Today I bring you curious facts about cats that you probably did not know and that may surprise you. Are you a lover of these little felines? Well, I will tell you some peculiarities such as which is the oldest breed, how many domestic cats there are in the world or the reason why they caress your legs.
These animals, together with dogs, are the most widespread domestic animals in the world, being even in many cultures revered for the different beliefs and legends that have been carried behind them since the first civilizations.
1- There are around 600 million domestic cats around the world. That is, more than the population of the European Union or the inhabitants of the United States and Mexico combined.
2- Cats and humans have lived together for more than 9000 years.
3- The most obese cat that has been known in history weighed 21.3 kilograms.
4- The Ashera breed is the most expensive in the world and can cost between 10,000 and more than 100,000 dollars.
5- Cats sleep between 12 and 16 hours a day. That is, they spend 60% of their lives resting.
6- They have 32 muscles in each ear.
7- Cats can taste the air, it can be said that they taste smells. However, they cannot perceive the sweet taste.
8- Having a cat for a pet will reduce the chances of suffering a stroke or heart attack. Stroking them lowers your blood pressure.
9- Adult cats meow to communicate with humans, they rarely do it with each other.
10- The oldest video of a cat dates from 1894. It was made by Thomas A. Edison and shows two cats boxing.
11- Cats tend to be right-handed, while cats are left-handed.
12- Although they purr when they are happy, they also purr when they are nervous or in pain.
13- The frequency in which a cat purrs is the same in which the muscles and bones regenerate again.
14- In Ancient Egypt it was illegal to harm cats, because they were considered sacred animals and kept the rat population under control.
15- Cats have 5 toes on their front legs and 4 on their back legs, unless they are polydactyl.
16- Abraham Lincoln had 4 cats in the White House.
17- They are capable of jumping up to 6 times your size.
18- The Egyptian mau can run faster than Usain Bolt. Since it reaches 48 km / h.
19- Cats use their whiskers to calculate the dimensions of an opening, so they know how capable they will be to enter certain spaces.
20- Most of its sweat glands are found on the pads of its paws.
21- The first cat that went to space is called Felicette and she survived the trip; This happened in October 1963.
22- Felines can move their ears 180 degrees. They are even capable of doing it separately.
23- The roughness of his nose is unique, it could be said that they are his fingerprints.
24- Cats have scent glands in the middle of their ears, on their cheeks, paws and tail.
25- Cats rub their body against a person's legs to mark their territory.
26- When they clean, they do it to get rid of your smell. That is why they are barely touched.
27- In Ancient Egypt, if a cat died, family members would shave their eyebrows as a sign of mourning.
28- Some of them were also mummified and put in the tombs with their humans.
29- The Egyptian mau is one of the oldest breeds of cats in the world.
30- In some countries, such as Spain and the United States, it is believed to be bad luck to come across a black cat. In others, such as the UK, Japan and Australia, it is thought to bring good luck.
31- Most cats do not like water because their skin does not protect them from the cold.
32- The carbon footprint of a cat is similar to that of a Volkswagen Beetle.
33- Although they cannot see in the dark, they do so in low light because their eyes reflect it.
34- In the United States, 88% of cats have been neutered or spayed.
35- Cats can drink salty water, because their kidneys filter what they drink.
36- Cats cannot see under their nose, sometimes they do not notice that their food has fallen on the ground.
37- Isaac Newton invented the pet door so that his Spithead cat would not interrupt him.
38- Nikola Tesla began researching electricity after his cat Macak was given a static discharge.
39- Kittens begin to dream from their first week of life.
40- Puppies sleep a lot to release growth hormone.
41- By sterilizing your cat, you add two to three more years of life.
42- In the original Italian version of Cinderella, the fairy godmother was a kitten.
43- Siamese cats do not develop their characteristic spots if they live in very hot areas.
Pleiotropy in cats. White cat with heterochromia. Taken and edited from: Keith Kissel, via Wikimedia Commons.
44- If a cat begins to caress you, it is because it considers you its property.
45- If you notice that he blinks very slowly when looking at you, it is because he is "throwing kisses" at you.
46- If a cat winks at you, it is because it is smiling at you.
47- It can be said that cats consider human beings as bigger cats.
48- Saliva and cat dander are the cause of allergies in humans.
49- His average body temperature is 39 ºC.
50- They love to sunbathe. In fact, they can withstand up to 52 ºC without problems.
51- A domestic cat lives between 14 and 20 years. The less they go out on the street, the longer they will be.
52- The oldest kitten in the world was named Lucy and she passed away in 2011 at the age of 39.
53- They are born with all their teeth and, as time passes, they change them.
54- Although it depends on each race, they have an average of 30 teeth.
55- Cats eat grass to keep their digestive systems in good condition.
56- They know how to go home using their biological clock, the angle of the sun and the magnetic field of the earth.
57- Cats spend 25% of their life grooming themselves.
58- In Japan it is thought that cats have the power to become super spirits when they die.
59- In Buddhism it is believed that cats are the temporary resting place of very spiritual people.
60- 100 years ago most cats had short hair.
61- The first cat shown in a cartoon was Felix the Cat, in 1919.
62- In just 7 years, a couple of cats and their children can have 420,000 descendants.
63- A cat has 230 bones in its body, while humans have 203.
64- They do not have clavicles, for that reason their heads enter any space.
65- Although they do not obey our orders, they can recognize the voice of their humans.
66- There is a physicist who named his cat as co-author of a scientific document.
67- Most white cats with blue eyes tend to be deaf.
68- Kittens with white fur and fur are very prone to sunburn.
69- Napoleon was terrified of cats.
70- The ancestor of these felines is the African wild cat, it still exists.
71- It is believed that cats come from the Middle East.
72- Currently there are more than 100 breeds of cats.
73- Water that is purified with chlorine can irritate the nose of cats.
74- Cats have approximately 24 whiskers, 12 on each side.
75- When walking or running, they use the legs on the same side and then the other.
76- Cats use their tails for balance.
77- Domestic cats are the only felines that can walk with their tails raised.
78- Ailurophile is the official term to refer to cat lovers.
79- All cats need taurine in their diets, otherwise they can go blind.
80- They also need fat since they cannot produce it by themselves.
81- The life expectancy of a stray cat is 3 to 5 years.
82- The urine of a cat glows with ultraviolet lights.
83- Small cats can purr, but not roar.
84- The heart of a cat beats between 110 and 140 times per minute, almost twice that of humans.
85- Its front claws are retractable.
86- The nails of the hind legs are usually less sharp than the front ones.
87- Cats are extremely sensitive to vibrations.
88- It is believed that they can perceive an earthquake 10-15 minutes before it occurs.
89- Cats are the most popular pets in the United States.
90- There are cats that have survived falls of more than 320 meters.
91- A cat has been mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, for 15 years. His name is Stubbs.
92- The longest cat in the world is 123 centimeters long.
93- The richest cat in the world owns 13 million dollars, after his owner passed away, he inherited his fortune.
94- Most cats are lactose intolerant.
95- The CIA created a spy cat, implanted a microphone in her ear and a radio transmitter in the base of her skull.
96- The “hairballs” that cats expel are called “bezoar”.
97- Currently, cat litter boxes use clay, because it is more absorbent.
98- Cats can modify their meow to manipulate a human.
99- A cat detected breast cancer in her mistress.
100- Men who have cats tend to be more fortunate in love, since they are perceived as more sensitive.