50 Amazing Facts About Cats!

If you think you really know well your pet cat, then you're in for a big surprise after reading this article!

• Cat has 290 bones in its body and 517 muscles, but has no collarbone. So cat can easily fits through any opening, the size of their head.

• A cat’s heart beats 20-40 times a minute and has a normal body temperature of approximately 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Cats have 5 toes on their front paws and 4 toes on the back paws. They walk using their toes and  tails for balancing.
• Just like humans, cats are either right handed or left handed. Only 40% of cats are ambidextrous.

• Cats have no sweat glands, so they don’t sweat! And did you know that a cat cannot move its jaw from side to side!

• Did you know that most cats do not have eyelashes, however they have a third eyelid. It's called a haw and you will probably only see it when your cat is sick.

• A cat can rotate its ear up to 180 degrees. It has 30 muscles in each ear, and use twelve or more muscles to control the ear movement.

• Cats have more than 100 different vocal sounds at their disposal and purr at the rate of 26 cycles per minute.

• The cat's brain needs so much energy to function that over twenty percent of blood that the heart pumps goes immediately to it.

• Do you know that a cat taken far from its home will likely be able to return.  The reason: cats have a homing ability that uses its biological clock, the angle of the sun, and the Earth's magnetic field.

• Cats see 6 times better than human at night. Cats’ peripheral vision is about 285 degrees, so they can see up to 120 feet away.

• Cats can see objects in pitch-black dark, because their eyes take light in and reflect it back out … like a flashlight!

• Did you know that the light displayed from your television could make your cat shed fur?

• Cats are partially color blind and don't see "details" very well. To cats, a person may appear foggy when standing in front of them.

• All cats are born with blue eyes and come in three shapes: round, slanted and almond. Their adult eyes color will begin to show up in 3 to 12 weeks.

• White cats whose eyes remain blue have a high chance of deafness. Those with only one blue eye will likely be deaf only in the ear closest to their blue eye.

• Cats are the only animal that walk on their claws, not on the pads of their feet. Cats step with both left legs, then both right legs when they walk or run.

• Cats sleep at an average of sixteen hours a day! Throughout their life time, they are in deep sleep 15 percent of their lives, in light sleep 50 percent of the time, and awake for just 35 percent of their lives.

• At birth, kittens can't see or hear. After five days, they open their eyes and begin to develop their eyesight and hearing at approximately 2 weeks. Also, kittens begin dreaming at just over one week old and begin to walk at 20 days.

• Do you know that kittens lose their baby teeth!  At three to four months the incisors erupt. Then at four to six months, they lose their canines, premolars and molars. By the time they are seven months old, their adult teeth are fully developed.

• Do you know what makes some people allergic to cats? A protein (allergens)  in cats’ saliva people are allergic to and when a cat grooms and the saliva dries it can become airborn.

• Experiments show that softly talking to kittens as soon as they are born results in their growing up to be more confident and independent adults.

• Have you notice how rough your cat’s tongue is? The cat's tongue is covered with papillae that are used to groom its fur and to scrape meat off bones. Also, do you know the reason why you see them with their mouths open when they encounter a strong odor? It is because of a special scent organ present on the roof of their mouths.

• Cats squeeze their eyes closed and knead with their paws when they're happy.

• Did you know that cats like female humans better than male humans? Researchers believe it's because women have a higher pitch voice then men.

• Cats roll on their backs and rubs against your legs to show affection. They expose their bellies like this only when they feel totally secure.

• When startled cats can jump straight into the air from five to seven times its own height. As a comparison, a human would have to jump twenty-nine feet to match this standing high jump.

• Cats have 24 whiskers that are very sensitive, even to small changes in air currents. They are used to measure distance.

• Cats reached sexual maturity at four to six months of age. Cats can have up to 5 litters of kittens per year.

• Cat's urine glows under a black light; and if your cat started to urinate in inappropriate places, probably your cat has medical problems.

• The domestic cat is the only cat species able to hold its tail vertically while walking. All wild cats hold their tails horizontally or tucked between their legs while walking.

