Interesting Cat Facts and Trivia
Compiled by Juli Kobayashi

The domestic cat (Felis Silvestris Catus) Kingdom: Animalae Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Felis Species: F. silvestris Subspecies: F.s. catus Trinomial name: Felis silvestris catus

Jump to a section of this page The history of the cat Cat World Records Cat Trivia – General Cat Trivia – Biological Cat Trivia – Famous People

The history of the cat
return to top

It is debated whether the domestic cat evolved from the African wildcat (F. s. lybica), the Asian wildcat (F. s. ornate) and the European wildcat (F. s. silvestris).

Cats are known to have been fully domesticated in Egypt circa 4000 B.C., where they were highly regarded, which lead some to think it is likely domestic cats evolved from the African wildcat.

Cats have lived amongst humans for anywhere between 3500 to 8000 years, being used for pest control, hunting, and companionship. Domestic cats are still fully capable of living in the wild.

CAT WORLD RECORDS
return to top

Most expensive cat
A Californian Spangled Cat was bought for $24,000 (£15,925) in January 1987 and was the display cat from the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book of 1986.

Longest Cat
If Frieda Ireland’s pet cat Leo were a human being he would weigh about 100 kg (220 lb) and stretch over 2.5 m (8 feet) tall. As it is, the mammoth moggie is as long as an 8-year-old child and has paws so big they can fit into a size 2 child’s shoe!

Verismo’s Leonetti Reserve Red – otherwise known as Leo – is a Maine Coon cat owned by Frieda Ireland and Carroll Damron of Chicago. Normally a large breed, Maine Coons often weigh as much as 10 kg (22 lb), but Leo weighs in at a mog-nificent 15.8 kg (35 lb) and measures a record-breaking 121.9 cm (48 in) from nose to tail.

Cat With The Most Toes
The world record for the cat with most toes belongs to Jake who has 28 toes, with 7 on each paw. Jake lives in Bonfield, Ontario, Canada with his owners, Michelle and Paul Contant (Canada).

Longest cat whiskers
The record for the longest whisker on a cat measured 19 cm (7.5 in) and belongs to Missi, a Maine coon who lives with her owner, Kaija Kyllönen. The whiskers were measured in Finland on December 22, 2005

Largest Collection of Cat Memorabilia
Since 1979, Florence Groff of France has amassed a record-breaking collection of 11,717 cat-related items. Among the collection are 2,118 different cat figurines (48 of which are fridge magnets), 86 decorative plates, 60 pieces of crystalware, 140 metallic boxes, 9 lamps, 36 stuffed toys, 41 painted eggs, and 2,666 pussy postcards.

