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• A group of adult cats is known as a clowder or a pounce. A group of kittens is a kindle, a litter, or an intrigue!

• Cats were so loved by the Egyptians that they sometimes mummified a mouse to accompany the cat into the afterworld.

• A man named Sir Henry Wyat was sentenced to the Tower of London, at a time when prisoners generally starved to death. Sir Henry's kitty seemed to understand the situation because she snuck into the Tower, bringing him a freshly-killed pigeon, every day. When the king heard of this, he must have felt sad for the kitty, because he immediately set Sir Henry free.

• The small patch of white fur on a cat's chest is known as a "locket".

• Cats are the sleepiest of all mammals. If you total up all the cat naps, your cat sleeps about 16 hours a day!

• Cats offer sandpaper kisses due to tiny knobs called papillae on the surface of their tongues. They are shaped like backward hooks and are designed to hold food and to provide the abrasiveness cats need for good grooming.

• Cats do walk differently from dogs! Cats, along with giraffes and camels, are the only animals with a gait in which front and hind legs move together first on one side, then on the other. Cats also are the only clawed creatures that walk on their claws rather than their paw pads. Cats are frequently born with six or more toes on one paw.

• Cats’ whiskers, so long and stiff, should never be trimmed. Cats use their whiskers to find their way in the dark, determine whether or not he/she can get into or out of a tight place, and a host of other navigation tasks.

• Cats can’t really see in the dark and their daytime vision is best described as “fair” – but they can see better than their human families in semidarkness. Their eyes don’t really shine in the dark, either. Cats’ eyes contain highly reflective cells that collect light from very dim sources. When you flash a light on a cat in the darkness, these reflective cells make it appear that their eyes are glowing. Long thought to be color-blind, recent studies indicate that cats can distinguish between some basic colors when these colors are paired.

• A cat’s hearing rates as one of the sharpest in all the animal kingdom. If you cat is always waiting for you at the door, the reason is that s/he can hear your footsteps from hundreds of feet away.

• A domestic cat has eighteen claws: five on each of its front paws and four on each of its back paws.

• People who own pets live longer, have less stress, and have fewer heart attacks.

• Cats love to chew on grass, catnip, cat-thyme, parsley or sage.

• There are two species of wild cats in African and Europe that still hunt - these two species both resemble domestic tabbies.

• The behaviors shown by most house cats have a parallel in the wild.

• Most cats with orange fur are male. It is extremely rare for a female cat to have orange fur.

• The average age for an indoor cat is 15 years, while the average age for an outdoor cat is only 3 to 5 years.

• The oldest cat on record was Puss, from England, who died in 1939 just one day after her 36th birthday.

• The strangest cat on record was a female called Mincho who went up a tree in Argentina and didn't come down again until she died six years later. While treed, she managed to have three litters with equally ambitious dads.

• A cat's normal body temperature is 101.5 degrees. This is slightly warmer than a humans.

• A cat will kill it's prey based on movement, but may not necessarily recognize that prey as food. Realizing that prey is food is a learned behavior.

• A cat's eyes, whiskers, and ears will tell you what "mood" your cat is in.
• The greatest number of mice killed by one cat is 28,899. Towser, a tortoise-shell tabby in charge of rodent control in Scotland, killed 28,899 mice in her 21 years. This is about four mice per day, every day, for 21 years. Towser died in 1987.

• The first cat show was held in 1895 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

• A falling cat will always right itself in a precise order. First the head will rotate, then the spine will twist and the rear legs will align, then the cat will arch its back to lessen the impact of the landing.

• "Sociable" cats will follow you from room to room to monitor your activities throughout the day.

• Siamese kittens are born white because of the heat inside the mother's uterus before birth. This heat keeps the kittens' hair from darkening on the points.

• The largest litter of kittens on record is 19, from a Burmese/Siamese cat in 1970.

• Kittens are born with both eyes and ears closed. When the eyes open, they are always blue at first. They change color over a period of months to the final eye color.

