Cats are the second most commonly owned pets worldwide. Data of year 2018 shows that over 470 million dogs kept as pets worldwide. Cats, on the other hand, come at second position as there were 370 million pet cats worldwide. Cat is small carnivorous mammal and belongs to family Felidae. Interestingly, it is the only domesticated species of its family; rest if the others are wild species. People love these fur balls and many own them as emotional support pets. However, there are so many things that you may not know about your cat. This article brings you amazing and interesting facts about cats that you probably did not know before.
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Top 23 Amazing and Interesting Facts About Cats
1. The oldest known domestic cat existed 9,500 years ago!
Archeological evidences of domestic cats have been found in Egypt. In 2004, French archaeologists discovered a 9,500 year old cat grave in Cyprus.2. Cats were sacred in Egyptians dynasty!
Evidences of domestic cats have been found among funerary goods dating to the 12th Dynasty. At the archeological sites, cat’s cemeteries have been identified. Cats were praised for killing venomous snakes. Egyptians consider the cats sacred and mystical creatures that brought good luck and prosperity to their owners. Thus, cats were kept in homes and after they died, their bodies were mummified. It is also said that when a pet cat passed away, Egyptians would shave off their eyebrow in mourning.
3. Domestic Cat’s genome is almost identical to the tiger!
Domestic cats have 95.6% genome similarity with tigers. Thus, their behavior is quite similar to their wild ancestors. For instance, their prey stalking, pouncing, scratching etc. These are really amazing and interesting facts about cats!!4. Cats have more bones than humans!
We humans have 206 bones in body. A cat has total 230 bones in its body. A cat’s collarbone is not connected to rest of bones as its bones are embedded in shoulder region.5. White cats are likely to be deaf!
If a cat’s fur is purely white and it has blue eyes; it is more prone to deafness. This happens due to inheritance of an autosomal recessive gene, gene W.
6. Average lifespan of a cat!
Average life span of cats is 2-16 years. However, world’s oldest cat was 38 years old. A cat spends 70% of its life sleeping. It means it usually sleeps 12-16 hours daily. Moreover, cat spends 15% of its life in grooming itself. Cats grooming process helps it to regulate body temperature and maintain blood flow and thus it makes it feel relaxed.
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7. World’s longest and tallest cats!
The size and weight of the cats vary from breed to breed. Generally, pet cats have small to medium built. However, world’s longest cat was 48.5 inches long. It was a Maine Coon breed. World’s tallest cat was 19.05 inches tall.8. Presence of extra toes - Cats can be polydactyl!!
In general, a cat has total 18 toes (5 on each front paw and 4 on each back paw). However, sometime, a cat may have more than 18 toes. If a cat is having extra toes, it is named as “polydactyl”. The maximum number of toes in cat, ever recorded was 38.
9. Never ever trim your cat’s whiskers!
Cats use their whiskers to “feel” the environment. Moreover, a cat’s whiskers signify its mood. Usually, when cat feel threatened and scared its whiskers point backward. While in hunting mood, it puts its whiskers forward. Therefore, you should never trim cat’s whiskers.10. Cats depend on sense of smell for its survival – have an extra olfactory organ as well
You cat can smell 9-16 times better than you. This is because a cat’s olfactory epithelium is about 20 cm2 larger than humans. Interestingly, there are approximately 45 - 200 million odor-sensitive cells in cat’s nose. In addition to this, cats have additional scent organ, vomeronasal, in their mouth palate. With its sharp sense of smell, cat sniffs food, potential mate, external threat and danger as well as establishes its territory. This is one of truly amazing and interesting facts about cats.11. Cats move their right feet first when walking
Have you ever noticed your cat’s cat walk? Well it’s interesting that their walking pattern is quite unique. Cats move both of their right paws first followed by both left paws. None of the other animals except giraffe and camels walk like this. Amazing!!
12. Male cats are often lefty!
Though it’s not a hard and fast rule but usually male cats are left-pawed. Female cats are typically right-pawed. Surprisingly, some cats can be ambidextrous, like humans.13. They do not like to share their litter box!
Cats are fastidious and choosy about their litter box. Therefore, these are easy to toilet-trained. But if you have more than one cat, have separate litter box for each.14. Why do cats “make biscuits”?
Kneading is common behavior of cats that is often called as “making biscuits”. Well kneading signifies cat’s relaxed mood, contentment and happiness.15. Fun facts about cat’s communication
- Apparently “meow” is not cat-to-cat communication cue. It’s an adaption of cats for cat-to-human communication. Cats communicate with each other by means of facial expression, body language and scent etc.
- When your cat rubs it face and body against you, it actually marks you as its “territory” - MY hooman!! Isn’t it adorable?
- Cat’s hissing is “stay away” signal. It indicates its discomfort, fear and threat of other animals.
- Cats have more than 100 vocalizations. On the other hand, dogs have only 10 vocalizations.
- Your cat is likely to attack your ankle/feet if it’s bored.
16. Cat’s purring – a healing mechanism?
Cat’s purring is often considered a self-soothing behavior. However, cats purr when they feel scared, ill and distressed. A study published in the Journal of Acoustic Society of America, reveals that cat purring frequency ranges between 25-150 Hz. What’s more interesting about it is that these frequencies correspond to vibrational/electrical frequencies used in treatment of certain health concern. It includes bones fractures, pain, osteoporosis, dyspnea, and wounds. Thus, it is hypothesized that cats purring can help accelerate the healing process and thus prove advantageous.17. Catnip makes cats high!!
Nepeta cataria, commonly known as catnip is perennial herb that belongs to family Lamiaceae. Catnip produces a chemical, “nepetalactone” that attracts cats. Sensitivity to catnip is genetic in cats. Cats usually have positive expense with catnip. Its chemical constituent nepetalactone helps the cats reduce anxiety and even relieve pain. Apparently, this chemical produces similar effect as that of marijuana in humans. Therefore, sometimes veterinarians recommend using the catnip to help with separation anxiety if you have to leave your cat at home for long period of time. Catnip usually makes cat relaxed and a bit more playful. The effects can last up to 15 minutes.
18. Isaac Newton invented the cat door
Sir Isaac Newton, not only discovered the law of gravity, but also invented the first cat door. It is said that while working on his experiments at Cambridge University, his pet cat constantly interrupted him by scratching at the door. Annoyed, he asked a carpenter to saw two holes in the door; one for cat and other for kittens. So, this was probably the first ever cat door.19. Cats love to groom others too!!
On average, a cat spends about one third of its life in grooming. Interestingly, cats like to groom other cats too and this behavior is termed as “allogrooming”
20. The mystery of green cat!
Green is not the usual color of cat’s fur. However, a kitty was born Denmark, in 1995 and surprisingly its fur was green. A five year old girl found the kitten and took it to her home. Initially, she tried to wash out the green color off the cat but had no success. The kitten was taken to the vet by the family who suggested that the kitty had “copper patina”. This happens due to excessive copper in water pipes. The girl named the cat “miss greeny”. Miss greeny became a celebrity for a while but gradually she moulted her coat and the new fur was not green anymore. This was because the cat was not exposed to copper contaminated water.
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