CAT TRIVIA
return to top

• A person who loves cats is called an ailurophile; cat haters are known as ailurophobes.
• Cats have been domesticated for only half as long as dogs
• Cats use their sense of smell as a means for identification
• Americans spend more money on cat food than they do on baby food.
• Some common houseplants poisonous to cats include: English Ivy, iris, mistletoe, philodendron, and yew.
• Tylenol and chocolate are both poisonous to cats.
• Many cats cannot properly digest cow's milk. Most adult cats are lactose intolerant.
• Cats cannot be adapted to an unsupplemented vegetarian diet.
• The average cat food meal is the equivalent to about five mice.
• People who are allergic to cats are actually allergic to cat saliva or to cat dander. If the resident cat is bathed regularly the allergic people tolerate it better.
• Studies now show that the allergen in cats is related to their scent glands. Cats have scent glands on their faces and at the base of their tails. Entire male cats generate the most scent. If this secretion from the scent glands is the allergen, allergic people should tolerate spayed female cats the best.
• Cats do not think that they are little people. They think that we are big cats. This influences their behavior in many ways.
• A group of kittens is called a "kindle" while a group of cats is called a "clowder”
• A male cat is called a “tom” and a female cat is called a “queen.”
• Cats can't taste sweets due to a faulty sweet receptor gene
• Cats are capable of about 100 different vocalizations, compared to about 10 for dogs
• Cats can get tapeworms from eating mice. If your cat catches a mouse it is best to take the prize away from it.
• The ancestor of all domestic cats is the African Wild Cat which still exists today.
• In ancient Egypt, killing a cat was a crime punishable by death.
• In ancient Egypt, mummies were made of cats, and embalmed mice were placed with them in their tombs. In one ancient city, over 300,000 cat mummies were found.
• The first cat show was in 1871 at the Crystal Palace in London.
• Today there are about 100 distinct breeds of the domestic cat.
• Like birds, cats have a homing ability that uses its biological clock, the angle of the sun, and the Earth's magnetic field. A cat taken far from its home can return to it. But if a cat's owners move far from its home, the cat can't find them.
• Domestic cats can hunt and eat about 1,000 species, while many big cats eat fewer than 100.
• Cats are subject to gum disease and to dental caries. They should have their teeth cleaned by the vet or the cat dentist once a year.
• The chlorine in fresh tap water irritates sensitive parts of the cat's nose. Let tap water sit for 24 hours before giving it to a cat.
• A cat has four rows of whiskers on each side.
• The word "cat" in various languages: French - chat; German - katze; Italian - gatto; Spanish/Portugese - gato; Yiddish - kats; Maltese - qattus; Swedish/Norwegian - katt; Dutch - kat; Icelandic - kottur; Greek - gata; Hindu - katas; Japanese - neko; Polish - kot.
• The catnip plant contains an oil called hepetalactone which does for cats what marijuana does to some people. Not all cats react to it those that do appear to enter a trancelike state. A positive reaction takes the form of the cat sniffing the catnip, then licking, biting, chewing it, rub & rolling on it repeatedly, purring, meowing & even leaping in the air.
• You can tell a cat's mood by looking into its eyes. A frightened or excited cat will have large, round pupils. An angry cat will have narrow pupils. The pupil size is related as much to the cat's emotions as to the degree of light.
• A cat can also express happiness by slightly closing its eyes or slowly blinking
• Mother cats teach their kittens to use the litter box.
• A Calico cat is usually female
• The Ragdoll is the largest domestic breed of cat. Males can range from 12 to 20 pounds while females are 10 to 15 pounds. Sinapuras on the other hand are the smallest breed.

Biological Trivia
return to top

• Cats purr around 26 cycles per second.
• The heart of a cat beats twice as fast as that of a human heart; about 110 to 140 beats per minute
• When well treated, a cat can live twenty or more years but the average life span of a domestic cat is 14 years.
• Cats have AB blood groups just like people.
• Besides smelling with their nose, cats can smell with an additional organ called the Jacobson's organ, located in the upper surface of the mouth.
• Cats can be finicky eaters because the Jacobsons’ organ becomes sensitized to a particular pattern of food.
• Although scientist are not exactly sure how cats purr, it is currently believed that it is a result of rhythmic impulses to the cat's larynx
• Cats lack a true collarbone. Because of this lack, cats can generally squeeze their bodies through any space they can get their heads through.
• An adult cat has 30 teeth, 290 bones and 527 muscles!
• A cats eyes come in 3 shapes; round, slanted and almond
• A cat can jump up to seven times it height
• Your cat can run as fast as 30 mph over a short distance
• Cats have five toes on each front paw, but only four toes on each back paw.
• Cats are sometimes born with extra toes. This is called polydactyl. These toes will not harm the cat, but you should keep his claws trimmed just like any toe.
• Cats have true fur, in that they have both an undercoat and an outer coat.
• Newborn kittens have closed ear canals that don't begin to open for nine days. When the eyes open, they are always blue at first. They change color over a period of months to the final eye color.
• Most cats have no eyelashes.
• Cats have a full inner-eyelid, or nictitating membrane. This inner-eyelid serves to help protect the eyes from dryness and damage. When the cat is ill, the inner-eyelid will frequently close partially, making it visible to the observer.
• Cats on average will sleep 16-18 hours a day
• A cat cannot see directly under its nose. This is why the cat cannot seem to find tidbits on the floor.
• A large majority of white cats with blue eyes are deaf. White cats with only one blue eye are deaf only in the ear closest to the blue eye. White cats with orange eyes do not have this disability.
• The cat's footpads absorb the shocks of the landing when the cat jumps.
• If left to her own devices, a female cat may have three to seven kittens every four months. This is why population control using neutering and spaying is so important.
• A cat is pregnant for about 58-65 days.