The most important thing about cats. Interesting and fun facts about cats. What folk legends say

Before you get yourself pet, it will not be superfluous to find out about him as much as possible more information... The most interesting things about cats and cats are collected in this article. You will see for yourself that these are very kind, affectionate and unusual animals.

The owners can tell the most Interesting Facts from the life of cats - their favorite pets. For example, that these animals have their own special daily routine, and they can sleep most of the day. Many of them find a permanent place to sleep. The owner should be aware of it and from time to time clean it from the accumulated hair and dandruff. You also need to remember that you can not abruptly drive the cat away when she is resting or sleeping. This can lead to injury to the animal, as it may not have time to orient itself when it falls.

Emotions

Inexplicable, but true - cats experience almost the same feelings as humans: happiness and depression, playfulness and excitability, anger and affection. Surely many people know that it is better not to anger the cat, otherwise its reaction may be revenge to the owner for the insult. This could be, for example, damaged furniture or broken dishes.

Smell

If we compare the level of perception of odors in humans and cats, then, of course, in the latter it is much more developed. In these animals, the part of the brain responsible for smell is much larger compared to its total volume. This feature gives cats the ability to easily distinguish people, as well as to establish with the help of scent marks, whether it has ever been in a given place. In addition, the scent allows males to determine if the female is ready to mate.

Here are some more interesting facts about cats related to its amazing ability to distinguish between smells:

● The nose is not their only organ through which they can distinguish between odors. In the mouth of the animal, there is the so-called Jacobson tube, located behind the front teeth on the upper palate. Cats use this organ only when they need to concentrate on only one of the odors. To do this, they breathe in, lifting their upper lip and opening their mouth. There is a feeling that they taste the air with an unfamiliar smell like food.

● Compared to humans, cats smell about 14 times better, since they have about 60-80 million olfactory cells for this, while humans have only 20 million.

● Each animal is unique. For example, to identify a person, they usually have their fingerprints taken. In cats, the pattern on the nose is unique.

● Some owners consider their pets rather capricious animals due to the fact that before starting to eat, they begin to sniff food for a long time. This judgment is incorrect, because in this way cats try to find out its temperature, and their nose acts as a thermometer.

● They can also sense the air temperature using their sense of smell. For example, when cats sleep, curled up in a ball, this means that it is cool around, if stretching out the front and hind legs, it is warm. Sometimes during sleep they can hide their nose or cover it with their paws - this behavior suggests that a cold snap will come soon.

● It happens that animals lose their hearing or go blind. In this case, cats may well live on and navigate in space, although not so well. But the loss of instinct for them is tantamount to the loss of all chances of survival.

● Cats are susceptible to the smell of certain plants, which act on them with an intoxicating effect. These include thyme and mint, and elderberry generally delights them with unimaginable delight.

● Owners should be aware that a bowl that is too thoroughly washed, and even with the help of some chemical agent, including plain soap, can scare animals away. The fact is that its smell is rather unusual for them, although a person may not even feel it.

The following facts about cats and cats show that smells play very important role in their relationship. For example, they can contain quite valuable information that a stranger male passed in a given place, who could encroach on the territory, or there was a trace of a cat ready to mate. If the cat finds a place where his partner was recently, then he begins to rub against him with a joyful and satisfied look. It can symbolize either him good mood and readiness for love games, or the determination to act militarily.

Hearing

It's no secret that these animals have excellent hearing, the capabilities of which are simply amazing: with its help, a cat can filter out everyday noises that do not mean anything to it, and select only the necessary sounds from all the various sounds. This can be, for example, a very quiet rustle of a mouse or the approach of the owner.

In addition, cats can “hear” even with their eyes. The fact is that they contain nerve cells that transmit sounds to the brain, but at the same time a person cannot hear them. By the word "silence" we mean the absolute absence of sounds, but the cat at this time hears various kinds of noises, indicating that life is boiling around.

There are some more interesting facts about cats related to their hearing organ. For example, their ears can rotate up to 180 degrees and be turned into different directions, and 27 muscles participate in these actions. In addition, their hearing acuity surpasses not only human, but also canine several times, and its range reaches 65 kHz, while in humans it is only 20.

It should be borne in mind that cats' hearing is quite sensitive to very loud sounds and this susceptibility is 3 times higher than that of a human. Therefore, owners who love their pets should not turn on the TV too loud or music at full power when the animal is nearby in the same room. We need to let him leave this room.

