Facts about cats, Cats are extremely popular pets around the world and they have overtaken dogs in this department as the most preferred pet. Apparently, most people know very limited facts about cats. They are not aware of a lot of weird facts about cats. The following article will give you an insight into 20 weird facts about cats that you didn’t know.
1. Cats Hate Sugar
Sense of taste in cats is not very impressive because they need meat as compared to sweets. Unlike dogs, cats don’t crave for sugary food. They don’t have a sweet tooth. There have been a few researches conducted by scientists to understand the reason behind this.
They reached at a conclusion that cats have a mutation within their key taste receptors that has eliminated their cravings for sweet food. Cats are carnivores by nature and they receive their share of energy from meat proteins instead of carbohydrates.
2. Left and Right Pawed
Did you know that female cats are mostly right pawed and the male cats are usually left pawed? In humans too, most of the left handed people are males, which is quite an interesting fact.
While moving around, cats favor to use their dominant paw the most, which may not be apparent from the scratch marks they dish out in rare cases. Domestic felines tend to favor one paw over the other one.
This fact came to light after two psychologists Deborah Wells and Sarah Millsopp, from the Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland did some research about these animals in detail.
3. Cat Skin for Fashion Industry
Just like leather of other animals are used to make accessories and clothes, cat skin is used extensively for making coats. This is a very unfortunate facts about cats that most people are not aware of. To make a coat, more than 24 cat skins are used.
Switzerland is the only country in Europe where it is legal to hunt down cats for their fur to make these expensive coats, bed blankets and jackets. People buy these products believing that these clothes will help combat rheumatism. The pro-cat lobby is fighting this case so that trade in cat fur is banned in Switzerland.
4. Cats are most Domesticated pets
According to a survey conducted by the American pet owners, cats have overtaken dogs as the most domesticated pets. There are more than 500 million cats that have been domesticated globally and these numbers are rising steadily each year, as more and more people love to own a cat at home.
With this increased demand for cats, the supply is very limited, as there are only 40 recognized breeds of felines globally. Only 8% cats are pedigree from the 3000 types of domestic cats. In the United States, alone, there are more cats compared to dogs. People spend more on cat food as opposed to baby food.
5. Cats are very popular
Throughout North America, cats are the most admired pets. The number of cats is more compared to dogs. There are more than 73 million cats compared to just 63 million dogs. More than 30% people have cats at home as pets. Cats have outnumbered dogs by three to one in the United States.
The popularity of cats is high because more people have started accepting them as loving and self-reliant pets. They are less maintenance pets; they groom themselves, they need less training, cats can stay alone without bothering their owners for attention and last, but not the least these lovely creatures will welcome you when you get home.
6. Cats always stay safe
Most people are aware of the fact that cats always tend to fall on their feet. Cats can survive even if they fall from height of over 65 feet, which is a unique feet that can be achieved by the cats “righting reflex”. They are born with this ability that is similar to a landing gear.
Most of the time cats will land on their feet when they fall and this is possible because their body reflexively corrects itself, so by the time they are arriving on the ground their feet are in the position to hit the surface first. The height will decide the type of landing for cats. The longer the fall the greater the chance of the cat surviving as they have more time to adjust their bodies.
7. Cats are good at reproduction
Cats give birth to more kittens than any other mammals. Cats can give birth to one to nine kittens at a time. The largest litter was 19 and from that litter 15 of the kittens survived until the next birth, while four were born still. These cats give birth to their kittens in a very short time.
Cats are prolific breeders if not spayed; one cat can give birth to an average of 12 kittens in a year. Female cats take just 6 months to reach sexual maturity and can become pregnant at any time of the year. To prevent unwanted kittens in the house, it would be better to spay or neuter your feline friends.
8. Cats hate Water
It’s a universal fact that cats hate being in water, but not all cat breeds have an aversion to water. One particular cat breed called Turkish Van loves water. This cat breed is bred in central Asia and has a unique water-resistant coat. The summers in the Lake Van region of Turkey can be too hot and humid for these cats. During the summers the Van cat loves swimming in the lakes to keep its body cool. Most other cat breeds don’t love swimming in water, but will dip their paws in water for a while.
Water dripping from faucets is an attractive sight for most cats as they love playing with the water droplets.
9. Cats are good Travelers
When lost outdoors, cats have this unique ability to find their way back home; a facts about cats most people are not aware of. This ability is known as “Psi-travelling”.
So how do these little animals find their way home, which is still a mystery to many? According to experts cats use the angle of the sun or these popular pets use magnetized cells within their brains, which acts like a compass. Several scientists are still researching on this topic and have not come to conclusive evidence about how cats are able travel long distances without any navigation systems.
10. Cat Flap Fever
It is believed that Issac Newton was the inventor of the cat flap that is extremely popular in homes with cats today. While experimenting in the dark room, Spithead, one of the cats of Issac Newton, knocked the door open and ruined his experiment. This propelled Sir Newton to design the cat flap so that his cat could use the entrance without disturbing him.
Issac Newton is often accredited nowadays with inventing the cat flap. He is said to have cut two holes in the wall, one hole for his adult cat and the other hole for the small kittens. This Newton flap was supposed to be the predecessor of the modern cat flap.
11. Spiritual Connect
In Japan it is believed that cats have an ability to turn into spirits when they pass on. According to the Buddhist religion, the body of the cat is the temporary resting place for the spirits, who are later on released.
