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Below are a few cat facts to make you love your furry friend even more (if thats even possible).
Our lazy friends are the only domesticated species of the Felidae family. This group of carnivores includes tigers, lynxes, cougars and leopards. Now that is one bad ass family to be a member of.
Cat Facts #1. Lazy cat facts: 70% of a cats life is spent sleeping
Your kitty is living the good life! Most domestic cats do four things: sleep, eat, run, and play. Eat, run and play do not even come close to the amount of time they spend sleeping. This is not too far from their wild cousins. Tigers for instance sleep nearly 20 hours a day. This is primarily due to the amount of energy they expend hunting prey. Domestic cats don’t really have the same excuse :).
Cat Facts #2. Cats can’t really taste anything sweet!
In most mammals there are proteins on the tongue that bind to sugar and tell the brain that something sweet is coming down the pipe. These sweet sensing receptors are formed from the Tas1r2 and Tas1r3 proteins. Cats don’t possess the Tsa1r2 protein, which leads researches to believe that they can’t taste sweet foods.
Researchers did suggest that some cats that eat ice cream or other sugary foods may be able to use the Tas1r3 protein alone, but it would be extremely rare and has not yet been researched.
This seems to be a cat only trait and may be the reason so many domesticated cats get diabetes. I guess they are carnivores through and through.
Cat Facts #3. Cats can jump about 6 times their length
You’ve probably seen either your or a friends cat all over the house. Using their tails for balance, it is estimated that cats can reach these extraordinary heights due to their powerful back legs, which allow them to cover great distances.
Cat Facts #4. Uncovered cat poop? That a sign of aggression – 💩 cat facts
Cats, like dogs, are very territorial by nature. Instinctively they use things like urine and feces to show dominance or a higher position in the pecking order.
In the wild or in groups (groups of cats is called clowder), the dominant cats leave their feces uncovered, while the lower ranking members of the clowder cover it up.
Cat Facts #5. Cats sweat through their paws
Very similar to dogs, cats have sweat glands on their paws. Generally when they’re sweating, they’ll find a cool place to sleep it off.
Cat Facts #6. They have an amazing sense of smell!
Cats can detect extremely low concentration odors. Even as low as one part per million.
When your feline friend is walking around rubbing on things, that scent gets collected in their fur. When they lick themselves later, they are removing that scent from themselves in addition to keeping clean.
Cat Facts #7. Cats can see better than you at night
Cat retinas, which is the innermost light sensitive layer in your eye, contain a large number of rods. These rods work in lower levels of light and are completely responsible for night vision. Cones on the other-hand are responsible for our ability to see color and bright light.
Due to their high rod numbers, they can see in nearly 1/6th of the light a human needs.
Cat Facts #8. They are probably smarter than dogs
This cat fact might cause fights between cat and dog lovers, but researchers have found that cats are better at problem solving than their canine counter parts. Cat brains occupy about 0.9% of their body mass, while dogs are at 1.2% and humans at are 2%.
Keep in mind, that size isn’t everything… Cats have 300 million neurons in their brain while dogs only have 160 million. Their long term memory also seems to be better than dogs. Research like this is hard to be completely conclusive, but the evidence seems to suggest that cats win this flight.
Cat Facts #9. Owning a cat can reduce your heart problems
Turns out that the stress relief and reduction in anxiety provided by our furry friends can reduce your chance of dying from a heart attack by a third. The reduction in stress, lowers blood pressure and can protect against cardiovascular diseases!
Cat Facts #10. Males cats are left handed and females are right handed
A study published in 2017 by researchers in the United Kingdom showed that hand dominance was split based on sex. Testing 44 cats, they demonstrated that male cats significantly preferred using their left paws for food and walking. Female cats on the other hand preferred utilizing the right paws for these activities.
