Some Interesting Facts About Cats - Did you know...?

Here are a few facts that you may or may not know about your cat...

• The nose pad of a cat is ridged in a pattern that is unique, it is similar to the fingerprint of a human.
  
• There are more than 500 million domestic cats in the world, with 33 different breeds.
  
• A group of kittens is called a "kindle" (Does that mean that Amazons' eBook reader actually means "Group of kittens"?!).
  
• A group of grown cats is called a "clowder."
• A cat's heart beats at 110 to 140 beats per minute, thats twice as fast as a human heart.
  
• During her productive life, one female cat could have more than 100 kittens.
  
• The first cat show was held in 1895 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
  
• A cats sense of smell is fourteen times stronger than ours (unfortunate when using the litter tray!)
  
• Cats knead with their paws when they're happy.
  
• Your cat can "read" your moods so pay attention; the next time you are sad or under stress you may also notice a difference in your cat's behavior.
  
• The domestic cat is the only cat species able to hold its tail vertically while walking.  All wild cats hold their tails horizontally or tucked between their legs while walking.
  
• An adult cat will almost never meow at another cat. This sound is reserved for them to communicate with their kittens and also humans.
  
• A cat can jump up to five times its own height in a single leap and they love being up high which is why they will sleep in trees.
  
• A cat’s back is extremely flexible because it has up to 53 loosely fitting vertebrae whereas humans only have 34.
  
• Cats eyes come in three shapes: round, slanted and almond.
• Cats are the sleepiest of all mammals and on average they spend 2/3 of each day sleeping. They also spend nearly 1/3 of their waking hours cleaning themselves leaving not much time for other things!
• Cats often have a third eyelid that is not normally visible to us. If you are seeing it more often then a trip to the vet could be in order as the cat may be ill.
  
• Cats don’t have sweat glands over their bodies like humans do, instead, they sweat only through their paws.
• Female cats tend to be right pawed, while male cats are more often left pawed. Interestingly, 90% of humans are right handed.
  
• Cats make about 100 different sounds. Dogs make only about 10.
  
• A cat can travel at a top speed of approximately 31 mph (49 km) over a short distance.
  
• A cat’s jaw can’t move sideways, so a cat can’t chew large chunks of food
  
• The heaviest cat on record is Himmy, a Tabby from Queensland, Australia. He weighed nearly 21 kg. He died at the age of 10.
  
• The lightest cat on record is a blue point Himalayan called Tinker Toy, who weighed 1 pound 616 g. Tinker Toy was 2.75 inches (7 cm) tall and 7.5 inches (19 cm) long.
  
• The oldest cat on record was Crème Puff from Austin, Texas, who lived from 1967 to August 6, 2005, three days after her 38th birthday. A cat typically can live up to 20 years, which is equivalent to about 96 human years.
  
• A cat lover is called an Ailurophilia which is Greek for cat+lover

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