Cat Facts

• Both humans and cats have identical regions in the brain responsible for emotion.  
• A cat's brain is more similar to a man's brain than that of a dog.
• A cat has more bones than a human; humans have 206, but the cat has 230 (some cites list 245 bones, and state that bones may fuse together as the cat ages).
• Cats have 30 vertebrae (humans have 33 vertebrae during early development; 26 after the sacral and coccygeal regions fuse)
• The cat's clavicle, or collarbone, does not connect with other bones but is buried in the muscles of the shoulder region. This lack of a functioning collarbone allows them to fit through any opening the size of their head.
• The cat has 500 skeletal muscles (humans have 650).
• Cats have 32 muscles that control the outer ear (compared to human's 6 muscles each). A cat can rotate its ears independently 180 degrees, and can turn in the direction of sound 10 times faster than those of the best watchdog.
• Cats' hearing is much more sensitive than humans and dogs.
• Cats' hearing stops at 65 khz (kilohertz); humans' hearing stops at 20 khz.
• A cat sees about 6 times better than a human at night, and needs 1/6 the amount of of light that a human does - it has a layer of extra reflecting cells which absorb light.
• Recent studies have shown that cats can see blue and green. There is disagreement as to whether they can see red.
• A cat's field of vision is about 185 degrees.
• Blue-eyed, pure white cats are frequently deaf.
• It may take as long as 2 weeks for a kitten to be able to hear well. Their eyes usually open between 7 and 10 days, but sometimes it happens in as little as 2 days.
• Cats can judge within 3 inches the precise location of a sound being made 1 yard away.
• Cats can be right-pawed or left-pawed.
• A cat cannot see directly under its nose.
• Almost 10% of a cat's bones are in its tail, and the tail is used to maintain balance.  
• The domestic cat is the only species able to hold its tail vertically while walking. You can also learn about your cat's present state of mind by observing the posture of his tail.
• If a cat is frightened, the hair stands up fairly evenly all over the body; when the cat is threatened or is ready to attack, the hair stands up only in a narrow band along the spine and tail. 
•  A cat has approximately 60 to 80 million olfactory cells (a human has between 5 and 20 million).  
• Cats have a special scent organ located in the roof of their mouth, called the Jacobson's organ. It analyzes smells - and is the reason why you will sometimes see your cat "sneer" (called the flehmen response or flehming) when they encounter a strong odor.
• A cat has a total of 24 whiskers, 4 rows of whiskers on each side. The upper two rows can move independently of the bottom two rows. A cat uses its whiskers for measuring distances. The whiskers of a cat are capable of registering very small changes in air pressure.
• Cats have 30 teeth (12 incisors, 10 premolars, 4 canines, and 4 molars), while dogs have 42. Kittens have baby teeth, which are replaced by permanent teeth around the age of 7 months.
• A cat's jaw has only up and down motion; it does not have any lateral, side to side motion, like dogs and humans. For this reason, don't rely on feeding dry food as a dental care program - cats need to have their teeth cleaned by a vet.
• A cat's tongue has tiny barbs on it.
• Cats lap liquid from the underside of their tongue, not from the top.
• Cats purr at the same frequency as an idling diesel engine, about 26 cycles per second.
• Domestic cats purr both when inhaling and when exhaling.
• The cat's front paw has 5 toes, but the back paws have 4. Some cats are born with as many as 7 front toes and extra back toes (polydactl).
• Cats walk on their toes.
• A domestic cat can sprint at about 31 miles per hour.
• A kitten will typically weigh about 3 ounces at birth. The typical male housecat will weigh between 7 and 9 pounds, slightly less for female housecats.
• Cats take between 20-40 breaths per minute.
• Normal body temperature for a cat is 102 degrees F.
• A cat's normal pulse is 140-240 beats per minute, with an average of 195.
• Cat's urine glows under a black light.
• Many cats love having their forehead gently stroked.
• If a cat is frightened, put your hand over its eyes and forehead, or let him bury his head in your armpit to help calm him.
• A cat will tremble or shiver when it is in extreme pain.
•  Cats respond most readily to names that end in an "ee" sound.
• Purring does not always indicate that a cat is happy and healthy - some cats will purr loudly when they are terrified or in pain.
• Cats must have fat in their diet because they can't produce it on their own.
• While many cats enjoy milk, it will give some cats diarrhea.
• A cat will spend nearly 30% of her life grooming herself.
• When a domestic cat goes after mice, about 1 pounce in 3 results in a catch.
• Mature cats with no health problems are in deep sleep 15 percent of their lives. They are in light sleep 50 percent of the time. That leaves just 35 percent awake time, or roughly 6-8 hours a day.
• Cats come back to full alertness from the sleep state faster than any other creature.
• A cat can jump 5 times as high as it is tall.
• The average lifespan of an outdoor-only (feral and non-feral) is about 3 years; an indoor-only cat can live 16 years and longer. Some cats have been documented to have a longevity of 34 years.
• Cats with long, lean bodies are more likely to be outgoing, and more protective and vocal than those with a stocky build.
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• An estimated 50% of today's cat owners never take their cats to a veterinarian for health care. Too, because cats tend to keep their problems to themselves, many owners think their cat is perfectly healthy when actually they may be suffering from a life-threatening disease. Therefore, cats, on an average, are much sicker than dogs by the time they are brought to your veterinarian for treatment.
• It has been scientifically proven that stroking a cat can lower one's blood pressure.
• In 1987, cats overtook dogs as the number one pet in America (about 50 million cats resided in 24 million homes in 1986). About 37% of American homes today have at least one cat.
• If your cat snores or rolls over on his back to expose his belly, it means he trusts you.
• Cats respond better to women than to men, probably due to the fact that women's voices have a higher pitch.
• In an average year, cat owners in the United States spend over $2 billion on cat food.
• When your cats rubs up against you, she is actually marking you as "hers" with her scent. If your cat pushes his face against your head, it is a sign of acceptance and affection.
• Contrary to popular belief, people are not allergic to cat fur, dander, saliva, or urine - they are allergic to "sebum," a fatty substance secreted by the cat's sebaceous glands. More interesting, someone who is allergic to one cat may not be allergic to another cat. Though there isn't (yet) a way of predicting which cat is more likely to cause allergic reactions, it has been proven that male cats shed much greater amounts of allergen than females. A neutered male, however, sheds much less than a non-neutered male.