Cat Facts

Cats have AB blood groups just like people.

Siamese kittens are born white because of the heat inside the mother's uterus before birth. This heat keeps the kittens' hair from darkening on the points.

From "The Encyclopedia Britannica". All cats are members of the family Felidea. Interestingly enough, the cat family split from the other mammals at least 40,000,000 years ago, making them one of the oldest mammalian families.

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.

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't taste sweets.

Cats do not think that they are little people. They think that we are big cats. This influences their behavior in many ways.

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.

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.

Among other tasks, cats can be taught to use a toilet, come, sit, beg, eat with their paws, heel, jump through a hoop, play a piano, play dead, roll over, open a door, hide food in boxes, shake, and fetch.

More Fascinating Cat Facts

Cat Trivia

Physiology

Recent studies have shown that cats can see blue and green. There is disagreement as to whether they can see red.

Both humans and cats have identical regions in the brain responsible for emotion.

Historical Trivia

Miacis, the primitive ancestor of cats, was a small, tree-living creature of the late Eocene period, some 45 to 50 million years ago.

The first true cats came into existence about 12 million years ago and were the Proailurus.

Ancient Egyptian family members shaved their eyebrows in mourning when the family cat died.

Diet, Health, and Behavior

Cats respond most readily to names that end in an "ee" sound.

Female felines are "superfecund," which means that each of the kittens in her litter can have a different father.

Cats must have fat in their diet because they can't produce it on their own.

Cats and People

It has been scientifically proven that stroking a cat can lower one's blood pressure.

According to a Gallup poll, most American pet owners obtain their cats by adopting strays.

Miscellaneous

Cat litter was "invented" in 1947 when Edward Lowe asked his neighbor to try a dried, granulated clay used to sop up grease spills in factories. (In 1990, Mr. Lowe sold his business for $200 million.)

Sir Isaac Newton invented the cat-flap door.

More Interesting Cat Trivia