Cats are, in my opinion, the most beloved animal in the world. Their prominent characteristics of affection, love, and friendliness have long defined them as the best companion for human beings.
There is an unlimited number of funny videos, photos, and stories that prove my viewpoint.
However, there is surely more to them than only the label of a “man’s best companion” and there are many things out there which you may not be knowledgeable about.
For this reason, we delved deep into and gathered some amazing facts about cats that you may find very interesting. So, scroll down and enjoy them.
1-Some ginger tabby cats have freckles around their mouth and even on their eyelids.
2-While we have 12 muscles in our ears, cats have 32! Of course, this triples their hearing abilities and allows them to hear you grabbing their favorite food from the fridge — even if they’re 5 doors away. These same muscles are responsible for the ears to rotate 180?!
3-In 1963, a cat named Félicette was sent to space from France. French specialists even implanted electrodes in her brain to track all her neurological signals.
Luckily, Félicette survived the trip and became the first cat to go to space!
4-Cats usually have 5 toes on each of their front paws and 4 toes on their back paws. Still, the number of toes can vary. For example, the cat with the most toes had 8 of them on every single one of its paws, which makes 32 toes in total!
5-Back in 2007, a calico cat named Tama became a station master and greeted passengers at Kishi Station. Needless to say, the number of passengers increased by 17% that month, and everybody adored beautiful Tama.
The cat died in 2015 of heart failure when she was 16 years old.
6-While we subconsciously view a black cat as a sign of bad luck, in England, Asia, France, and many other countries, they’re considered to bring prosperity and happiness!
7-A cat’s whiskers aren’t there to make them extra cute! They’re covered in numerous nerve cells and blood vessels.
This makes cats notice any changes around them and figure out whether they can fit into a certain space as their whiskers have a span of the width of their body.
8-No matter what kind of music you love, your cat most probably can’t stand the sound of it! However, there’s something your friend will like: a special album that composer David Teie created with animal scientists called Music for Cats. Just play your cat something from this album and see what happens!
9-Cats possess a very special reflective layer in their eyes that is called the tapetum lucidum.
This layer readily intensifies incoming light and allows cats to see around 6 times better than we do in the dark and low light. Maybe it should’ve been called “a cat eye” instead of “an eagle eye”?
10-A cat named Stubbs was mayor of the small town of Talkeetna in Alaska for 15 years.
During the election, Stubbs was a cute kitten, but residents later confessed that they were perfectly happy with their choice, saying that Stubbs was probably the best mayor they’ve ever had!
11-Cats have been domesticated for about 4,000 years! Before that, they were one of the greatest hunters feared by numerous species.
12-A cat needs to interact with humans from about 2 weeks old so it can be sociable toward people. Even after that, you still have time until a cat turns about 16 weeks old. Then, it’s almost impossible to domesticate it.
13-A kindle is a group of kittens; and a clowder is a group of adult cats.
A female cat is referred to as a queen, and a male cat is known as tom.
14-Your cat’s purrs and meows are only a tiny part of their vocal abilities. In fact, cats can make up to 100 different sounds!
15-By the way, cats only meow at humans. With other animals, they hiss, spit, and purr— but never meow. They also touch noses to greet each other.
16-When it comes to a cat’s development, the first year of its life is equal to the first 15 human years.
When a cat turns 2, it turns 25 in human years. And after the third year of its life, it gets to a place we all know about: one cat year for every 7 human years!
17-The acne issue is so common among cats. They usually end up developing blackheads on their chins, which is widely known as feline acne.
18-Since cats basically developed as animals of the desert, they can deal with heat very well. Still, if they feel especially hot or frightened, they secretly sweat through their paws.
19-Most cats are liable to spend about two-thirds of their day sleeping. So the average 12-year-old cat has been fully awake for only 4 years of its life! Cats also spend about one-third of their waking hours cleaning themselves up.
20-A cat’s sense of smell is truly superb — it’s approximately 14 times greater than that of the average human!
21-Cats are known to easily jump about 6 times their own length! They can do this because of the strong muscles in their back legs, which help them to jump onto any surface they like.
22-Cats have a lower social IQ than dogs, but they compensate perfectly by having better long-term memory and the ability to solve difficult cognitive problems.
23-Biologically, a cat’s brain is somehow similar to ours. We have almost identical brain regions that take care of our emotions, so there’s a chance that you and your furry friend feel the same way sometimes.
24-Researchers from the University of Lincoln found that cats love it when you touch their faces, especially around their lips, chin, and cheeks.
And they absolutely hate it when someone pets them at the base of their tail! It makes them feel very anxious and uncomfortable, so don’t do that.
25-Creme Puff was The oldest recorded cat. This beauty was born in 1967 and lived for 38 years! Of course, Creme Puff made it into an edition of Guinness World Records and is still remembered among cat lovers everywhere.
26-Cats actually purr thanks to their own special vocal cords! It’s basically a small group of thin bones located between the base of a cat’s skull and the root of its tongue.
When a cat feels happy, these muscles contract and create the vibration of the vocal folds that we call purring.
27-In the cat world, the concept of left- or right-handedness is a thing too! Most cats are actually left-pawed!
28-Psychologists say that people who have cats are logical, practical, and introverted. They also affirm that cat lovers say way more stories about their furry friends than dog owners.
29-Experts confirm that living with a cat helps relieve stress, anxiety, and depression. All this lowers your blood pressure and protects your body from possible heart problems, including a stroke.
30-According to statistics, only 24% of kittens from animal shelters get adopted. Maybe it’s time to change that figure and get yourself a furry friend of your own. You definitely won’t regret having such a cute little companion!
