Cats offer you mystery, pleasure, and love, and it becomes easy to see how the world regards cats as wonderful pets. For new cat owners, learning these amazing facts about cats can give you great pleasure in the discovery.
Even if you already know all these facts, reading them grouped together can still afford you some enjoyment. Let’s take a look at a few, and you can say, “Yes, I knew that,” or “I didn’t know that one.” See how many you already had stored in the “cat data” part of your brain.
First, did you know you call a litter of kittens a “kindle?” Or, the name for a group of adult cats is a “clowder.” If you have joined my Facebook group, “A Clowder of Cat Ladies,” you undoubtedly have learned that one.
Here’s something interesting that I did not know. A cat can develop an allergy to humans! Sandy Williw, a veterinary internist, explained to Popular Science magazine that, in rare cases, the cat can develop an allergy to its owner.
In these cases, it might also be the cat’s reaction to perfume, soap, or laundry detergent, and not you.
The record for the oldest cat goes to Creme Puff, a Texas cat who resided with Jake Perry. She lived to the age of 38 years and three days. Mr. Perry also owned the previous record-holder, who lived to 34 years and two months.
If you spend a lot of time primping in front of the mirror, you may not spend as much time with this task as your cat. He spends at least fie hours a day with grooming and cleaning. And did you know that cats will also wash themselves to keep their body cool?
Have you ever noticed that sometimes after you pet your cat, he immediately starts to groom himself. Don’t take it personally. Kitty just wants to make sure his scent is uniquely his own. Nice to know — I always wondered if I had somehow offended him.
Fortunately for those of you who like to fix sweet desserts, you won’t have to worry about your cat wanting a share. They don’t taste sweet as we do. Besides, he has enough of a problem keeping his teeth clean anyway. Good thing he doesn’t like sweets. Lucky cat!
What makes cats so light on their feet? They are known as digitigrades, which means they walk on their toes. This characteristic gives them their accurate ability to pounce on their prey..
They can approach the prey with both speed and almost complete silence. This digitigrade ability explains why they can jump down from high places — the stance helps provide cats with shock absorbers upon landing.
This one gives you another good reason not to declaw your cat. If you remove his toes at the first joint, he can no longer walk on his toes. Just don’t ever declaw!
Don’t you find it amazing that cats can hunt in almost complete darkness? The back of his eye has a reflexive layer, called the tapetum lucidum. This layer collects all the available light out there, makes it more intense, and reflects it back out of the retina.
Creator thought of almost everything didn’t He? The cat doesn’t hunt in the daytime because he might become prey instead of predator. However, he has those magical headlamps in his eyes that make it possible for him to hunt after dark.
Your cat’s peripheral vision covers 200 degrees, which charts out to 20% more area than we humans can see peripherally. Though not good at seeing long distances, if kitty gets within 20 feet of his prey, he can see with absolute accuracy.
When it comes to sound, cats can hear more clearly than the family dog. The pinna, or triangular part of the ear, creates a funnel that grabs sounds and pulls them inward. Because of this feature of the cat’s ear, he can hear frequencies, both high and low, that we people as well as other animals most likely miss.
Because your cat has a detached collarbone,he can squeeze through incredibly small spaces but will receive no injuries.
Though the dog’s sense of smell beats out that of your cat, the kitty still does well. He has a sense of smell 14 times greater than humans.
Have you ever wondered, as I have, why a cat has a little extra belly pouch? It actually has a use. Yes, it gathers food, but it also protects kitty’s organs in a fight. It will also help the cat to move easier, as the pouch extends when he chases prey.
If you have a girl cat, she is most likely right-pawed, while a male cat favors the left paw. Maybe that’s why I like male cats — they are left-pawed and so am I.
Because they use a lot of energy to hunt, cats can sleep up to 70% of their lives. Once a cat becomes an indoor cat, the wiring for sleeping a great deal still operates in the cat, so he will still sleep much of his life away. But when he wakes up, watch out!
In case you missed this one in previous posts: Cats have an emotional center in their brains similar to humans. They think in the same patterns as we, and, like us, have both long- and short-term memory.
The cerebral cortex of cats, which has the function of processing cognitive information, proves much more complex than in a dog. It contains twice as many neurons as a dog’s brain, and cats have proven better at complex problem-solving. Because of these brain characteristics, cats might beat dogs in the “smarts” test.
A cat can traverse six times his body length in one jump. He has powerful muscles in his back legs to help with distance-jumping, and he uses his tail to help him balance. Quite a feat!
In hot weather, the cat releases heat by sweating through his paws. You can find wet paw-prints in hot summer months. The coat he always wears gets hot, and at times he will groom just to help cool himself.
Your cat doesn’t have a finger print, but his nose print serves that purpose. Each cat’s nose print is as unique as our fingerprints.
Did you know that a cat’s whiskers are covered in nerve cells and blood vessels that help him navigate his world. The width of his whiskers measure about the same as the width of his body, thus allowing him to measure a space to see if he can fit through it. DO NOT ever cut his whiskers, as they represent part of his navigation equipment.
I think you will agree that the cat has some exceptional qualities. People often don’t realize the uniqueness of their cat family member. Cherish your cat, and feel fortunate to have such an extraordinary creature sharing your home.
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I am continually amazed by a cat’s ability to jump or go from dead asleep to light speed down the hallway. It’s like they’re compressed coiled springs whose kinetic energy is suddenly released.
I had never noticed the left paw, right paw thing. I’ll have to start paying attention to that. I have one male and one female. That should be interesting. Thanks, Fran. I’m always learning something new and interesting about my favorite critter on in your posts.
Oh, Casey, I’m so glad the posts are helpful. I’m learning, too — every new post seems to give me some new tidbit of information. That’s a good thing.
Yes, cats are among the most interesting little critters. There are so many amazing things that they do. Thanks so much for commenting. It’s appreciated.