37 amazing facts about cats

Mythical cats

Since ancient times, cats have been considered attributes of magical rituals. They were also credited with supernatural powers.

In Spanish-Jewish mythology, there is a belief that Lilith, Adam's first wife, was reincarnated as a vampire. She took the form of a black cat and drank human blood from sleeping children. Since then, there has been a superstition that cats “suck out” children's souls.

In ancient China, cats were believed to have the ability to exorcise evil spirits. These animals also personified Yin energy, femininity and darkness.

In Egyptian mythology, the sun god Ra is often represented as a red cat who swims along the underground Nile every night, fighting a serpent.

In Christianity, cats are endowed with negative traits. They are considered the embodiment of evil spirits and assistants of Satan. Beliefs say that witches flock to the Sabbath in the form of black cats.

Muslim legend says that it was a cat that saved the Prophet Muhammad from a snake attack. As a sign of gratitude, he stroked the cat, and stripes remained on its back - color. The Prophet is often called the "father of cats." There is also a legend that one day a cat fell asleep on the edge of his clothes. When leaving, he cut off the hem of his robe so as not to wake up the sleeping woman with his departure.

In Rus', cats were known back in the 7th century. Ancient legends mention the Bayun Cat, endowed with the gift of putting the enemy to sleep, thus sending death to him.

Interesting facts about cats

Mouser

In the Middle Ages, Europe was struck by a plague epidemic. One of the reasons for the spread of the disease was the mass extermination of the cat tribe and, as a consequence, an increase in the population of rats - carriers of the plague.
In Britain, cats guard food warehouses, for which they receive payment in the form of food, and also after a few years they go into “retirement”. One furry guard annually saves about ten tons of grain.
Cats allow themselves to sleep for 70% of their lives.
Among furries, there are right-handers and left-handers. The former are more common among girls, and the latter among boys.
A cat can give birth to about a hundred kittens over the course of its life.
The Egyptians idolized cats so much that if a pet died, they shaved off their eyebrows as a sign of mourning.
Men who have a cat in their house are considered luckier in their personal lives.
Excessive love for cats is quite common and has even received a name - ailurophilia.
Cats are inferior to dogs in terms of intelligence, but are capable of performing more complex tasks. The only condition for this is the cat’s personal interest in the matter.
Most owners (95%) admit that they talk to their pets, every fifth cat is blow-dried after bathing, and every third owner is sure that their pet reads their thoughts.
A black cat does not always portend trouble. In Britain and Australia, such an animal is associated with great luck.
If the cat is unsure whether it will fit through the hole, it will use its whiskers to explore the area.
When bringing dead mice into the house, the cat does not try to feed the owner. He tries to teach him to hunt and eat properly.
Most purrs are not that afraid of water. They can easily go into the water and fish. Home bathing frightens pets only because they are forced into a basin.
Cats hide when they are sick. A weakened body becomes easy prey for enemies, so the animal, feeling unwell, tries to take cover

Relationships with people

Scientists believe that the domestication of cats occurred more than three thousand years ago. The Egyptians were the first to allow cats into their homes. And the ancients can be understood: the animal not only perfectly guarded food warehouses, but also rose to the rank of a deity. But it is difficult to understand a cat: it is still not clear why an independent, freedom-loving animal needed to live under the same roof with a person. Perhaps the Murkas needed universal adoration? A lot of arguments can be given in favor of this version:

Cats have an excellent sense of intonation in the human voice. When addressing your pet harshly, remember that he will definitely feel it. But a sense of self-superiority will not allow the cat to either admit or agree with your opinion.

Murki meow only “for people.” In the company of cats, furry ones use other sounds. For unintelligent people, animals “invented” hundreds of variants of “meow”, naively believing that a person distinguishes the meaning of each of them.