• Cats wag their tails when it is in a stage of conflict. The cat wants to do two things at once, but each impulse blocks the other.

• Your cat loves you and can "read" your moods. If you're sad or under stress, you may also notice a difference in your cat's behavior.

• Cats get their sense of security from your voice. Talk to your cats! And be mindful of your tone of voice. Cats know when you're yelling at them (though they may not care).

• Does your cat seem to sulk after you have scolded him? Well, not actually. The cat thought it was an act of aggression when you have made direct eye contact and stared. By breaking eye contact and walking away, has surrender to you, a normal cat reaction to feeling threatened.

• Does your cat snore? Don’t worry, your cat is just totally relaxed and a sign that he trusts you enough to let his guard down.

• Do you know how to discourage a cat from scratching up furniture? Rub it down with orange or lemon rinds because cats hate them!

• Have you ever seen a cat smells something and then makes a funny face, with the top lip curled back and the nose wrinkled? This is known as "flehming" and is caused by air taken in through the mouth pass into the nose.

• Cats are more aggressive in defending  its territory when they are not neutered or spayed.

• Cats lose almost as much fluid in the saliva while grooming themselves as they do through urination.

• An outdoor cat’s lifespan is 3 years while an indoor housecat can live 16 years or longer.

• Cats that live together sometimes rub each others heads to show that they have no intention of fighting and will almost never "meow" at another cat. This sound is reserved for humans.

• Cats with long, lean bodies are more likely to be outgoing personalities than their stockier cousins. They are also more protective of their home and more vocal and demonstrative.

• To keep kitty out of the dirt of your houseplants, try placing aluminum foil over the dirt. Cats don't like the feel of it.

• Cats love high places. If a cat begins to fall, his inner ear canal (which controls balance) will help him right himself and land on his feet.

• Give your cat fresh water at least once a day. But remember, chlorine irritates sensitive parts of the cat's nose. So be sure to use a water purifier to remove excess chemicals!

• Never give your cat aspirin, unless advised to do so by your vet. Aspirin can cause hemorrhaging in the gastrointestinal tract.

• Onions and its derivatives are bad for your cat. One component of onions, n-propyldisulphide can injure the hemoglobin in feline red blood cells.

• Don't give kitty raw egg white. Raw egg whites contain an enzyme that breaks down the vitamin biotin, which is essential to cat health.

• The fumes from moth balls destroy a cat's liver cells. Use cedar in your closet instead.

• The smallest cat on record was Tinker Toy, a male Himalayan-Persian cat from Illinois. At full grown, the cat  was 7.25" long and 2.75" tall and weighs 1 pound, 8 ounces!

• The most number of kittens delivered was established in 1952, by a Texas Tabby cat  named Dusty. She had gave birth to more than 420 kittens before having her last litter at age 18.

• The richest cat in the Guinness Book of World Records is a pair of cats. In the early ‘60s, the pair inherited $415,000. However, the richest single cat is a white alley cat who inherited $250,000.

• According to the Guinness Book of World Records, an Australian cat named  Himmy, is the heaviest cat on record. At full grown, Himmy weighed 46 pounds, 15.25 ounces in 1986. Himmy's waist was 33 inches!

• A Persian cat from South Africa named Bluebell holds the record for the largest known litter (with all surviving). She gave birth to 14 kittens in one litter!

• The weirdest cat on record was a female called Mincha who went up a tree in Buenos Aires, Argentina and never set foot on the ground again until she died six years later. During those years, while living in the tree, Mincha, did managed to have three litters!

• Did you know that Morris, the celebrated  “9-Lives” poster kitty was actually discovered at an animal shelter in New England.

• The first major cat show in the United States was held in May of 1895 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It featured 176 cats, including two ocelots, two wildcats and three civets. A brown tabby female Maine Cat named Cosie, owned by Mr. Fred Brown, was named Best in Show.

• Sir Isaac Newton, discoverer of the principles of gravity, also invented the cat door.