• Don't pick a kitten or a cat up by the scruff of its neck; only mother cats can do this safely, and only with their kittens.

• In the USA, the most popular names for female cats are Missy, Misty, Muffin, Patches, Fluffy, Tabitha, Tigger, Pumpkin and Samantha.

• Kitten's eyes usually open between 7 to 10 days after birth, but it occasionally they open within 2 or 3 days.

• Calico cats are almost always female. The gene in cats that causes the orange coat color is sexed linked, and is on the X sex chromosome. This gene may display orange or black. Thus, as female cat with two X chromosomes may have orange and black colors in its coat. A male, with only one X chromosome, can have only orange or black, not both.

• If a male cat is both orange and black it is (besides being extremely rare) sterile. To have both the orange and the black coat colors, the male cat must have all or part of both female X chromosomes. This unusual sex chromosome combination will render the male cat sterile.

• Cats have true fur, in that they have both an undercoat and an outer coat.

• The color of the points in Siamese cats is heat related. Cool areas are darker.

• A cat's heart beats twice as fast as a human heart, at 110 to 140 beats per minute.

• Cats have 290 bones in their bodies, and 517 muscles.

• A cat has five more vertebrae in its spinal column than a human does.

• Cats have AB blood groups just like humans.

• Cats lack a true collarbone. Because of this lack, cats can generally squeeze their bodies through any space they can get their heads through. You may have seen a cat testing the size of an opening by careful measurement with the head.

• Scientific studies have compared and examined both a cat's brain and a dog's brain. The results established that the cat's brain is more similar to a humans than that of a dog.

• Almost 10% of a cat's bones is in its tail. The cat's body contains 245 bones, but as they age some of the bones fuse together and the number of bones decreases.

• Cats have only thirty teeth. Kittens have baby teeth which are replaced by permanent fangs at around seven months of age.

• 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. For example: If your cat is in the doorway wanting to go outside, and you open the door to find it raining, the cat's tail will wag because of internal conflict. The cat wants to go outside, but doesn't want to go into the rain. Once the cat makes a decision and either returns to the house or leaves into the rain, the tail will immediately stop wagging.

• If your cat is near you, and her tail is quivering, this is the greatest expression of love your cat can give you. If her tail starts thrashing, her mood has changed and it's time to distance yourself from her.

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

• There are more than 500 million domestic cats in the world, with 33 different breeds.

• The American cat population reached nearly 68 million in 1996. American Demographics magazine estimates that's about 200 million kitty yawns per hour and a whopping 425 million catnaps each day!

• An average cat has 1 to 8 kittens per litter, and 2 to 3 litters per year.

• During her productive life, one female cat could have more than 100 kittens.

• In 1952, a Texas Tabby named Dusty set the record by having more than 420 kittens before having her last litter at age 18.

• A single pair of cats and their kittens can produce as many as 420,000 kittens in just seven years. Please spay or neuter your pet.

• The largest known litter (with all surviving) was that of a Persian in South Africa named Bluebell. Bluebell gave birth to 14 kittens in one litter.

• If left to her own devices, a female cat may have three to seven kittens every four months. This is why population control using neutering and spaying is so important.

• The most prolific cat was a tabby named Dusty of Bonham, she lived in Texas, and produced 420 kittens during her life time.

• The oldest feline mother Kitty, owned by George Johnstone of England produced in May 1987, two kittens at age 30. She died just short of her 32nd birthday, having given birth to a known total of 218 kittens during her lifetime.

• The smallest cat breed is the Singapura. Males weigh about six pounds while females weigh about four pounds.

• The heaviest domestic cat on record was a neutered male tabby named Himmy, weighing in at 46 lb. 15 ½ oz. (neck 15 in., waist 33 in., length 38 in.)

• The smallest domestic cat on record was a male blue point Himalayan-Persian cat named Tinker Toy, is just 2 ¾ in. tall and 7 ½ in. long.

• The smallest species of cat is native to Africa: the Black-Footed Cat (Felis Nigripes). Its top weight is 5.5 pounds which is considerably smaller than the average housecat.

