10 Fun Facts about Cats
Cats are an enigma that have captured the hearts of people for thousands of years. Their mysterious personalities and adorable looks have made them an incredibly popular pet.
1. The oldest known pet cat existed 9,500 years ago
This interesting fact about cats is guaranteed to wow at your next dinner party. Did you know that originally it was thought that Egyptians domesticated the cat? But in 2004, French archaeologists discovered a 9,500 year old cat grave in Cyprus. This makes this the oldest known pet cat and it predates Egyptian art about cats by over 4,000 years!
2. Cats spend 70% of their lives sleeping
If you thought cats spent a lot of their lives sleeping, you’d be right. According to Veterinary Hub, Cats actually spend 70% of their lives sleeping, which works out to around 13-16 hours a day. It’s a cat’s life!
3. A cat was the Mayor of an Alaskan town for 20 years
An orange tabby cat called Stubbs was the mayor of Talkeetna, a small town in Alaska for 20 years! He had several uncontested elections and although he didn’t hold any legislative power, he was loved by locals and tourists alike.
4. The record for the longest cat ever is 48.5 inches
Domestic cats are usually considered to be quite small and dainty creatures. But did you know the world’s longest cat was a Maine Coon called Stewie, and was measured at 48.5 inches? Whereas, the record for the tallest cat belonged to Arcturus at a whopping 19.05 inches tall! Those are some big cats.
5. The richest cat in the world had ?7 million
The richest cat in the world according to Guinness World Records is Blackie. When his millionaire owner passed away he refused to recognise his family in his will and instead gave his 7-million-pound fortune to Blackie! We can’t believe that interesting cat fact!
6. Cats walk like camels and giraffes
Have you ever noticed that cats walk like camels and giraffes? Their walking sequence is both right feet first, followed by both left feet, so they move half of their body forward at once.
7. Isaac Newton invented the cat door
The scientist is most famous for calculated gravity, but it’s also believed that Isaac Newton invented the cat door. How Stuff Works writes that when Newton was working on his experiments at the University of Cambridge he was constantly interrupted by his cats scratching at the door. So he called the Cambridge carpenter to saw two holes in the door, one for the mother cat and one for her kittens! Apparently these holes can still be seen at the university today.
8. In 1963 a cat went to space
You’ve heard of monkeys and dogs in space, but did you know that a cat braved the great unknown too? On October 18th 1963 Felicette, also known as ‘Astrocat’ was the first and only cat to go to space.
9. Ancient Egyptians would shave off their eyebrows when their cats died
According to Ancient History Encyclopedia, Herodotus wrote in 440BC that when a pet cat died in Ancient Egyptian times the family members would shave off their eyebrows in mourning. Now that’s an interesting cat fact!
10. House cats share 95.6% of their genetic makeup with tigers
This cat fact will really blow your mind. A study discovered that our little house cats share 95.6% of their genetic makeup with tigers!They also share a lot of the same behaviours such as scent and urine marking, prey stalking and pouncing.
