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- Both
humans and cats have identical regions in the
brain responsible for emotion.
- A
cat's brain is more similar to a man's brain
than that of a dog.
- A cat
has more bones than a human; humans have 206,
but the cat has 230 (some cites list 245 bones,
and state that bones may fuse together as the
cat ages).
- Cats
have 30 vertebrae (humans have 33
vertebrae during early development; 26 after the
sacral and coccygeal regions fuse)
- The
cat's clavicle, or collarbone, does not connect
with other bones but is buried in the muscles of
the shoulder region. This lack of
a functioning collarbone allows them to fit
through any opening the size of their head.
- The
cat has 500 skeletal muscles (humans have 650).
- Cats have 32 muscles that control the
outer ear (compared to human's 6 muscles each).
A cat can rotate its ears independently 180
degrees, and can turn in the direction of sound
10 times faster than those of the best watchdog.
- Cats' hearing is much more sensitive
than humans and dogs.
- Cats' hearing stops at 65 khz
(kilohertz); humans' hearing stops at 20 khz.
- A cat sees about 6 times better than a
human at night, and needs 1/6 the amount of of
light that a human does - it has a layer of
extra reflecting cells which absorb light.
- Recent studies have shown that cats
can see blue and green. There is disagreement as
to whether they can see red.
- A cat's field of vision is about 200
degrees.
- Unlike
humans,
cats do not need to blink their eyes on a
regular basis to keep their eyes lubricated.
- Blue-eyed, pure white cats are
frequently deaf.
- It may take as long as 2 weeks for a
kitten to be able to hear well. Their eyes
usually open between 7 and 10 days, but
sometimes it happens in as little as 2 days.
- Cats
can
judge within 3 inches the precise location of a
sound being made 1 yard away.
- Cats
can
be right-pawed or left-pawed.
- A
cat cannot see directly under its nose.
- Almost 10% of a cat's bones are in its
tail, and the tail is used to maintain balance.
- The domestic cat is the only species
able to hold its tail vertically while walking.
You can also learn about your cat's present
state of mind by observing the posture of his tail.
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- If
a cat is frightened, the hair stands up fairly
evenly all over the body; when the cat is
threatened or is ready to attack, the hair
stands up only in a narrow band along the spine
and tail.
- A
cat has approximately 60 to 80 million olfactory
cells (a human has between 5 and 20 million).
- Cats have a special scent organ
located in the roof of their mouth, called the
Jacobson's organ. It analyzes smells - and is
the reason why you will sometimes see your cat
"sneer" (called the flehmen response or
flehming) when they encounter a strong odor.
- Cats
dislike
citrus scent.
- A cat has a total of 24 whiskers, 4
rows of whiskers on each side. The upper two
rows can move independently of the bottom two
rows.
- Cats have 30 teeth (12 incisors, 10
premolars, 4 canines, and 4 molars), while dogs
have 42. Kittens have baby teeth, which are
replaced by permanent teeth around the age of 7
months.
- A
cat's jaw has only up and down motion; it does
not have any lateral, side to side motion, like
dogs and humans.
- A cat's tongue has tiny barbs on it.
- Cats
lap
liquid from the underside of their tongue, not
from the top.
- Cats purr at the same frequency as an
idling diesel engine, about 26 cycles per
second.
- Domestic cats purr both when inhaling
and when exhaling.
- The cat's front paw has 5 toes, but
the back paws have 4. Some cats are born with as
many as 7 front toes and extra back toes
(polydactl).
- Cats walk on their toes.
- A domestic cat can sprint at about 31
miles per hour.
- A kitten will typically weigh about 3
ounces at birth. The typical male housecat
will weigh between 7 and 9 pounds,
slightly less for female housecats.
- Cats take between 20-40 breaths per
minute.
- Normal body temperature for a cat is
102 degrees F.
- A cat's normal pulse is 140-240 beats
per minute, with an average of 195.
- Cat's urine glows under a black light.
- Cats lose almost as much fluid in the
saliva while grooming themselves as they do
through urination.
- A
cat has two vocal chords, and can make over 100
sounds.