The tail serves as a kind of mood indicator. Raised vertically and slightly quivering means the cat is happy to see you. Lifelessly drooping, most likely, indicates the Murka’s reluctance to have anything to do with you. If a pet swings its tail from side to side, then it is probably deciding on something: to enter the room or not to enter, to eat or sleep. Agree, this is a matter of utmost importance.
Cats don't always rub against humans out of friendliness. Most often, the musk smells a foreign scent on “its” person and, with the help of its scent, tries to kill someone else’s. The same explains the habit of tailed animals to sleep on clothes and new things.
Licking belongs to the same category of gestures. If the cat begins to actively “look after” you, most likely she considers you a representative of her “herd”. And you should smell like her and generally urgently need tenderness.
A cat tramples its owner's stomach - there is a reason for pride. The person has pleased the pet in all its whims and can calmly enjoy the neighborhood. If the cat also nudged you with its forehead, rejoice, you’ve hit a real jackpot of furry emotions.
Cats act as a sedative. In families where furry animals live, there are fewer quarrels and significantly lower stress levels.
Most house murkas bury traces of their vital activity. But if the animal does not try to hide its “deeds,” it tells the person: “I am not afraid of you.” This is in some way a sign of aggression or competition.

Features of the fall

Since ancient times, people have been interested in the unusual feature of cats when they fall. The amazing thing about this process is that the animals always land on all 4 paws. To understand the essence of such a mysterious phenomenon, serious research was carried out.

It was found that the ability to land on their feet when falling appears in kittens at the age of 3-4 weeks. The skill is finally formed at 6–7 weeks from birth.

In order for an animal to make a complete 180° flip in the air, the height of the fall must be at least 30 cm. The developed vestibular apparatus, which is located in the inner ear, is mainly responsible for the amazing landing abilities. In addition, cats have a reflex to spread their limbs to the sides when falling.

However, reflex paw spreading may not work if the height of the fall is too great, as the animal may experience shock. If a cat falls from a small height, it may be injured because it will not have time to regroup. As for the speed of fall, regardless of the height, it will not be more than 100 km/h.

It was found that when falling, the regrouping technique for all cats is almost identical. Animals pull their forelimbs closer to themselves, and straighten their hind limbs. Then the cat quickly changes the position of its body, while its front and back parts deviate in different directions. After which the forelimbs are extended, and the hind limbs are tucked closer to the body.

The back and front of the body rotate and take the desired position for landing. It is believed that the tail helps cats feel balance and take the desired position. However, representatives of tailless breeds are just as good at landing on their feet as their tailed counterparts.

Fluffy record holders

The longest cat Stewie

The Guinness Book of Records also contains interesting facts about cats:

The longest-living record holder was the cat Creme Puff from Texas. He lived for 38 years. And the oldest cat lives in Australia. She was born in 1977.
The most famous mousetrapper was the cat Towser, who lived at the whiskey factory. During his 21 years of service, the furry hunter killed more than 28,000 rodents. A monument was erected in honor of the faithful “servant”.
The most well-fed cat is considered to be Himmy, who weighed 21 kilograms and, thanks to a waist measuring 84 centimeters, was included in the Book of Records.
The longest cat in the world was, of course, the Maine Coon. Its length was 123.19 cm
The most notorious traveler is the cat Hamlet, who escaped from his carrier during a flight. Seven weeks later, the fugitive was found in the cabin. The distance that the cat “flew” was about 600 thousand km.
The record for the largest number of cats living in one house was set in Canada. The couple Jack and Donna kept 689 pets at the same time.
A cat named Mincho has set one of the strangest records. She climbed up a tree and didn’t get down... for six years. Living at the top, the pussy managed to give birth to kittens three times.
A fertility record was set in Africa: a Persian cat gave birth to 14 kittens. In 1970, there was a cat in Britain who also gave birth to 19 kittens, but only 14 of them survived.
Today, Mr Peebles is considered the smallest cat, weighing 1.35 kg with a height of just over 15 cm.

Manul

This wild inhabitant of the Caspian plains has been known to science since 1782. The Pallas's cat is a high-altitude cat with the densest fur (hair density is 9 thousand/cm2. Thanks to the fur coat, the Pallas's cat can withstand frosts down to -50 Celsius. The savage feeds on a variety of rodents, including hares. In terms of behavior, the animal is not aggressive and is rarely the first to get into a fight, however, it can give an answer to any offender.

Pallas' cats live in rocky crevices or burrows, adhere to a sedentary lifestyle and are perfectly camouflaged in the steppe thanks to their spotted color.

Although the manul's parameters are similar to an ordinary domestic cat, the physiology of this animal is different:

Pallas cats are more vulnerable to infections because the immune system of these animals has not experienced contact with viruses and bacteria.
The pupils of the Pallas's cat always maintain a rounded shape, without turning into slits.
Once in captivity, the Pallas's cat refuses to reproduce.
A female Pallas's cat gives birth once a year.