101 Amazing Cat Facts: Fun Facts About Your Feline Friend

101 Amazing Cat Facts: Fun Facts About Your Feline Friend

You may love your cat, but you may not realize how awesome they really are—or what a person they are in general. For example, did you know that cats have an extra organ that allows them to taste scents? Or did they develop meowing as their exclusive way of communicating with humans?

101 Amazing Cat Facts: Fun Facts About Your Feline Friend

Clearly, there’s more to your little feline friend than meets the eye. So, to help you fully appreciate just how adorable cats are, we asked Care.com’s cat care professionals (cat sitters, hosts, and groomers) to share their favorite fun facts about these mysterious creatures. Then, we compiled a list of the 101 funniest cat facts you can share with your friends and family. 

Cat Anatomy and Physiology Facts

The domestic cat genome is 95.6 percent that of a tiger, and domestic cats share many behaviors with their jungle ancestors, says Layla Morgan Wilde, a feline behavior expert and founder of Cat Wisdom 101. These behaviors include scent marking, prey play, and chasing. Prey, pouncing, chinning, and urine marking.

Cats are thought to be the only mammals that don’t have a sweet tooth.

Cats are nearsighted, but their peripheral vision and night vision are much better than humans.

Cats are estimated to have 18 toes (five toes on each front paw and four toes on each back paw).

Cats can jump up to six times their own height.

Cats’ claws are curved downward, meaning they can’t climb down trees headfirst. Instead, they have to descend from their trunks.

The cat’s collarbone is not connected to any other bones in the body because it is buried in the shoulder muscles.

Cats have 230 bones, while humans only have 206.

Cats have an extra organ that allows them to taste scents in the air, which is why your cat will occasionally look at you with its mouth open.

Cats also have whiskers on the backs of their front paws.

Cats have twice as many neurons in their cerebral cortex as dogs.

Cats have the largest eyes relative to their head size of any mammal.

Cats make no noise when they walk around. The thick, soft pads on their paws allow them to sneak up on their prey – or you!

Cats’ rough tongues can lick a bone off any piece of meat.

Cats use their long tails for balance when jumping or walking on narrow ledges.

Cats use their whiskers to “feel” the world around them, trying to figure out what small spaces they can fit into. A cat’s whiskers are usually about the same width as its body. (This is why you should never trim their whiskers.)

Cats walk like camels and giraffes: They move their right legs first, then their left legs. No other animal walks this way.

Male cats are more likely to be left-handed, while female cats are more likely to be right-handed.

Although cats can sense the rapid movements of their prey, slow-moving objects often appear motionless to them.

Some cats are ambidextrous, but 40% are either left- or right-handed.

Some cats can swim.

Some cats have more than 18 toes. These cats with extra toes are called “polydactyls.”

Cat Health and Wellness Facts

According to a study by Banfield Pet Hospital, the average lifespan of cats increased by one year between 2002 and 2012.

According to the Huffington Post, cats typically sleep between 12 and 16 hours per day.

Cats are crepuscular creatures, meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk.

Cats are very fussy creatures when it comes to their “bathroom.” If you have more than one cat, you should have a litter box for each.

Cats can spend up to a third of their waking hours grooming themselves.

Cats live longer when they are kept indoors.

Cat purring can be a self-soothing behavior, as they make this sound when they are sick or depressed, as well as when they are happy.

Cats reject unappetizing food to the point of starving to death.

Despite popular belief, many cats are actually lactose intolerant.

Female cats have the ability to become pregnant as early as 4 months old!

Grapes and raisins, as well as onions, garlic, and chives, are all very harmful foods for cats. Grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure, although the reason behind this is unclear. Meanwhile, onions, garlic, and chives wreak havoc on your cat's digestive system and can cause anemia.

Keeping your cat active during the day will help her sleep better at night. If you don't free-feed your cat, you can also help her get a good night's sleep by offering her a hearty evening meal.

Catnip is thought to produce a similar effect to LSD or marijuana in cats. The effects of nepetalactone, the chemical in catnip that can drive cats crazy, wear off within 15 minutes and don't reappear for a few hours, even if your cat stays within sniffing distance.

Kittens can be spayed when they are no older than eight weeks old. If possible, these procedures should be done within the first five months of your cat's life.

Neutered male cats require fewer calories to maintain their weight.

Spaying cats can extend their lives. A study conducted by Banfield Pet Hospital found that neutered male cats lived an average of 62 percent longer than unneutered cats, and spayed female cats lived an average of 39 percent longer than unneutered cats.

Grooming your cat stimulates blood flow to his skin, regulates his body temperature, and helps him relax.

Facts About Cat Communication Signals

The cat with the question mark tail is asking, "Do you want to play?"

According to Wilde, a slow blink of the eyes is a "cat kiss." This movement shows satisfaction and trust.

Cats have a unique "vocabulary" with their owner: each cat has a different set of sounds, purrs, and behaviors.

Cats make up to 100 different sounds, dogs only make 10.

Cats feel threatened when you make direct eye contact with them.

Cats mark you as their territory.

When they rub their face and body against you, because they have scent glands in these areas.

