Facts about cats

Cat Ears

Cats have excellent hearing because they can hear sounds two octaves higher than humans. A cat can hear sounds with a frequency of 64 kHz, while humans can only hear up to 20 kHz.

Cat Vocalization Cats are capable of producing over 100 different sounds, whereas dogs can only make about 10. The record for the loudest purring by a domestic cat belongs to Merlin, a black and white cat from Torquay, United Kingdom. His purring reached 67.8 dB. The average cat purrs at around 25 dB.

Cat Eyes

Cats have great night vision and require seven times less light than humans. They are farsighted, with a visual field of up to 185 degrees, and can see objects at a distance of about 35-40 meters. Cats cannot see their own nose. Humans have only two eyelids, while cats have three. The third eyelid, usually visible in the corner of the eye as a small triangle of light-colored (whitish or slightly pinkish) tissue, helps prevent the eyes from drying out. When a cat is sick, the third eyelid may close halfway to protect the eyes, which can be damaged during illness.

Cat Whiskers

Cats typically have 12 whiskers on each side of their face. They use their whiskers to determine whether a passage is wide enough for them to fit through. These unique vibrissae help cats detect changes in their surroundings, allowing them to assess distance, obstacles, and even the moods of other animals.

Cat Teeth

Adult cats have 30 teeth, while kittens have 26. Kittens start losing their baby teeth at around 6 months old.

Cat Nose

Cats can literally "taste" smells because they have an additional, sixth sense: a combination of smell and taste. This is thanks to the vomeronasal organ, also known as the Jacobson's organ, located in the upper part of the palate. When the taste buds on the cat's tongue detect odor molecules, the Jacobson's organ sends neurological signals to the brain. Cats dislike the smell of citrus, lavender, onions, vinegar, peppers, cinnamon, and a dirty litter box. Placing lavender in an area can prevent a cat from sitting there.

Cat Bones

A cat's body contains up to 230 bones, with 10% of them found in the tail alone. Humans have fewer bones, with a total of 206.

Cat Heart A cat's heart beats almost twice as fast as a human's, ranging from 110 to 160 beats per minute.

Cat Brain

Cats and humans have nearly identical brain sections that control emotions. Cats have more neurons in the cerebral cortex than humans, with around 250 million compared to approximately 16 billion in humans. Cats have longer memories than dogs, especially when they learn through action rather than just observation. Cats have lower IQs than dogs but can solve more challenging cognitive problems when they are motivated to do so. Cats have excellent memory and can remember many things for a long time, including the locations of various items, preferred or avoided places, sounds associated with specific situations, as well as the faces and scents of people. Moreover, cats can remember positive or negative experiences with humans, other animals, or specific situations, which can affect their behavior in the future.

Extra Sense

In addition to the senses that humans possess, cats have an extra one - the Jacobson's organ. It is located in the upper part of the palate and combines the sense of smell and taste. When scent molecules come into contact with a cat's tongue, the Jacobson's organ sends nerve impulses to the animal's brain. Therefore, cats are able to taste smells.

Cat Paws

Cats have the same walking style as camels and giraffes. Just like humans, cats can be right-pawed or left-pawed. Females tend to be left-pawed, while males are usually right-pawed.

Muscular Ears

A cat's ears contain as many as 32 muscles, which allow for movements of the external ear. A cat can move each ear separately and rotate them up to 180 degrees independently. Humans cannot do this because our ears only have 6 muscles, most of which we are not even able to use.

Sporty Cat

A cat can run at speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour. A cat can jump to a height six times the length of its body. Cats are animals with extraordinary balance. Thanks to their unique skeletal structure, they can rotate in the air and land on all four paws. This mechanism is called the "righting reflex." A cat's spine is so flexible because it consists of 53 loosely connected vertebrae. In comparison, the human spine has 34 vertebrae. There are cats that have survived falls from over 32 floors (320 meters) onto concrete. Cats can squeeze into any narrow space because they lack collarbones. Their size is only limited by the size of their heads. Cats can easily climb up a tree, but going down becomes a problem. This is because their claws are curved in one direction only, making it better for them to jump or descend backward.

