted to high places. It’s not uncommon for cats to fall. When a cat falls, it employs its “righting reflex”. This occurs when the cat twists its body to turns itself upright, and then lands on its feet. A cat can do this because it has an unusually flexible backbone and no functional collarbone. The minimum height needed for a cat to do this safely is about 3 feet.
In addition, a cat’s small size, light bones, and thick fur allow them to reduce terminal velocity when it falls from greater heights. When a cat falls, it spreads out its body horizontally to increase drag and reduce injury by evenly distributing the impact throughout its body.
However it has been argued that after a cat reaches terminal velocity, a cat orients its limb horiztonally so that its body hits the ground first. A study was done in 1987 that showed that a cat reaches terminal velocity at 5 stories. From that height a cat would relax and spread its body
- A cat can make about 100 different sounds. Contrast that to dogs, which create only 10 sounds.
- A cat’s nose has a unique pattern, just like humans have unique fingerprints. So I guess that means, if you kept a record of your cat’s nose print, you can identify him if he’s lost and then found.
- Urban legend has it that Isaac Newton invented the cat door. According to the story, Newton created a large opening for his adult cat and a smaller one for the kittens. He didn’t realize the kittens would follow its mother through the larger one.
- An average cat can jump up to 6x its length, or over 8 feet in a single jump. How far can you jump? Write down in the comments below.
- Cats only sweat through their paws. They don’t have sweat glands all over their bodies as humans do. It’s one of the reasons why cats lick themselves in warm weather. Licking adds saliva on their fur, which cool down the cats as they evaporate in warmer weather.
- Cats have superior hearing than humans. They can hear pitches as high as 64 kHz. Compare that to humans who can hear up to 20 kHz.
- Cat can rotate their ears 180 degrees. They can also move each ear separately.
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