As Cliff Clavin Would Say….
We’ve been delving into the world of felines recently on the LazyPaw Animal Hospitals blog, and this week we’re looking at incredible cat facts!
A long history
• Cats first migrated to America from Europe in the 1750s. They were imported for their excellent pest control abilities.
• In Australia and the United Kingdom, black cats are actually considered good luck.
• “Bezoar” isn’t just a Harry Potter reference, it’s the scientific name for a cat hairball.
• Cats today live about twice as long as felines did only 50 years ago.
Yum yum
• The average 10-pound cat only needs to consumer 220-350 calories per day.
• If cats have upset tummies, they will eat grass to aid in digestion and expel any fur in their system.
Why, hello there
• Cats greet one another by rubbing noses.
• Dogs generally make about 10 sounds, whereas cats can make more than 100 vocal noises.
• Cats have proportionally larger eyes than any other mammal.
• Cats communicate with one another by hissing, purring, or spitting. They generally only meow at humans, not other cats.
Strength in numbers
• Each side of a cat’s face has about 12 whiskers
• Cat hearts beat about 110 to 140 times per minute, about twice as fast as human hearts.
• Globally, the total number of short naps cats take every day is about 425 million.
• Cats in North America outnumber dogs as house pets. There are nearly 73 million cats and 63 million dogs kept as household pets.
• The Guinness Book of World Records says the largest domestic cat litter had 19 kittens.
Amazing bodies
• Cats land easily on all four paws because their vision is excellent and their ears have special balance organs that help them straighten themselves in the air and land upright.
• Cats have five toes on their front paws, but only four toes on each back paw.
• A cat can reach up to five times its height in a single jump.