37 amazing facts about cats

Signs associated with cats

According to popular observations, cats intuitively sense change. They say that by observing the behavior of your pet, you can predict the weather, the arrival of guests, an impending illness, a change for the better or misfortune:

a cat sleeps with its belly up - to the heat;
the cat curled up into a tight ball - it will soon get colder;
the cat washes its face all day - wait for guests;
A cat washing itself means the imminent arrival of guests
a cat reaches out to a person - for a new thing;
a cat rubbing against a person’s ear means an increase in money;
The cat sneezed three times - someone in the house will get sick.

By the way, it is believed that if a cat lies on a sick person, then it cannot be driven away, since the animal takes the illness upon itself.

You also need to monitor what part of the human body the pet settles on - they say that healing cats lie down where the source of the disease lies.

It is believed that a red cat in the house attracts money, a black one wards off evil spirits, a white one protects the health of its owners, and a tricolor one is responsible for peace in the family.

First aid for a kitten

The kitten is just beginning to live and is actively showing its famous feline curiosity in relation to everything that surrounds it. Every new day for your furry pet consists of exciting adventures and discoveries. But, unfortunately, even in the limited space of a house or apartment, dangers can await him. You will learn how to help a kitten in an emergency from our article.

About travel

Among pets, cats are absolute champions in orienteering. They return to their birth threshold more often than dogs and birds:

in England, one cat returned to his home after running 70 km through a wooded area - the journey took 3 weeks;
in Holland, a pet walked 150 km in five months;
in the state of Georgia (USA), a cat that was taken 320 km away was returned;
In France, a record of 700 km was registered - the cat overcame it in seven months.

Among the cats there are also world-famous travelers. For example, Millie, who, together with her owner, climber Craig Armstrong, conquered many mountain peaks. They have a common Instagram account and a website that is very popular. Millie has her own climbing equipment, which has saved her more than once in the most dangerous and difficult places. She has a well-developed instinct, so she is often the first to explore unfamiliar places, and then, if there is no danger, she returns for her owner, and they continue their journey together.

Millie, a brave cat climber from Utah, refutes all stereotypes about cat laziness

Another well-known tailed traveler on social networks is the cat Burma, who, together with his owner Steven Simmons and the dog Pappy, explores all the most beautiful places in America. The cat visited mountain peaks, sailed boats on lakes and even tried his hand at surfing. It is very interesting that all travel gives him sincere pleasure. Burma expertly poses for photographs that then receive thousands of likes on social networks.

In 2008, Stephen Simmons adopted a cat from a homeless woman, and since then they have traveled all over America together.

Laura Moss, a world-famous cat lover, created a website and hashtag dedicated to cats who travel with their owners. A site that has received a great response from people from different countries is called AdventureCats. You can read about many amazing cats here:

Sookie, who spends her free time enjoying the scenery of Canada's Lake Louise;
Captain Ahab, who sails the seas;
cats Deeja and Boomer, who are first-class skateboarders.

The site also has all the necessary information regarding traveling with pets.

Bengal cat Suki loves active recreation near the water

Incredible abilities, mystical stories

The process of a cat falling always occurs the same way: the animal sequentially straightens its head, then its back, legs, and finally bends its back to soften the impact on the ground.

Mysticism or unusual abilities. Many cat owners have noticed medicinal properties in their pets. There is even scientific feline therapy - an area of traditional medicine that uses contacts with representatives of the cat family for therapy and prevention. It has been noted that the average owner of furry pets suffers from heart attacks and strokes three times less often than other people. Psychics claim that purrs have the gift of harmonizing a person’s aura.

The height of a cat's jump is five times the height of the animal.

Thanks to the hunting instincts of pussies, 33 species of birds and rodents have disappeared from the face of the Earth.

The Catholic religion attributed kitties to kinship with evil spirits. In our country, a cat was considered a symbol of prosperity and a valuable gift.

The cat is the only animal that is not mentioned in the Bible. Nobody knows why.

Biologists have proven that cats react to seismic activity.

In fairy tales and legends, cats are often endowed with paranormal abilities. Every furry owner has noticed the detached gaze of a pet, looking into the distance and following something, someone invisible to humans. Part of the mystery of the cat's appearance is its habit of sleeping during the day and hunting at night. But how else can you catch a mouse?

There are sinister superstitions that cats can steal a person's breath in their sleep. Such prejudices are rooted in the Middle Ages, when people tended to see magic in any creatures and events.

The cat calmly washes itself on a sunny day, and in anticipation of bad weather, curls up to keep warm. Restless behavior of a pet means bad weather, peaceful sleep means warm days.

Thanks to their sensitivity to ultrasound, cats can hear conversations between dolphins and domestic rodents.

The famous physicist Nikola Tesla decided to study electricity after receiving an electric shock from a cat.

Apart from a cat, not a single animal can survive falling from a height of nine floors. A cat named Andy broke this record by surviving a fall from 16 floors.

According to beliefs in Britain and Australia, the black kitty brings success.

Cats have a third eyelid that becomes visible only when the pet is sick.

According to Japanese beliefs, after death a purr becomes a spirit.