In addition, information has become known that the upper limit of sound vibrations heard by adult representatives of the genus of felines reaches 65, and the lower limit is 30 kHz. But kittens at the age of 10 days are able to distinguish sounds in the range up to 100 kHz. To make it clearer, for comparison, let's take dogs that hear noises in the range of no more than 40 kHz, and humans - 20 kHz.

Vision

It is quite specific for a cat. She can see everything that happens within a radius of 180⁰, that is, not only in front of her, but also from both sides at the same time. But at the same time, the cat cannot see what is too close to her.

When playing with the ball, animals pay more attention to the horizontal movement of the object. This is due to the instinct associated with catching rodents.

The sizes of eyes in different breeds of animals differ and have their own characteristics. For example, a British cat. An interesting fact is that their eyes are too big compared to their body. In addition, they have one more feature - they do not have eyelashes. But it should be noted that these facts do not in any way affect the visual acuity itself.

The most common myth about cats is that they see perfectly in complete darkness. It must be said that this is an erroneous statement, since in such conditions they cannot recognize objects. Facts about British cats testify that there must be at least some glimpses of light in the room for them to see perfectly.

Unlike dogs, which mostly suffer from myopia, cats have farsightedness, and their vision is so arranged by nature that while catching mice, they can freely observe several minks at the same time.

Tongue and teeth

Interesting facts about cats apply to her unusual language, which, by the way, bears some resemblance to the human. It is also capable of distinguishing four basic tastes: sour, sweet, salty and bitter.

On top, the cat's tongue has special microscopic horny hooks that can be compared to ordinary sandpaper. A person can feel them when the animal begins to lick his skin. The tongue of a cat is so rough that its structure is similar to a rasp and after a few touches of it, the skin can turn red.

Now the main food of pets is either canned food or human food. For such food, the cat almost does not need to use teeth, since it does not chew it. But if she herself wants to hunt and kill prey, then the front large fangs are used. She digs into her victim's neck and long teeth penetrate between her vertebrae, tearing them apart. And cats use indigenous cats to break prey into smaller pieces.

Cats and mice

As you know, ears are one of the most important sense organs in animals, which helps to recognize various sounds and determine where they come from. The organ of hearing warns them of danger or helps them hunt.

Amazing facts about cats say that although they are inferior to dogs in terms of scent, their hearing is much better developed. They can hear the rustle of a mouse at a distance of up to 500 m, and their grinding - up to 25. These actions can disrupt the cat's sleep, especially if she is also hungry.

Excellent hearing is not the only super ability of this animal. Surprisingly, cats understand mouse language. The fact is that rodents "communicate" with each other, emitting sound signals in the range of about 40 kHz. And cats are well versed in such "negotiations". This ability allows them to know when the mouse is out of the burrow.

The most interesting facts about cats associated with their hunt for mice are that one catfish can save up to 10 tons of grain per year from voracious rodents. For example, in England, animals that guard food warehouses are fed at public expense. But cats are especially revered there, which protect exhibits stored in the British Museum from mice.

In addition, in the UK, fluffy tetrapods are part of the staff of some London post offices. Cats receive an official "salary" that rises from time to time due to inflation, and this has been the case for 130 years. And they occupy a very important post - they protect the parcels from damage and penetration of rodents.

In Austria, one cat was known to guard warehouses for several years, which was assigned life pension, but not in the form of money, but products - milk, meat and broth.

But in the Russian Yekaterinburg there lived a cat Kuzya, who once protected ... mice! Its owner, finding a rodent in her closet, called him for help. The cat dealt with the mouse, but spared her babies hidden in his fur. For a while, he even took care of them, but, of course, the hostess did not like it.

Cats and dogs

The development of relationships between these animals, belonging to the same owner, can go in two directions. The first is a close and selfless friendship, and the second is absolute indifference to each other.

It is worth noting that a cat and a dog living under the same roof cannot be at war with each other for a long time. Over time, they get used to this neighborhood. At first, the cat begins to perceive the dog as one of the elements of the environment and tries to stay away from it. But in the end, mutual understanding and affection necessarily develop between them, and later they can start playing with each other and even eat from the same bowl.

Relationship with other animals

When a cat is an old-timer in the house, she will defend, in her opinion, only her territory for a long time and with enviable persistence. At the same time, the gender or age of the competitor does not matter to her. If it is brought when there is already a dog or another cat in the house, then it begins to prove its right to live and actively conquer part of the territory for itself.

