If you are thinking about getting a cat, there are a lot of fun facts that you’ll likely find interesting and helpful.
These animals make for great pets, and there are lots of things about them that will probably surprise you. You shouldn’t make a decision either way until you get the facts.
1. Purring Can Possibly Strengthen a Cat’s Bones
It is possible that a cat’s purring is actually beneficial to their bones. The frequency of the sound waves that are emitted by this particular noise can actually help their bones to heal faster than normal.
While this has yet to be proven, there is a good amount of research data that backs up this theory. It makes a lot of sense when you consider that cats are capable of stockpiling their energy for long stretches of time.
2. Cats Spend up to Half of their Day Grooming Themselves
The average cat spends anywhere from thirty to fifty percent of each day licking and pawing at itself. These animals do this to keep themselves well-groomed, which is important for numerous reasons. This keeps their circulation strong throughout their body, and it can even help regulate their internal temperature.
3. Meowing Is Only Used for Communicating With Humans
Believe it or not, cats do not meow as a way of talking to each other. This is something that these animals only do when they are trying to say something to their human owners. This noise can communicate anything from irritation to utter and complete joy.
In fact, it is one of the most versatile sounds that any animal on the planet is known to make. This can make it difficult to interpret what your cat is saying, but it is definitely interesting!
4. A Cat’s ‘Kneading’ Can Be a Sign of Territorial Behavior
Have you ever noticed your cat pressing its paws into your leg while you are sitting on the couch? They move their paws back and forth into you like they are kneading dough. One possible reason for this is that they are basically saying “you are mine”. It is the result of a very old territorial instinct that goes back many years.
5. Cats Aren’t a Big Fan of Sweet Foods
Cats enjoy eating a wide range of foods, but they aren’t big into sweets. This is simply due to the makeup of these animals’ taste buds, as well as their ancestral history. Try putting something sweet in front of your cat and see how it reacts. There is a good chance that they will turn their nose up at it.
6. The Male Cat has a Barbed Penis
All male cats have a barbed penis, which encourages ovulation in the female. This essentially increases the chances of successful mating. While it can be quite painful for the female, it is an important part of the breeding process.
Cats aren’t particularly sexual creatures like rabbits—they don’t do it for fun, but rather out of the instinct to procreate.
7. Cats Use Their Sense of Smell to Identify All Sorts of Things
Cats generally have an extremely keen sense of smell, which they use to identify everything from people to toys. Their olfactory sense has played an important part in their survival over the years, especially back in the old days. Before these animals were domesticated, they used their amazing sense of smell to avoid predators and catch prey.
8. Cats Have Been in Space
The very first cat to ever experience the wonders of outer space was sent into orbit back in the early 1960s by French scientists. The cat returned home without a scratch thanks to a gentle landing in a pod with a parachute attached. Since then other cats have been launched into space. There is actually quite a bit that we can glean from the research data from these little missions.
9. The Oldest Cat in the World is over 30 Years Old
Most cats live for about 14 or 15 years, but the oldest one in the world is currently 31 years of age. This cat’s name is Rubble, and it is a calico.
There are a lot of different things that ultimately determine how old a cat is going to get, including diet, activity level, and breed. There is no telling just how old Rubble is going to get. And there will undoubtedly be another cat that lives even longer at some point in time.
10. Cat’s Are Biologically Built to Sense Catnip
It will probably interest you to know that cats are actually built to respond to catnip. These animals have a very specific series of sensors that are fine-tuned to pick up on catnip, even from surprising distances.
There are a lot of odd behaviors that a cat might display when it smells catnip, which ranges from strange head movements to run around in circles. Just go on YouTube and look up videos of cats reacting to catnip. This is the kind of endless entertainment that you’d have to look forward to as a cat owner.
Conclusion
- While there is no definitive proof, researchers speculate that a cat’s purring actually helps increase their bone density.
- Cats spend up to half of their day grooming themselves in one way or another.
- These animals only meow at humans and not other cats.
- When your cat presses its paws into you over and over, they might be claiming you as their personal property.
- A vast majority of cats do not like foods that taste very sweet.
- The male cat has a barbed penis that aids in mating.
- Cats often rely on their sense of smell to identify people and all sorts of other things.
- The first cat was sent into space in the 1960s.
- The oldest cat in the entire world is now 31 years of age.
- A cat’s nose is naturally tuned for detecting catnip.