Cat's Luck or Misfortune

There is a popular belief that a cat's whiskers can bring good luck. In some cultures, it is believed that cat whiskers protect against evil and attract positive energy. Black cats are considered unlucky in the United States and Poland, but they bring good luck in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cats are the most popular domestic pets in the world. There are over 500 million domestic cats.

Cat as a Friend and for Health

Cats are individualists and have their own preferences when it comes to who they want to spend time with. They like those who feed them and offer them safety. Cats like calm and patient people because they feel safe and relaxed around them. Cats also get along with other animals, including dogs, as long as they have a calm disposition. Male cat owners tend to have better luck in love because they are perceived as more sensitive. Cat owners have a 17% higher chance of obtaining a higher education degree. Napoleon, Julius Caesar, and Charles XI were known as brave men, but they were afraid of cats. Cat owners live longer and are healthier - studies have shown that they have a lower risk (up to 20%) of heart attacks and strokes, as well as fewer respiratory infections. They also recover faster, and the purring of a cat alleviates stress and pain. Similarly, the frequency of a domestic cat's purring matches the frequency at which muscles and bones repair themselves.

Cat Menu

Cats do not recognize sweet taste, which is a result of evolution - cats do not need sugar to survive. Cats do not eat raw fish because it is harmful to them. A hungry cat can manipulate with its meowing by imitating a crying baby. Cats hunt even when they are not hungry. Most adult cats cannot drink milk because they lose the ability to digest lactose, starting from 8 weeks of age. Milk can cause severe diarrhea, bloating, and abdominal pain, leading to life-threatening dehydration. A cat cannot chew large pieces of food because its jaw does not move sideways. That's why cat food should be finely divided into small pieces. In tigers and domestic cats, the center of the tongue is covered with backward-facing projections used for tearing and gripping meat.

Smallest and largest cat

The smallest cat in the world - Tinker Toy - is 7 cm tall. The longest cat in the world, named Stevie, is 1.23 m long. The heaviest domestic cat in history weighed 21 kilograms.

Cats don't sweat under their armpits

Cats only sweat through their paw pads.

Cats don't like water.

Cats don't like water because their fur doesn't protect them from the cold. One exception is the Turkish Van breed, which not only swims but can also dive.

Extraordinary cat achievements

The richest cat in the world has $13 million after its human passed away and left it a fortune. A cat named Stubbs served as the mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska for 15 years. The first cat in space was French. The female cat was named Felicette or "Astrocat." She survived the journey.

Supernatural powers of a cat

Due to their exceptional sensitivity to vibrations, most cats can sense an upcoming earthquake even 15 minutes before it occurs.

Cat's toilet

Cats lick themselves to get rid of your scent, among other reasons.

Cat greetings: Cats greet each other by touching their noses. Cats can vary their meowing for different requests, depending on whom it is directed to.

Postal cat

In the 1870s, a city in Belgium attempted to use cats for delivering mail. The project was quickly abandoned because it was unsuccessful.

Cat's age

Wild outdoor cats have an average lifespan of about 4 years. Cats that live indoors can live up to 16 years or even longer. In Austria, a cat has the right to a retirement for guarding a grain warehouse. Instead of money, they receive meat, milk, and broth. Neutered cats live about 3 years longer than those who are not spayed or neutered. Cats sleep for 2/3 of their lives. If our cat is 9 years old, it means it has slept for 6 years. Cats take multiple naps throughout the day.

Allergy to cats:

If someone is allergic to cats, it's not necessarily because of their fur, which doesn't cause allergies. Instead, they may be allergic to cat saliva and the dander that settles on their fur.

Cat or tiger:

The domestic cat genome is 95.6% identical to that of a tiger, and it shares many behaviors with its jungle ancestors. These behaviors include scent marking through scratching, playing with prey, stalking prey, pouncing, biting, and urine marking.

Cat stress:

When a cat is stressed or experiencing difficulties, it may run around or stay in one place without moving.