It so happens that the owners also have rabbits, birds, fish or hamsters. Cats will always perceive such small animals as objects for hunting and do not hope that this state of affairs will change over time. The only exception is when a cat loses its offspring. In this case, she can "adopt" the baby of another animal.

Scientific facts

It is believed that cats are descended from myacids - ancient animals that lived on earth more than 40 million years ago. They were small in size and climbed trees. And about 12 million years ago, modern cats appeared.

Scientific evidence, supported by special studies in the United States, suggests that about 50% of doctors in this country advise their patients to have pets. Most often they recommend cats. In their opinion, these animals are the best "recipe" for healing. Cats have been proven to help get rid of certain diseases, as well as relieve symptoms of overwork and constant stress.

American scientists from Buffalo conducted whole line research. As a result, it turned out that the happiness of cat owners directly depends on whether their pet is healthy. In addition, families where these animals are kept are much easier to cope with various crisis situations and stress, and also communicate with each other more often.

Many doctors tell amazing facts about cats, from which it follows that fluffy creatures are simply irreplaceable for humans. For example, they can prevent heart attacks. To a person with high blood pressure as soon as you pet your beloved cat, it will begin to go down.

There have been cases when animals even helped scientists make useful discoveries. One of them is the invention of iodine. They say that he was found by accident, and the cat helped in this. She accidentally knocked over the flasks with chemicals, as a result of which they mixed, and the well-known iodine was obtained.

Facts that no one knew about

Many will agree with the opinion that cats are very mysterious animals. And even scientists are not sure that a person will ever be able to reveal all their secrets. Here are 10 facts about cats that most likely no one knew about until recently. American scientists have been conducting research for several years and have found out a lot of things that make people look at their favorites in a new way.

Short memory... Cats can memorize their surroundings or the obstacles they overcome in as little as 10 minutes. Wherein visual memory much shorter than muscular.

● The fertility of cats is affected by global warming. An increase in air temperature led to a reduction in the duration of the cold season, and this, in turn, increased mating season in animals. Being born too a large number kittens leads to an increase in the number of stray cats on the streets of cities, since most of them do not find their owners.

● Cats are loved more than dogs. This was determined by the American Veterinary Association, after interviewing many families about their pets. They learned quite interesting facts about dogs and cats. It turned out that in 2007 the first animals were kept by about 72 million families, and the second - by almost 82 million. This means that most people prefer to have cats. In addition, you need to take into account that there can be two or more of them in one house.

● Dogs smarter than cats... In 2010, scientists published the results of their research. They said that social species animals such as dogs occurred greater growth brain over the past 60 million years than in solitary, that is, in cats. In addition, there are many cases when the former show intelligence much more often than the latter. For example, dogs are beneficial to humans: they serve as guides for the blind, find drugs, diagnose cancer, search for and save people from avalanches and rubble. What do cats do? They bask for hours in the sun and wake up all the inhabitants of the surrounding houses with their nightly "concerts". Based on the degree of usefulness to humans, it can be concluded that dogs are smarter than cats. This is considered only because they are more often used by people and are more active than fluffy purrs.

● The most interesting facts about cats and dogs is that they can live together quite peacefully and even be friends. Scientists are confident that the long-standing feud between the two different kinds animals exist only because of disturbances in communication, and not because of innate instincts, as previously thought. If you bring them together at a fairly early age, then they will perfectly communicate, play and understand each other.

● Cats are very cunning and cunning. In 2010, one interesting video captured by wildlife researchers in the Amazon forests. Thanks to these sensational shots, unusual facts about cats living in this area. In the Amazonian jungle, there is a small-sized species of monkeys - tamarins. They are the favorite prey of the local wild cat, the marga. In order to lure out of hiding and catch the monkey, it imitates the sounds of its prey.

● Cats control humans. Probably, many have already thought about this. Interesting facts about cats say that our pets manipulate us and encourage us to do what they want by purring, rubbing our legs, loud meows, or even heart-rending and unpleasant "concert". They make their owner and his family members fulfill all their desires - to feed, stroke, let out for a walk or allow them to jump on the bed.