About health and physiology

The body of our pets has many features:

relative to body size, cats’ eyes are disproportionately large, because their ancestors had to hunt in the wild at night in poor lighting;
due to the lack of muscles that regulate the shape of the lens, cats have difficulty focusing their gaze on nearby objects;
females are mostly right-handed, and males are left-handed;
Finding out which group your cat belongs to is quite simple: pay attention to which paw she usually digs for litter in the tray. If an animal uses both paws equally well, then it can be called ambidextrous.
the surface pattern of a cat's nose is unique, like a human fingerprint;
all cats are born blue-eyed, and as they grow older the color changes;
unlike people, cats can drink sea water - their kidneys filter the salt;
They lick their own wounds, because cat saliva contains a special substance - lysozyme. It has antiseptic properties, disinfects and promotes healing of damage;
Cats only sweat on their paw pads.

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

About breeds

Today, more than a hundred cat breeds are officially registered:

The Burmese are considered sacred in Tibet. Since ancient times, these animals lived in Buddhist temples, as the monks believed that the souls of their ancestors resided in their bodies;

Around 1925, the Burmese cat was officially listed in French glossaries under the name Sacred Burma
In the Land of the Rising Sun, Japanese bobtails were revered - tailless cats, which became the prototype of maneki-neko - a talisman that brings good luck and wealth. In medieval Japan, a cat's tail was generally considered an excess, was compared to a snake and was cut off;

The ancient Japanese were afraid of long-lived cats and those with long tails: it was believed that such animals could turn into Nekomata - a demon in cat form
The DNA of representatives of the Siamese breed contains the gene for albinism, so the kittens are born white. They begin to darken over time under the influence of temperature;

The colder the region where the Siamese cat lives, the darker the spots
Maine Coons are recognized as one of the most intelligent cats, so they are easy to train. The most famous connoisseur of this breed was Ernest Hemingway - he had 57 raccoon cats;

Hemingway's first Maine Coon was a six-toed cat named Snowball.
The prototype of the Cheshire cat from Lewis Carroll's book is considered to be the ancestors of modern British cats and their cute facial expression;

British kitten is the face of the Whiskas brand
The mythical cat Skogcat, a character from Scandinavian mythology famous for his ability to climb steep cliffs, is a Norwegian forest cat. Representatives of this breed are unusually dexterous, they can climb trees and descend from them at breakneck speed;

The Norwegian Forest Cat is the national symbol of Norway.
The rarity and high cost of the Chausie, a relatively new breed developed at the beginning of the 21st century, is explained by the fact that many males are born sterile and unable to produce offspring.

Approximately half of Chausie kittens are born without breed characteristics.

There are cat breeds that, for certain reasons, could not develop or simply did not survive to this day:

The Bristol is a cross between a common domestic cat and a margay (a South American species of wild cat). From its wild half, the breed received a beautiful spotted color. Unfortunately, most of the animals turned out to be infertile, and the breed became extinct;
Buckfast Blue - cats bred at Buckfast Abbey had an unusual curly coat, like the American Curls and Devon Rex. The extinction occurred largely due to the fact that there were no persons interested in further selection of animals;
Limau Colum is an idea from a cat lover from America that never came to fruition. He wanted to create a hybrid of wild cats from Singapore, but for some reason he did not realize his plan;
Panturettes are cats with unusual oval-shaped ears that look like panthers. The breed disappeared due to the death of its creator, since there were no people willing to continue breeding;
twisted cat-kangaroo - animals with a terrible mutation of the front legs, which were unsuitable for walking, causing the cats to walk on their hind legs. Breeding was prohibited because it was decided that it was very cruel to animals;
in Stalingrad in the 30s of the 20th century, cats with short legs, like modern munchkins, were born. There was no further breeding, but they still received a name - Stalingrad kangaroos;
Chinese lop, or Sum Su, are ancient cats that have not survived to this day, but are mentioned in various sources. According to the data, they are the first representatives of fold-eared breeds. There is an opinion that Sum Su were not cats, but only animals similar to them;
Hemingway's Cats with more toes on their paws than normal. There is information that Hemingway himself tried for quite a long time to breed a new breed, but he did not succeed.

About hunting

The ancestors of the domestic cat were always small animals, and therefore their prey was small in size. Hence the preserved feature - to eat often, but in small portions.

Cats most often hunt not to satisfy hunger, but for pleasure. The University of Georgia even conducted research in this area during the KittyCam project. It turned out that cats eat less than a third of their prey, and play with the leftovers, bring them to the owner as a trophy, or simply throw them away.

The fact that cats carry their prey into the house indicates the pet’s desire to feed its owner, who does not know how to hunt. This is a kind of expression of love and care. Moreover, most often this is done by females who are accustomed to taking care of their offspring.

According to some studies, more than twenty species of animals and birds have disappeared due to the fault of domestic cats.

Reasons for the popularity of cats

A century ago, cats were bred mainly to hunt mice and rats. Now, for this purpose, a cat is taken into the house only in 10% of cases. The main reason why people now decide to adopt a kitten is the opportunity to interact with the animal.

It is important for people that someone is waiting for them and meeting them, that they need them, that they show affection.

According to statistics, the main cat lovers are pensioners over 60 years of age (43%) and single women (36%).

Most pensioners keep cats at home

Interestingly, only 25% of cat owners preferred purebred and rare animals - in this case, when choosing an animal, cat owners are guided not only by the desire to find a friend, but also to confirm their status or start a business selling kittens.