• Cats can "read" your moods. If you're sad or stressed, you may also notice a difference in your cat's behavior.

• Cats knead with their paws when they're happy.

• A cat will almost never "meow" at another cat. This sound is reserved for humans.

• Cats do not think that they are little people. They think that we are big cats. This influences their behavior in many ways.

• Contrary to popular belief, the cat is a social animal. A pet cat will respond and answer to speech, and seems to enjoy human companionship.

• Cats can purr to express pain or fear in addition to expressing pleasure. Female cats often purr when they are in labour, as well as when they are nursing their kittens.

• A cat's sense of smell is 14 times stronger than a human's.

• Besides their noses, cats can smell with something called the "Jacobson's organ", located in the upper surface of their mouths. This is what cats are using when they scrunch up their eyes and open their mouths after sniffing something intently.

• The nose pad of a cat is ridged in a pattern that is unique, just like the fingerprint of a human.

• A cat cannot see directly under its nose. This is why the cat cannot seem to find tidbits on the floor.

• Cats have 32 muscles in each ear.

• Cats respond most readily to names that end in an "ee" sound.

• Cats have about 100 different vocalisation sounds. In comparison, dogs have about 10.

• A cats hearing is incredibly sharp. They can recognize their owners footsteps from hundreds of feet away.

• Though cats have an incredible sense of hearing, and it takes a kitten about two weeks to begin to hear well.

• Cats are said to see colour. Studies have been able to prove that cats can distinguish between red and green; red and blue; red and gray; green and blue; green and gray; blue and gray; yellow and blue, and yellow and gray.

• Although cats can see in color, they are partially color-blind. They have the equivalency of human red/green color blindness. (Reds appear green and greens appear red; or shades thereof.)

• Cats have a full inner-eyelid, or nictitating membrane. This inner-eyelid serves to help protect the eyes from dryness and damage. When the cat is ill, the inner-eyelid will frequently close partially, making it visible to the observer.

• Most cats have no eyelashes.

• You can tell a cat's mood by looking into its eyes. A frightened or excited cat will have large, round pupils. An angry cat will have narrow pupils. The pupil size is related as much to the cat's emotions as to the degree of light.

• Whiskers tell a cat whether the space they are entering is big enough for it.

• The bottom two rows of whiskers on a cat can move independently of the top two rows.

• Ailurophilia means "the love of cats". People who like cats are called ailurophiles.

• Ailurophobia means "the fear of cats". People who fear cats are called ailurophobes.

• Mother cats are properly referred to as Dams, and a female cat raised solely for breeding is called a Queen. The father cat is properly called the Sire.

• Many cats cannot properly digest cow's milk. Milk and milk products give them diarrhea.

• Though rare, cats can contract canine heartworms.

• Cats are subject to gum disease and to dental caries. They should have their teeth cleaned by the vet or the cat dentist once a year.

• Cats with white fur and skin on their ears are very prone to sunburn. Frequent sunburns can lead to skin cancer. Many white cats need surgery to remove all or part of a cancerous ear. Preventive measures include sunscreen, or better, keeping the cat indoors.

• Cats can get tapeworms from eating fleas. These worms live inside the cat forever, or until they are removed with medication. They reproduce by shedding a link from the end of their long bodies. This link crawls out the cat's anus, and sheds hundreds of eggs. These eggs are ingested by flea larvae, and the cycles continues. Humans may get these tapeworms too, but only if they eat infected fleas. Cats with tapeworms should be dewormed by a veterinarian.

• Cats can get tapeworms from eating mice. If your cat catches a mouse it is best to take the prize away from it.

• Cats, especially older cats, do get cancer. Many times this disease can be treated successfully.

• There are tiny, parasitic worms that can live in a cat's stomach. These worms cause frequent vomiting.