● Interesting facts about cats say that they drink differently from other animals, but in a special way. To see this, you need to record a video of them drinking milk, and then watch the recording in slow motion. You can see that cats first bring their tongues to the liquid, creating a small vertical column out of it, and then return it to their mouths with milk. In order for them to be comfortable to drink, the bowl should be chosen not too large and deep.

● Cats, like humans, are also obese. The number of overweight animals is increasing every year. Now in the world there are already about 50 million obese cats. This is due to the fact that pets rarely leave the apartment and they really miss any physical activity... And its absence when consuming a large amount of high-calorie feed and leads to the appearance of excessive weight.

Those people who have kept a cat at home for more than one year know almost all the features of the behavior of this cute animal. They can confirm that each of the animals has its own special temperament. Sometimes cats are very demanding and sometimes completely unpredictable, but in any case they are loved and taken care of.

These adorable cats

Cats are incredibly cute and funny creatures that have brightened people's lives for centuries. These fluffy and affectionate creatures are real balls of happiness that can drive away any blues. When we are sad or lonely, they feel it, purr and flatter, taking all negative energy... But how much do we know about cats? What are our pets really? How to understand the language of your pet? Surely all owners of fluffy purrs would be curious to know interesting facts about cats, many of which are truly amazing. Why do these animals lick their fur and scratch furniture so carefully? Why do they not like to swim and adore valerian? Where did they get such a tremendous hunting instinct and therapeutic gift? What records can cats set? How do they feel the mood of their master? We will talk about this and much more in this article.

Where did they come from?

The first cats to be tamed and domesticated were wild african cats, and it happened five thousand years ago in Ancient Egypt. Then the country was literally attacked by hordes of rats, destroying grain supplies. For the Egyptians it became big problem, and the only way out that they saw was to "connect" cats to the fight against rodents. People lured them delicious food showing all your love and desire to make friends. And the cats did not remain in debt, having quickly dealt with the rats. Than they deserved gratitude from the pharaoh, who assigned them the status of demigods. Since then, cats have become sacred animals for the Egyptians and have so much high status that a person who dared to kill a cat was sentenced to death penalty... And people wore real mourning for the dead animal and sincerely grieved.

Why can cats wash for hours?

Contrary to popular belief, cats do not lick their fur for so long because they are so clean. Thus, they normalize and balance their mental condition... Washing them for a long time soothes them, preventing natural nervousness from manifesting. If cats are deprived of this, she will become aggressive and will most likely die.

Why don't cats go to the arms of strangers?

Cats are very sensitive and have a keen sense of smell. If an unfamiliar smell emanates from a person, then this is a stranger. And they are wary of strangers. But if the guest sits calmly and does not try to take the initiative, the cat may consider this as a favor to his person, and even jump onto the stranger's lap.

Why some people are allergic to cats

In humans, it occurs not at all on cats, but on their fur. More precisely, on the saliva that remains on the fur. In the cat's saliva there is certain kind protein, moreover, it is observed more in males. But the type of allergy is different, so it can occur in a certain breed. For example, Siamese or Shorthair.

Why do cats spoil furniture with their claws?

Cats love to sharpen on furniture, and sometimes even a special sharpener does not save from this. Even if you buy a scratching post, the cat will still scratch the sofa, because this is how it marks its territory. An animal can be scared away, for example, by the smell of orange or lemon - spray them on furniture, cats hate these scents.

Why do cats rub against their owner's feet?

This is another way for your pet to mark its territory. This is how he wants to show who you belong to, so once again try to leave their scent on you. Remember how your pet begs for his food in the morning and rubs against your legs? This is a kind of declaration of love and a reminder that you are responsible for it.

Why do cats groom themselves after communication?

Because you ruined their fur coat! And you urgently need to put it in order, and at the same time lick it off your scent. In addition, there are sensitive areas on the body of cats that you are likely to touch when playing, such as the nose and ears. For touching them, your pet can even scratch, and then for a long time later in the corner "leads a marafet."

Why do cats bring trapped mice into the house?

So they want to show that they are knowingly eating their bread, and are even able to feed you. Yes, yes, cats just got you food, or they just brought a gift for caring. There is another version that cats want to teach you how to hunt, because the owner of the mice for some reason does not bring them. This means that he is a bad hunter and you need to show him a master class.


Why is a cat wary of another cat?

Cats are territorial animals, they are very jealous of their personal space. Any attempt to encroach on their territory causes alertness on the part of cats and can even provoke a conflict. Therefore, even just passing by an unfamiliar "brother", the cat always slows down and sniffs suspiciously.

