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9 Fun Facts About Cats You'll Want To Share

September 29, 2021

Our Top 9 Favorite Feline Facts

1. Cats are pretty much tigers.

Cats share 95.6% of their genetic makeup with...tigers! Pretty cool, right?

That might also explain why house cats share so many of the same behavioral traits as tigers, such as marking their territory with urine, stalking their prey, and pouncing.

2. Cats can be really, really fast.

If you’ve ever tried to catch your cat to take them to the vet’s, you might not be surprised by this fact - but it’s one of our favorites!

Cats can run up to 30 miles per hour, although only over short distances. That means your feline friend might easily come up trumps in a race against the fastest human ever (Usain Bolt once recorded a running speed of 27.5 mph).

Of course, how fast your cat can actually run depends on their breed, age, and other factors.

3. Cats have been pets for at least 9500 years.

It’s common knowledge that cats were beloved by the Egyptians, and many pet cats were mummified with their owners so that they could join them in the afterlife.

However, in 2004 archaeologists discovered the grave of a pet cat in Cyprus that was 9500 years old!

The cat was actually buried alongside a human, suggesting a very close relationship.

Archaeologists have also discovered 10,000-year-old pottery and engravings featuring images of cats. The fact that ancient artists chose to include cats in their work shows that cats have clearly had an important personal or symbolic connection with humans for a very long time.

4. The world’s richest cat had almost $10 million.

When British cat-lover and millionaire recluse Ben Rea died in 1988, he left his £7,000,000 fortune to his beloved cat Blackie.

The money was actually divided between several animal charities, which were instructed to look after Blackie and give him the best possible care until his death.

5. Only 2 other animals walk the same way as cats.

All cats walk by moving their two right legs forward first, followed by their left legs. That means they move each side of their body alternately as they travel.

This is unusual because hardly any other species walk this way. In fact, the only two other animals who do this are giraffes and camels.

So next time you see your kitty walking along, take a moment to appreciate how unusual their technique is compared to the rest of the animal kingdom!

6. Cats spend most of their lives sleeping.

If you’re a cat owner, this may not be much of a surprise to you!

Cats tend to sleep for an average of around 15 hours per day. That means they spend about 70% of their lives asleep.

The reason they sleep so much is that in the wild, their ancestors evolved to alternate long periods of sleep with short periods of hunting.

Long ago, cats needed that amount of sleep so that they could conserve energy for intense hunting sessions.

Now, your cat might not need to do any hunting - particularly if they are a house cat - but they’re nonetheless still hard-wired to sleep just as much!

7. Cats have super ears.

Okay, here’s what we really mean by that.

Humans have just a handful of weak muscles in the ear, and many serve no real purpose (other than to let you waggle your ears for a party trick!).

Cats, on the other hand, have an incredible 32 powerful muscles in their ears.

These muscles allow them to tilt their ears towards the source of a sound, helping them to identify dangers and locate prey.

Cats can also move each ear independently, and even rotate them 180°!

8. The oldest known cat lived to the age of 38.

Creme Puff, the oldest recorded cat, was born in 1967 and died in 2005 at the age of 38 years and 3 days.

For reference, the average life expectancy for a cat is around 12-14 years.

His owner, Jake Perry, previously owned another cat who also lived to an incredible age. Called Granpa Rexs Allen, he was born in 1964 and died at the age of 24 in 1998.

Perry claimed the secret to his cats’ long lives was his unusual approach to caring for them.

Creme Puff was fed a diet of dry cat food supplemented with eggs, turkey, broccoli, coffee with cream, and a little red wine.

Perry also kept Creme Puff busy with a range of activities.

He converted his garage into a cinema that showed nature documentaries for his cats to enjoy, and created an enclosure in his backyard that enabled them to enjoy the outdoors safely.