Fun Facts About Cats

How much do you really know about cats? Aside from the fact that all they seem to do is nap, there are actually quite a less obvious ones too!

~ The normal body temperature of a cat is 102 degrees Fahrenheit. This explains a lot, especially when it’s already hot and the cats insist on laying on your lap anyway. We call them little portable furnaces.

~ A cat spends about 30% of its life grooming itself. Combined with the the remaining time spent sleeping, how do they fit in food and bathroom breaks?

~ A cat can recognize its owner’s foot steps from hundreds of feet away. This explains why Turbo comes running out to greet us, but the other two either stay put or run under the bed.

~ The life expectancy for a cat was 8 years in 1930. Today, that number has doubled to 16 years. I think this is great and due in large part to better vet/owner care, as well as more cat owners keeping their cats inside. I also seem to be hearing more anecdotal stories about peoples’ cats living to their early 20s now.

~ You can tell a cat’s mood by looking into its eyes. A frightened or excited cat will have large, round pupils. An angry cat will have narrow pupils. The pupil size is related as much to the cat’s emotions as to the degree of light. When Turbo is chasing bed mice, he gets huge eyes and puffs out his muzzle. We call it his kitten face.

~ It is a common belief that cats are color blind. However, recent studies have shown that cats can see blue, green and red. This is a new one to me – I’d read that dogs are colorblind, but didn’t know cats were considered to be as well.

~ Cats do not think that they are little people. They think that we are big cats. This influences their behavior in many ways. I’ve been telling my husband this for years, and it especially rings true when Turbo insists on grooming him when he gets out of the shower.

[source; image: flickr]