You may love your cat, but you may not be fully aware of just how cool your she — and her overall species — really is. For example, did you know that cats have an extra organ that allows them to taste scents? Or that they developed meowing as a way to communicate exclusively with humans?
Clearly, there’s more to your little feline friend than meets the eye. So, to help you fully appreciate how awesome cats are, we asked cat care (Opens in a new window) professionals on Care.com — namely, cat sitters (Opens in a new window), boarders (Opens in a new window), and groomers (Opens in a new window)— to share their favorite fun facts about these mystical creatures. We then pulled together a list of the 101 most amusing cat facts that you can share with your friends and family.
Facts About Cat Anatomy & Physiology
A house cat’s genome is 95.6 percent tiger (Opens in a new window), and they share many behaviors with their jungle ancestors, says Layla Morgan Wilde (Opens in a new window), a cat behavior expert and the founder of Cat Wisdom 101. These behaviors include scent marking by scratching, prey play, prey stalking, pouncing, chinning, and urine marking.
Cats are believed to be the only mammals who don’t taste sweetness (Opens in a new window).
Cats are nearsighted (Opens in a new window), but their peripheral vision and night vision are much better than that of humans.
Cats are supposed to have 18 toes (five toes on each front paw; four toes on each back paw).
Cats can jump (Opens in a new window) up to six times their length.
Cats’ claws all curve downward, which means that they can’t climb down trees head-first (Opens in a new window). Instead, they have to back down the trunk.
Cats’ collarbones (Opens in a new window) don’t connect to their other bones, as these bones are buried in their shoulder muscles.
Cats have 230 bones (Opens in a new window), while humans only have 206.
Cats have an extra organ (Opens in a new window) that allows them to taste scents on the air, which is why your cat stares at you with her mouth open from time to time.
Cats have whiskers (Opens in a new window) on the backs of their front legs, as well.
Cats have nearly twice the amount of neurons in their cerebral cortex (Opens in a new window) as dogs.
Cats have the largest eyes relative to their head size (Opens in a new window) of any mammal.
Cats make very little noise when they walk around (Opens in a new window). The thick, soft pads on their paws allow them to sneak up on their prey — or you!
Cats’ rough tongues (Opens in a new window) can lick a bone clean of any shred of meat.
Cats use their long tails to balance themselves (Opens in a new window) when they’re jumping or walking along narrow ledges.
Cats use their whiskers to “feel” the world around them (Opens in a new window)in an effort to determine which small spaces they can fit into. A cat’s whiskers are generally about the same width as its body. (This is why you should never, EVER cut their whiskers.)
Cats walk like camels and giraffes (Opens in a new window): They move both of their right feet first, then move both of their left feet. No other animals walk this way.
Male cats are more likely to be left-pawed (Opens in a new window), while female cats are more likely to be right-pawed.
Though cats can notice the fast movements of their prey, it often seems to them that slow-moving objects are actually stagnant (Opens in a new window).
Some cats are ambidextrous (Opens in a new window), but 40 percent are either left- or right-pawed.
There are cats who have more than 18 toes. These extra-digit felines are referred to as being “polydactyl (Opens in a new window).”
Facts About Cat Health & Wellness
A cat’s average lifespan increased by a year over the span of time between 2002 and 2012, according to a study by Banfield Pet Hospital (Opens in a new window).
According to The Huffington Post (Opens in a new window), cats typically sleep for 12 to 16 hours a day.
Cats are crepuscular (Opens in a new window), which means that they’re most active at dawn and dusk.
Cats are fastidious creatures about their “bathroom.” If you have more than one cat, you should have one litter box for each (Opens in a new window).
Cats can spend up to a third of their waking hours (Opens in a new window)grooming.
Cats live longer when they stay indoors (Opens in a new window).
Cats’ purring may be a self-soothing behavior (Opens in a new window), since they make this noise when they’re ill or distressed, as well as when they’re happy.
Cats will refuse an unpalatable food (Opens in a new window) to the point of starvation.
Despite popular belief, many cats are actually lactose intolerant (Opens in a new window).
Female cats have the ability to get pregnant when they are only 4 months old (Opens in a new window)!
Grapes and raisins (Opens in a new window), as well as onions, garlic, and chives (Opens in a new window), are all extremely harmful foods for cats. Grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure — although the reasoning behind that isn’t clear. Meanwhile, onions, garlic, and chives wreak havoc on your cat’s gastrointestinal system and can cause anemia.
If you keep your cat active during the day (Opens in a new window), he will sleep better at night. If you’re not free-feeding your cat, you can also help her get a good night’s sleep by providing her with a substantial evening meal (Opens in a new window).
It’s believed that catnip produces an effect (Opens in a new window)similar to LSD or marijuana in cats. The effects of nepetalactone — the chemical in catnip that can makes cats crazy — wears off within 15 minutes (Opens in a new window), and won’t surface again for a few hours, even if your cat remains in sniffing distance.
Kittens can be spayed or neutered (Opens in a new window) when they are only eight weeks old. If possible, these procedures should be performed in the first 5 months of your cat’s life.
Male cats who have been fixed need fewer calories (Opens in a new window) to maintain their weight.
Spaying and neutering can extend a cat’s life. The Banfield Pet Hospital study (Opens in a new window) found that neutered males live an average of 62 percent longer than unneutered cats and spayed females live an average of 39 percent longer than unspayed cats.
Your cat’s grooming process (Opens in a new window)stimulates blood flow to his skin, regulates his body temperature and helps him relax.
Facts About Cat Communication Cues