Cats may yawn to end an encounter with another animal. Think of it as a "hand-talking" gesture.

Wilde says hissing is defensive, not aggressive. “It’s an expression of fear, tension, or discomfort from the threatened cat, telling the cat to go away.”

If cats are fighting, the one that hisses louder is the weaker one, says Wilde.

If your cat approaches you with a straight, almost wagging tail, it means she’s very happy to see you.

Kneading, which some people call “cookie-making,” is a sign of contentment and happiness. Kittens knead their mother while nursing to stimulate milk production.

Meowing is a behavior that cats have developed exclusively to communicate with people.

When a cat rolls over and exposes its belly, it’s not always an invitation to have its belly petted. A cat does this when it’s relaxed and showing confidence.

When cats swipe at you with their claws retracted, they’re playing, not attacking.

When dogs wag their tails, they may be expressing happiness. But that’s not the case for cats! When your cat wags its tail, it is its way of letting you know that you are disturbing it.

When your cat puts its butt in your face, it is doing so as a sign of friendship.

Whiskers are also good indicators of a cat's mood. When a cat is afraid, it will pull its whiskers back. But when the cat is in hunting mode, it will put its whiskers forward.

Your cat will put its tail on another cat, your dog, or you as a symbol of friendship.

Facts About Weird Cat Behavior—And Why It Happens

Cats are very particular about their water bowls; some prefer to ignore their bowl altogether and drink from the sink faucet.

Cats clean other cats—and sometimes people—in a ritual called grooming.

Cats love to sleep on things that smell like their owners, like pillows and dirty clothes (gross!).

Cats also love to sleep in laundry baskets, as they’re actually hiding places with peek-a-boo holes.

Cats will often attack your ankles when they’re bored.

Some cats like foods you wouldn’t expect, like olives, potato chips, and hops in beer.

For some reason, cats really hate citrus smells.

If you can’t find your cat, you should look in a box or bag—these are some of their favorite hiding places!

Male cats trying to reach a female in heat can display some very strange behaviors: for example, some have been known to slide down chimneys!

Many cats love to lick their owners’ freshly washed hair.

Some cats love the smell of chlorine.

Stealing behavior is not uncommon in cats. They often pick up objects like stuffed animals, feather dusters, and other items that remind them of their prey.

Cat Facts That Made History

A green cat was born in Denmark in 1995. Some people think that high levels of copper in nearby water pipes may have given its fur a greenish effect.

Abraham Lincoln was a cat-loving president, as it turns out! He had four cats that lived with him in the White House.

Maria Assunta left her entire $13 million fortune to her cat, Tommaso, when she died in 2011.

President Bill Clinton’s cat, Socks, was a media darling during the Clinton administration and was said to receive more letters than the president himself.

Stubbs, a 17-year-old orange tabby, is the mayor of the historic district of Talkeetna, Alaska.

More Amazing Cat Facts You Didn’t Know

A cat’s learning style is about the same as a 2-3 year old child’s.

A cat’s purr vibrates at a frequency between 25 and 150 Hz, the same frequency at which muscles and bones repair themselves.

The group of cats is called “Kindle.”

A domestic cat can beat super sprinter Usain Bolt in a 200-meter dash.

About half of the world’s cats react to the smell of catnip.

A cat breeder is called a “cat breeder.”

Cats can be trained to use the toilet.

Cats can drink seawater to survive. (In case you were wondering, we can’t.)

Cats have no taboos about incest, so they can choose to mate with their siblings.

Cats dream, just like humans.

Cats have contributed to the extinction of 33 different species.

Cats see people as big, hairless cats, Wilde says.

Cats were first introduced to America during the colonial era to control rodents.

Collective nouns for adult cats include “clowder,” “clutter,” “glaring,” and “pounce.”

Each cat’s nose print is unique, just like human fingerprints.

Every Scottish Fold in the world can trace its heritage back to the first cat, which was found in Scotland in the 1960s, says Cheryl Hogan, a Scottish Fold breeder and chair of the breed committee for the International Cat Association (TICA).

It’s not uncommon to see cats in grocery stores in big cities as a form of free and adorable pest control.

Kittens from the same litter can have multiple fathers. That’s because a female cat will release several eggs over a few days when she’s in heat.

Male cats are most sensitive to catnip, while kittens under 3 months old don’t react to it at all.

Most languages ​​around the world have a similar word to describe the “meow” sound.

People often think they’ve found a stray or purebred cat from a shelter, but Hogan says that’s very rare. “Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, what you find on the street is not going to be a purebred,” she says. “Breeders rarely sell cats that haven’t already been spayed or neutered,” because purebred cats have to meet very strict standards.

There are an estimated 700 million feral cats in the United States, and many shelters use trap, spay, and release programs to stop their population from growing.

Studies indicate that domestic cats first appeared around 3600 B.C.

The first known video of cats was recorded in 1894.

There are approximately 88 million domestic cats in the United States, making them the most popular pet in the country!

Two hundred feral cats roam Disneyland, acting as rodent controllers—the ones that don’t wear weird clothes and talk in squeaky voices.

White cats with blue eyes are prone to deafness.