Why do cats hate to swim?

This is not entirely correct observation. In fact, cats are not at all against bathing as such, but only if they are not kept by force. They understand that now there will be some kind of violence in relation to their person and, naturally, start to break out indignantly. If the cat is careful, it will happily sit in the water.

Why does the cat scrub the floor outside after visiting the litter box?

Often, cat owners notice that their pet, having gone on, begins to rake in the ground with its paws, as it were, outside of its box. This just speaks of the natural tendency of cats to clean - this is how they clean their paws. In comparison, it is like people washing their hands after using the toilet. Therefore, try to remove the tray as often as possible.

Why do cats love to drink tap water?

Surely all the owners saw how their pet jumps onto the sink and catches droplets of moisture with its tongue. Why does he do this when his bowl of water is on the floor? The answer is simple: the tap water is always fresh. And if the cat refuses to drink from the bowl, then it's time to change the water there. Cats in this regard are very picky, and they will not drink stagnant water.

Why do many cats love valerian?

It's all about the special genes that different cats manifest themselves in their own way. Some love to lap liquid agent, others - there are dry valerian leaves, and still others - just roll on the grass. And in some, this gene is absent altogether, so your cat may be completely indifferent to, or show interest in it from time to time.

Why does a cat often wag its tail?

Waving a cat's tail is a sign that he is solving some kind of dilemma, and it is difficult for him to make a choice. For example, it is raining outside and the animal needs to get out. And he starts wagging his tail, wondering whether it is worth doing or is it better not to get wet. And as soon as the cat makes a decision, it will immediately assume a calm position.

Why do cats purr pretty?

If the cat is angry and unhappy with something, it hisses and meows loudly. But if the pet is in a complacent mood, he can show it in only one way - by purring, which publishes for many reasons. For example, pleasure or joy to see your master. Moreover, the purr can be both very quiet and very intense.

Why don't cats eat sweets?

Here we are talking about another gene that is responsible for taste. In cats, it is simply absent, they simply cannot understand the taste of sweet. For them, it's like chewing on paper, so trying to feed your pet candy is not worth trying. Even if a cat swallows a treat, she still won't understand what it was.

Why don't cats crash after falling from a height?

It's all about the structural features. feline body, in which, when falling from a height, the "parachute effect" is triggered. In flight, the body of cats spontaneously expands, and the legs are extended, due to which there is a "braking" and a decrease in speed. As a result, the animal lands on the ground relatively smoothly without much loss.

Why do cats have such a developed sense of smell?

Cats are truly unique animals, they are fourteen times capable better than people distinguish between smells. And all because our pets have a Jacobson tube on the upper palate, it is this tube that allows cats to so subtly recognize various aromas. They can catch even those smells that, it would seem, do not smell at all.


Why do cats see perfectly in the dark?

Here the whole secret is in the specific feature of the retina. cat's eye, which reflects the glare of light, and the cat is night as day. She is able to see not only what is right in front of her, but also what is on the sides. But since cats, unlike dogs, are farsighted animals, they cannot see objects at close range.

Why do cats have such fine hearing?

The ability of cats to distinguish between different sounds is simply amazing. She can distinguish from their noisy cacophony only a mouse rustle or a bird's flap of wings. Even if we believe that there is complete silence in the house, the cat hears many sounds. It's all about the sensitivity of the range, which is three times higher in cats than in humans.

Why is whiskers so important to cats?

Because with their help they receive information. very sensitive and equipped nerve endings... It is with their help that cats learn about everything: food, temperature, surrounding objects. If cats are deprived of their whiskers, they will not be able to hunt, become helpless, poorly oriented, and may even die.

Why do cats have a rough tongue?

The cat's tongue is a bit soft. sandpaper, and the cat, when washing, does not slide its tongue over the coat, but as if it scratches like a rasp. Nature has endowed cats with such a feature so that the animal processes its skin more carefully. Wherein cat tongue perfectly distinguishes between sour, salty and bitter tastes.

Why don't cats like dogs?

Because they "speak" in different languages... A dog flaps its tail in joy, while a cat in irritation. A dog may bark when she is having fun, and a cat may meow when she is unhappy with something. The dog is awake during the day, and sleeps at night - the cat, on the other hand, is basically the opposite. But if the animals grew up together, they may well coexist peacefully.