• Many people fear catching a protozoan disease, Toxoplasmosis, from cats. This disease can cause illness in the human, but more seriously, can cause birth defects in the unborn. Toxoplasmosis is a common disease, sometimes spread through the feces of cats. It is caused most often from eating raw or rare beef. Pregnant women and people with a depressed immune system should not touch the cat litter box. Other than that, there is no reason that these people have to avoid cats.

• 25% of cat owners blow dry their cats fur after a bath.

• The word cat in other languages: French = "chat", German = "katze", Spanish = "gato", Greek = "gata", Italian = "gatto", Japanese = "neko", and Arabic = "kitte".

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

• There are three body types for a cat. Cobby type is a compact body, deep chest, short legs and broad head. The eyes are large and round. Muscular type is a sturdy body and round, full-cheeked head. Foreign type is a slender body, with long legs and a long tail. The head is wedge-shaped, with tall ears and slanting eyes.

• Imprisoned by Henry VIII in the Tower of London, Sir Henry Wyatt, close to starvation, was saved by a cat who showed up with a pigeon in its mouth for him to dine on.

• According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the richest felines is a pair of cats who in the early 1960's inherited $415,000. The richest single cat is a white alley cat who inherited $250,000. (Now that will buy a lot of catnip!)

• The first formal cat show was held in England in 1871; the first in America was in 1895.

• It has been scientifically proven that stroking a cat can lower one's blood pressure.

• To drink, a cat laps liquid from the underside of its tongue, rather than the top.

• Female cats can reach adulthood in as little as five months, but male cats can take nine months to a year to reach adulthood. Most breeds of cats have reached their full growth by two years.

• Cats aren't hunters by nature - their mothers teach them to hunt.

• Cats only sweat from the pads of their paws. Ever notice how wet the examination room table gets when you take your cat to the vet?

• The frequency that a cat needs to sharpen its claws is governed by the value of the new lounge suite. (Submitted by John Wildblood)

• The amount of raspberry jam a cat will get on its paws is related to the size of the white carpet. (Don't laugh - this happened to me in England. Problem was... my cat... next door neighbour's house.) (Submitted by John Wildblood)

• Cats have five toes on each front paw, but only four toes on each back paw.

• When well treated, a cat can live twenty or more years.

• People who are allergic to cats are actually allergic to cat saliva or to cat dander. If the resident cat is bathed regularly the allergic people tolerate it better.

• Studies now show that the allergen in cats is related to their scent glands.

• Cats have scent glands on their faces and at the base of their tails. Entire male cats generate the most scent. If this secretion from the scent glands is the allergen, allergic people should tolerate spayed female cats the best.

• A cat is pregnant for about 58 to 65 days. This is roughly two months.

• Cats respond better to women than men. One reason this might be is that women have higher pitched voices which reminds cats of a mother cat calling her kittens.

• White paws on cats are referred to as gloves, but they are often called boots.

• White cats with blue eyes are often born deaf. The reason for this is because the gene that gives them the white coat is connected to deafness.

• The roughness of a cat's tongue has a very useful purpose. It gives the cat an extremely effective grooming tool with which to clean their fur and paws.

• The cat is one of nature's cleanest animals. Cats spend around 30% of their time grooming themselves.

• Because cats have an amazing sense of balance they rarely become ill when travelling by car.

• The average life expectancy of a cat is between 15 to 18 years although the oldest cat on record lived to be 36 years old. However, the oldest reliably recorded cat was a female tabby named Ma, who lived to the age of 34.

• Cats should not be fed raw egg whites because they contain an enzyme that breaks down the vitamin biotin, which is essential to cat health.

• The oldest known fossilized record that has a similarity to today's cats has been aged at 12 million years old.

• Fish isn't a "natural" food for cats. Cat origins are in the desert where rodents, birds, and insects are found, not fish. One theory that explains why cats today eat fish is that during World War II, meat was scarce, expensive, carefully rationed. Cat food manufacturers had to find a cheap source of protein, so they started to use fish and fish by-products in cat food. Except for one cat breed in India, in the wild, cats won't hunt for fish.

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All contents are Copyright © G. Phillips, and printed with permission of the authors.

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