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- Miacis, the primitive ancestor of
cats, was a small, tree-living creature of the
late Eocene period, some 45 to 50 million years
ago.
- Phoenician cargo ships are thought to
have brought the first domesticated cats to
Europe in about 900 BC.
- The first true cats came into
existence about 12 million years ago and were
the Proailurus.
- Experts
traditionally thought that the Egyptians were
the first to domesticate the cat, some 3,600
years ago. But recent genetic and
archaeological discoveries indicate that cat
domestication began in the Fertile Crescent,
perhaps around 10,000 years ago, when
agriculture was getting under way. (per
Scientific American, 6/10/2009)
- Ancient Egyptian family members shaved
their eyebrows in mourning when the family cat
died.
- In
Siam, the cat was so revered that one rode in a
chariot at the head of a parade celebrating the
new king.
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- The Pilgrims were the first to
introduce cats to North America.
- The first breeding pair of Siamese
cats arrived in England in 1884.
- The first formal cat show was held in
England in 1871; in America, in 1895.
- The Maine Coon cat is America's only
natural breed of domestic feline. It is 4 to 5
times larger than the Singapura, the smallest
breed of cat.
- There are approximately 100 breeds of
cat.
- The life expectancy of cats has nearly
doubled since 1930 - from 8 to 16 years.
- Cats
have
been
domesticated
for
half as long as dogs have been.
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- Cats respond most readily to names
that end in an "ee" sound.
- The female cat reaches sexual maturity
within 6 to 10 months; most veterinarians
suggest spaying the female at 5 months, before
her first heat period. The male cat usually
reaches sexual maturity between 9 and 12 months.
- Female cats are "polyestrous," which
means they may have many heat periods over the
course of a year. A heat period lasts about 4 to
7 days if the female is bred; if she is not, the
heat period lasts longer and recurs at regular
intervals.
- A female cat will be pregnant for
approximately 9 weeks - between 62 and 65 days
from conception to delivery.
- Female felines are "superfecund,"
which means that each of the kittens in her
litter can have a different father.
- Many cats love having their forehead
gently stroked.
- If a cat is frightened, put your hand
over its eyes and forehead, or let him bury his
head in your armpit to help calm him.
- A cat will tremble or shiver when it
is in extreme pain.
- Cats should not be fed tuna
exclusively, as it lacks taurine, an essential
nutrient required for good feline
health.
- Purring does not always indicate that
a cat is happy and healthy - some cats will purr
loudly when they are terrified or in pain.
- Not every cat gets "high" from catnip.
If the cat doesn't have a specific gene, it
won't react (about 20% do not have the gene).
Catnip is non-addictive.
- Cats must have fat in their diet
because they can't produce it on their own.
- While many cats enjoy milk, it will
give some cats diarrhea.
- A cat will spend nearly 30% of her
life grooming herself.
- When a domestic cat goes after mice,
about 1 pounce in 3 results in a catch.
- Mature cats with no health problems
are in deep sleep 15 percent of their lives.
They are in light sleep 50 percent of the time.
That leaves just 35 percent awake time, or
roughly 6-8 hours a day.
- Cats
come
back to full alertness from the sleep state
faster than any other creature.
- A cat can jump 5 times as high as it
is tall.
- Cats
can
jump up to 7 times their tail length.
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- Spaying a female before her first or
second heat will greatly reduce the threat of
mammary cancer and uterine disease. A cat does
not need to have at least 1 litter to be
healthy, nor will they "miss" motherhood. A
tabby named "Dusty" gave birth to 420 documented
kittens in her lifetime, while "Kitty" gave
birth to 2 kittens at the age of 30, having
given birth to a documented 218 kittens in her
lifetime.
- Neutering a male cat will, in almost
all cases, stop him from spraying (territorial
marking), fighting with other males (at least
over females), as well as lengthen his life and
improve its quality.
- Declawing a
cat is the same as cutting a human's fingers off
at the knuckle. There are several alternatives
to a complete declawing, including trimming or a
less radical (though more involved) surgery to
remove the claws. Instead, train your cat to use
a scratching post.
