In the 4,000 years that cats have been domesticated, some strange and sometimes mysterious kitty behaviours have been discovered. We’ve gathered together our top 5 facts about cats - which you probably didn’t know!
Cat fact 1: When a cat purrs, it’s not always because they’re happy
One of a cat lover’s favourite sounds has got to be the contented, warm sound of a happy kitty purring away. But surprisingly, a cat’s purr can sometimes indicate something else - and it’s a good thing to be aware of as a cat owner.
A deep purr can be an emotional response and an indication of pain, unhappiness or stress. In fact, some cats have even been known to purr whilst giving birth. Purring releases endorphins, acting as a self-soothing mechanism and destresser to the kitty, helping them to rest and repair.
Cat fact 2: Cats can be right pawed or left pawed
We all know that humans are generally left or right handed - but the same goes, paw-wise, for cats! Whether it’s stepping into the litter box or toddling down the stairs, research has revealed that 73% of cats have a dominant paw.
And it seems that the dominant paw seems to depend heavily on a cat’s gender. Males generally prefer using their left paw to step out first, whereas females, for the most part, will choose their right paw. So, go on - figure out what paw your cat prefers and be sure to let us know!
Cat fact 3: A cat’s brain is almost identical to a human’s
It’s commonly believed that dogs are more intelligent than cats - but that’s not strictly true. The section of a cat's brain, which controls emotion is practically identical to ours. Just like us, cats have temporal, occipital, frontal and parietal lobes of their cerebral cortex.
If that’s too scientific for you, put simply, a cat's brain is 90% similar to humans - yes, 90%! Impressively, cats have short and long-term memory functions and can remember events up to 16 hours before - which is pretty impressive considering us humans sometimes forget where they parked the car!
Cat fact 4: Cats nose prints are as distinct as human’s fingerprints
Cat’s noses are the cutest things, aren’t they? Take a closer look at it and you’ll notice hundreds of tiny little bumps and ridges. These prints are completely unique to each cat and could be used as a method of identification - just like our fingerprints.
Although it’s a pretty interesting fact, we can’t exactly imagine a cat being happy to have his nose pressed into ink and pressed onto a piece of paper!
Cat fact 5: Cats sleep for up to 70% of their lives - but they have an excuse
What’s one of the most commonly used adjectives to describe a cat? Lazy, of course! That’s probably down to the fact that they spend 70% of their lives - around 13-16 hour every day - asleep. Ah, the dream life!
They do have a good excuse for this, though - and it has a lot to do with their genes. In the wild, cats hunt for prey in order to eat. Therefore, they’ve evolved to sleep a lot in order to save energy for the chase.
So although our furry little friends get their meals served up to them in a bowl, their genetic makeup is still technically the same.
So those were our top 5 cat fact you probably didn’t know - but if you did, we’re pretty impressed with your cat expertise!