In the Egyptian culture, the cats were worshipped as Gods and played a very vital role. The ancient Egyptians had a strong belief that cats are actual Gods in feline form. Like these there are many beliefs and customs that were associated with these graceful animals that are still prevalent. In today’s time these cute animals are blessed with power of intuition, loyalty, and grace and abundance beauty.
12. Cats breed like Rabbits
One of the facts about Cats is that they are efficient breeders. Whenever a cat mates there is higher possibility of them getting pregnant. The reason being the female cat also known as queen are known as induced ovulators. They keep ovulating every 2 to 3 weeks until they are pregnant. A cat can get pregnant at 5 months of age.
The offspring can produce huge number of kittens, which is set to total around 420,000. Imagine the number of kittens that are roaming around the streets without proper homes and care. Neutering the male cat can help in preventing unwanted kittens. Spaying is also an option to prevent unwanted pregnancies in cats.
13. Cats can be Expensive
Some cat breeds are extremely expensive and their cost can burn a hole in your pocket. Costs of these cats can go up to a whopping $100,000.The most expensive cat breeds that was ever being purchased was the Asian Leopard Domestic Shorthair hybrid with the name Zeus. Zeus had an asking price of $154,000 and someone even paid that price to get him home.
If you need a cat breed with a good lineage and history, then be prepared to shell out some extra dollars to take them home. They are just not cheap. These cats are very beautiful and loving, but are extremely pricy. Also see (20 of The World’s Most Expensive Cats Breeds)
14. Leap of Faith
One of the facts about Cats is that they love height and when a cat falls from a very tall building it has the ability to somehow survive the fall when it hits the ground.
Andy holds the record of falling from the tallest area without any injuries. This cat fell from the 16th floor apartment almost 200 feet from the ground and still survived to tell the story.
Cats do have this extraordinary sense of balance because of their flexible bodies. They can turn their head, body and legs in such a way while falling that most of the time it lands on its feet with very less impact.
15. Punishment for smuggling Cats
It’s a known fact that cats were first domesticated in ancient Egypt some 4000 years ago and their association with human’s dates back further. The Egyptian culture was full of cat’s devotion. It was this devotion that led to a ban of export of cats in Egypt. The export of cats from Egypt was completely banned by a branch of Egyptian Government to deal with only this issue. Since, smuggling of cats was prevalent, these government appointed officials were sent to other countries to find and bring back the smuggled cats. By 450 BC, smuggling a cat out of Egypt invited a death penalty.
16. Coffee with inputs from Cats
Yes, cats have a small contribution in making some of the rarest coffees in the world, the Kopi Luwak. A wild cat Luwak that is found in Indonesia is the main contributor to this world famous coffee.
This rare coffee is created by using the berries that have been harvested from the dung of this cat after it eats the coffee berries. The Kopi Luwak is world’s costliest coffee that sells for $500 per bag. This uncommon method of producing fine coffee, different taste and aroma, short supply and high demand all factors makes it very expensive. The coffee beans are digested by a certain Indonesian wild cat called Palm Civet and that is why this coffee is also referred to as Civet cat coffee.
17. Heaviest Cat
The heaviest cat recorded has been a tabby cat named Himmy, from Queensland, Australia. Himmy was the heaviest cat weighing 47 pounds at the time. Unfortunately, Himmy could live only for 10 years and died due to weight issues. Guinness Book records have stopped conducting contests for fat cats in the 1980s to discourage people from over-feeding their cats, which were affecting their health. Podgy felines are cuddly and adorable, but care should be taken to ensure they keep their weight down. Proper diet and sufficient exercise will ensure your cat stays healthy and energetic.
18. Cat Memorial Tower
A cat memorial tower was constructed within Scotland to remember the life of Towser. Towser was a cat who got rid of more than 30,000 mice within her lifetime. This people from this town have dedicated this tower in the memory of a unique cat named Towser. The name of Towser was added to the Guinness Book of World Records for catching 28,899 mice. Every time Towser caught a mouse, she used to bring it back to the distillery according to Neal Cameron who has been making whiskeys for more than 19 years. Towser used to bring back the mouse even though it was headless or whole according to Neal Cameron.
19. Prominence in Cat Shows
The first cat show that was open to public was conducted in 1871 in London. Following that particular show, numerous cat shows started happening around the world. The prominence of cat shows also increased every year, which gave importance to various features about cats. Various new cat breeds were displayed in these cat shows that gave them acceptance as purebred breeds. Each and every cat was evaluated by the judges and points were awarded depending on the written standard for that particular breed. The standard is a part of the blueprint because it describes the specimen for a particular breed of cat, which can be revised by the breed council members.
20. Cats as Food
Yes, it may be difficult to believe for cat lovers, but cats are consumed as food in few Asian countries. Dogs are also not left alone; even they are consumed as a delicacy in some of these countries. As far as cats are concerned, about four million of them are being eaten in a single year throughout Asia, which is a weird facts about cats.
This practice is very common in countries like China and most of Asia. Cats are commonly found in the food menus of Vietnam, China and Korea. Cats are eaten as solo meals or even mixed with another meat dishes to add an extra flavor to the food. In some countries the cat meat is used for preparing medicines as they believe it can cure various ailments.
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