- The average lifespan of an
outdoor-only (feral and non-feral) is about 3
years; an indoor-only cat can live 16 years and
longer. Some cats have been documented to have a
longevity of 34 years.
- Cats with long, lean bodies are more
likely to be outgoing, and more protective and
vocal than those with a stocky build.
- A steady diet of dog food may cause
blindness in your cat - it lacks taurine.
Related page: Cat
Munchies
- An estimated 50% of today's cat owners
never take their cats to a veterinarian for
health care. Too, because cats tend to keep
their problems to themselves, many owners think
their cat is perfectly healthy when actually
they may be suffering from a life-threatening
disease. Therefore, cats, on an average, are
much sicker than dogs by the time they are
brought to your veterinarian for
treatment.
- Never give your cat aspirin unless
specifically prescribed by your veterinarian; it
can be fatal. Never ever give Tylenol to a
cat. And be sure to keep anti-freeze away
from all animals - it's sweet and enticing, but
deadly poison. Related pages: Substances that are Toxic
to Cats; Plants that
are Toxic to Cats; First Aid Kit for
your Cat; First
Aid for Plant Poisoning
- Most cats adore sardines.
- A
cat uses its whiskers for measuring
distances. The whiskers of a cat are
capable of registering very small changes in air
pressure.
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- It has been scientifically proven that
stroking a cat can lower one's blood pressure.
- In 1987, cats overtook dogs as the
number one pet in America (about 50 million cats
resided in 24 million homes in 1986). About 37%
of American homes today have at least one cat.
- If your cat snores or rolls over on
his back to expose his belly, it means he trusts
you.
- Cats respond better to women than to
men, probably due to the fact that women's
voices have a higher pitch.
- In an average year, cat owners in the
United States spend over $2 billion on cat food.
- According to a Gallup poll, most
American pet owners obtain their cats by
adopting strays.
- When your cats rubs up against you,
she is actually marking you as "hers" with her
scent. If your cat pushes his face against your
head, it is a sign of acceptance and affection.
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- Contrary to popular belief, people are
not allergic to cat fur, dander, saliva, or
urine - they are allergic to "sebum," a fatty
substance secreted by the cat's sebaceous
glands. More interesting, someone who is
allergic to one cat may not be allergic to
another cat. Though there isn't (yet) a way of
predicting which cat is more likely to cause
allergic reactions, it has been proven that male
cats shed much greater amounts of allergen than
females. A neutered male, however, sheds much
less than a non-neutered male.
- Cat bites are more likely to become
infected than dog bites.
- In
just 7 years, one un-spayed female cat and one
un-neutered male cat and their offspring can
result in 420,000 kittens.
- Some notable people who disliked
cats: Napoleon Bonaparte, Dwight D.
Eisenhower, Hitler.
- Related page: A Few Famous Cat Lovers
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- Six-toed kittens are so common in
Boston and surrounding areas of Massachusetts
that experts consider it an established
mutation.
- The silks created by weavers in
Baghdad were inspired by the beautiful and
varied colors and markings of cat coats. These
fabrics were called "tabby" by European traders.
- Cat families usually play best in even
numbers. Cats and kittens should be acquired in
pairs whenever possible.
- Cats
lived
with
soldiers
in
trenches, where they killed mice during World
War I.
- A
male cat is called a "tom" (or a "gib," if
neutered), and a female is called a "molly" or
"queen." The father of a cat is its "sire,"
and mother is its "dam." An immature cat of
either sex is called a "kitten." A group of
cats is a "clowder."
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- Cat
litter
was
"invented"
in
1947 when Edward Lowe asked his neighbor to try
a dried, granulated clay used to sop up grease
spills in factories. (In 1990, Mr. Lowe sold his
business for $200 million.) Related
page: Other
Things You Can Do with Kitty Litter
- The
cat appears to be the only domestic companion
animal not mentioned in the Bible. *
- The
cat does not exist in the Chinese Zodiac, but it
does in the Vietnamese version, instead of
rabbit. See Folklore,
Superstitions, and Proverbs.
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