Goldstein - 101 Amazing Facts About Cats

Title Page

101 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT CATS

Jack Goldstein

Publisher Information

Published in 2013 by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

The right of Jack Goldstein to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998

Copyright 2013 Jack Goldstein

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Disclaimer: All facts presented in this title were gained from common and reputable sources in print and on the internet. If any detail within this title is found to be incorrect, the author will be happy to publish a corrected version.

Introduction

Do you love cats? This book contains over one hundred facts about our favourite feline friends. Find out little known facts about cat behaviour, statistics about cats and information about why cats are so great. Separated into sections covering each area to make fact-finding easy, Ailurophiles will just love this!

General - Part 1

1. A cat cant move its jaws sideways like you can.
2. A group of kittens is called a kindle...
3. ...Whereas a group of adult cats is called a clowder.
4. A cats heart beats twice as fast as a humans.
5. The most popular names given to cats in America are Samantha and Tiger .
6. Cats can determine if someone in a room has an animal hair allergy. No-one knows why, but they will try to sit on that persons lap first.
7. Despite the phrase about grinning (and the character in Alice in Wonderland ) there is no such breed as a Cheshire Cat. It is thought that the saying relates to the shape of the mould for Cheshire cheese, which looked like a smiling cat.
8. In most countries, a black cat crossing your path is considered to be bad luck - however in Scotland they say it is a sign of upcoming good fortune.
9. Weirdly, Medieval people in France and England believed that a black cat crossing your path in moonlight was a sign you would die in a horrible epidemic of disease.
10. The most popular breed of cat is the Persian.

Statistics

1. There are more than 500 million cats in the world.
2. There are around 100 different breeds of domestic cat.
3. 30% of a cats waking hours are spent grooming themselves.
4. Over its life, the average cat purrs for more than ten thousand hours.
5. The heaviest cat ever recorded weighed nearly fifty pounds.
6. On average, cats sleep for around sixteen hours a day.
7. An average cat can run at a speed of 30 miles per hour.
8. A cat can jump around five times its own height.
9. Around seven percent of cats snore.
10. The oldest cat to give birth was 30 years old - she had a small litter of just two kittens.

Unusual Facts

1. Cat urine will glow underneath a black light - this helps find the location if you think your kitten has had an accident in the house!
2. If you talk to your cat more, it will talk back to you more!
3. Most cats dont have any eyelashes.
4. Killing a cat was a crime which carried the death penalty in ancient Egypt.
5. In English, we say that cats go meow, but in Japan they say that they go nyaa.
6. In Ancient Egypt however, they said the noise was Mau - and this is also the word they used for cat!
7. Horrifyingly, when people in England were put to death for witchcraft, their cats were often put to death as well. Awful.
8. Cats cant taste sweets.
9. Napoleon, the Emperor of France, was terrified of cats.
10. Cats dont knock things over by accident - animal behaviouralists think that they are either doing it for fun or to attract your attention... they are smart, arent they!

Biology

1. Most cats have four toes on each back foot, but five toes on their front feet!
2. Some people will tell you cats are colorblind - this is not true! Cats can definitely see reds, blues and greens.
3. The oldest cat on record was called Puss. She lived to be 36 years old.
4. Cats have four rows of whiskers.
5. The largest domestic cat breed is generally considered to be the Maine Coon cat.
6. Sadly, many white cats with blue eyes are deaf when they are born.
7. A cats field of vision is 220 degrees, whereas a humans is just 180.
8. Cats have 24 more bones in their body than humans do.
9. When a cat drinks, it is actually lapping up water from the underside of its tongue, not the top!
10. A cat uses its whiskers to tell whether a gap is large enough for it to fit through.

Wildcats and Big Cats

1. One difference between domesticated and wild cats is that domesticated breeds hold their tails straight up whilst walking; wild cats hold it either between their legs or horizontally.
2. The Scottish wildcat is Britains only remaining large wild predator.
3. The largest wildcat is the Siberian Tiger, which can grow to nearly 4m in length.
4. The smallest however is the Black-footed cat, which is just 50cm long.
5. There are a number of famous beasts across the world that are thought to be big cats that have escaped from captivity. Perhaps the most famous in Europe is the Beast of Bodmin Moor which some think is an escaped puma.
6. The cheetah is the worlds fastest mammal - they can run at speeds in excess of 70 miles per hour.
7. No two tigers have the same pattern of stripes.
8. You can hear a lions roar over five miles away.
9. Lions are the only cats that like to live in large groups (called prides).
10. Some breeders are mating domestic cats with wildcats to give hybrid breeds. Whilst they may look incredible, they are expensive - and VERY hard to care for!

Kittens

1. During a female cats life, she can have more than 100 kittens.
2. A litter of kittens do not necessarily all come from the same father.
3. The record for a 100% surviving litter was 14 kittens - the mothers name was Bluebell and she was a Persian cat.
4. Kittens are born with a full set of teeth that fall out and get replaces just like a humans!
5. Your kitten needs sleep to help it get bigger - its growth hormones are only released whilst it is asleep!
6. Kittens hate dirty litter boxes and will often refuse to use them.
7. When a kitten is first born, its heart beats around 250 times a minute.
8. Most kittens are born with blue eyes - it is only when they are exposed to light that they change colour!
9. It has been proven that kittens do dream when theyre asleep.
10. Important advice - dont feed your kitten grapes or raisins - they can cause kidney failure.

Behaviour

1. Cats paw at the floor to mark their territory - they sweat through the bottom of their paws (and the sweat contains scent) which they rub on the ground.
2. When a cat is near you and its tail lightly quivers, this is a sign of absolute love and affection.
3. However if the tail is thrashing, it is in a very bad mood!
4. Another sign of happiness is when a cat squeezes its eyes shut.
5. Cats can be trained to use a human toilet instead of a litter box. Amazingly, some owners have even managed to train their cats to flush after going!
6. When you cat brings you a dead mouse or bird, it isnt necessarily bringing you a present. Some animal behaviouralists believe that the cat thinks you are a poor hunter, and brings you prey because it thinks you are incapable of capturing it yourself.