Cats are some pretty funny creatures. Check out these crazy cat facts!

 

1. On average, cats spend 2/3 of everyday sleeping and use 1/3 of their awake time cleaning themselves.

2. Unlike dogs, cats don’t have a sweet tooth. This could be due to a mutation in a key taste receptor.

3. The technical term for a hairball is a “bezoar”.

4. A group of cats is called a “clowder”.

5. Cats can be left-pawed or right-pawed. Female cats tend to be right-pawed, while male cats are usually left pawed. Interestingly, left-handed humans also tend to be male.

6. Cats make about 100 different sounds while dogs make only about 10.

7. A cat’s brain is biologically more similar to a human brain than it is to a dog’s. Both humans and cats have identical regions in their brains that are responsible for emotions.

8. The oldest pet cat was found in a 9,500-year-old grave on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Contrary to popular cat facts, this predates Egyptian pet cats by 4,000 years.

9. Cats are North America’s most popular pets: cats outnumber dogs 73 million to 63 million. Over 30% of North American homes have a cat.

10. A cat can jump five times its own height and sprint up to 31 mph.  

11. Some cats have survived falls of over 65 feet. Their eyes and balance organs in the inner ear help cats to right themselves in mid-air and land on their feet.

12. The oldest cat to give birth did so at age 30 to two kittens.

cat facts

These crazy cat facts may surprise you!

13. A female cat is called a queen or a molly.

14. Cats are highly sensitive to vibrations and may be able to detect earthquake tremors 10 or 15 minutes before humans can.

15. The largest cat breed is the Ragdoll. Male Ragdolls weigh up to 20 lbs and females up to 15 lbs.

16. Blond or brown color change in Siamese kittens depends on their body temperature. Siamese cats carry albino genes that work at a body temperature above 98° F. If these kittens are left in a very warm room, their prints won’t darken and they will stay a creamy white all over.

17. Like dogs, cats only sweat through their paws.

18. A cat’s heart beats nearly twice as fast as a human heart, 110 to 140 beats per minute.

19. Onions, garlic, green tomatoes, raw potatoes, chocolate, grapes, and raisins are all bad for cats. Milk is not toxic but can cause an upset stomach and gas. Tylenol and aspirin are extremely toxic to cats, as are most houseplants. See the ASPCA for more cat facts about food.

20. With enough water, cats can tolerate temperatures up to 133 °F.

21. A cat’s nose pad has a unique pattern of ridges, just like a human fingerprint.

22. A cat has no collarbone, meaning it can fit through any opening smaller than its head.

23. The first cat show was organized in 1871 in London and later became a worldwide craze.

24. A tower was built in Scotland for a cat named Towser in commemoration of her killing over 30,000 mice throughout her lifetime.

25. Isaac Newton invented the cat flap to stop his cat “Spithead” from opening the door to his darkroom and ruining light-sensitive experiments.