A little about feline records

The mother-heroine of all domestic cats can be considered the Siamese cat Antigone from the United States, which in 1970 gave birth to nineteen kittens at once, and all of them survived. But the cat Dusty (also from the USA) has given its owners as many as 420 cubs in its entire life! This record has not yet been broken by any cat.

A few years ago, another record was set: an American cat traveled three and a half thousand kilometers to find its owner! Its owner simply forgot his pet when moving, and the cat was forced to go in search of it himself. Having found desired home, he just entered it and, as if nothing had happened, fell asleep.

A similar story happened here in Russia. One family set off on a journey from Sverdlovsk to the Black Sea, taking with them their favorite cat, Chapa. On the way, the cat, unnoticed by the owners, jumped out of the car, and they left without him. Chapa calmly returned home, and there he waited for his owners, feeding on the captured mice.

A truly amazing incident occurred in Switzerland, when one rich lady She left all the fortune to her cats, opening an account for them for a tidy sum. By conducting financial issues specially hired people were engaged, who wrote checks and even paid fines for the fact that the ladies in charge hunted city birds.

A very elderly cat lives in Austria, which is the only animal in the world that receives a pension. The fact is that for many years she "served" as a watchman at a grocery warehouse, regularly guarding bags and food bags from rodents. Now the cat is provided with milk, meat, sour cream and even chicken broth for life.

As it turned out recently, cats not only catch mice, but also protect them! Not so long ago in Yekaterinburg, a cat named Kuzma was discovered, who took mice under his wing. The owner found her pet in the closet, lying imposingly on the floor, and mice swarming in its fur. Unfortunately, the hostess did not like this kindness.

In Poland, in veterinary clinic, there is a black cat, Rademenes, who ... heals animals. A couple of years ago, he came here with severe pneumonia, but the doctors managed to save him. The cat remained to live in the clinic and, in gratitude for his life, began to "treat" sick animals - he lies down next to them and hugs them.

More than a hundred years ago, in 1890, a shipwreck occurred in the Indian Ocean, as a result of which only a few of the cats on board were saved. They managed to swim to the island of Frajos, and not only survived, but also began to reproduce. Currently, more than a thousand cats already live there, feeding on what can be caught in the sea.

Other interesting facts about cats (cats) in pictures










For you - a selection of interesting facts about cats that you may not have known.

1. Cats spend about 2/3 days on sleep. So, a cat that has lived for 9 years, 6 of them slept!
2. Most cats are right-handed and most cats are left-handed.
3. Now in the world there are over 500 million domestic cats. The most "feline" country is Australia. There are 9 cats for 10 people.
4. Hebrew legend says: on the ark of Noah bred mice and rats, which destroyed food. Noah began to pray to God to bring the rodents down. In answer to prayers, God made the lion sneeze - and from the lion's sneeze a cat appeared.

5. Regular domestic cat capable of running at speeds up to 50 km / h, however, only for short distances.
6. The cat can jump up to 5 times its height.
7. Persian cat Is the most popular breed in the world. In second place are Maine Coons, and in third - Siamese cats.
8. Although in most European countries and North America meeting a black cat is considered a harbinger of trouble, the British and Australians believe that black pussies bring good luck.
9. The ancient Egyptians, when their domestic cat died, shaved off their eyebrows as a sign of mourning. The dead cats were embalmed and buried in the family tomb. To prevent the kitty from starving in the afterlife, several mummies of mice were placed next to the mummy of the cat.


10. Currently, the Amur tiger is considered the largest cat. Such a pussy can reach 3.5 m in length and weigh more than 300 kg.
11. Not all cats are afraid of water. So, a cat of the "Turkish Van" breed loves to swim, as its coat is still waterproof.
12. In the Italian original, the fairy tale about Cinderella, the fairy godmother the main character, was a cat!
13. Cats cannot move their jaws from side to side, so they cannot chew too large pieces of food.


14. Interestingly, cats meow only when interacting with people. The cat can hiss, snort or purr at its fellows, but it will almost never meow.
15. In cats, the claws on the front legs are sharper than on the hind legs. V calm state all cats except the cheetah hide their claws. Cheetahs do not know how to retract their claws.
16. Cats can rotate their ears 180 degrees, as their outer ear is controlled by as many as 32 muscles. For comparison: a person has only 6 such muscles.
17. The human body has 206 bones, and the cat's body has 230, so they are much more flexible than we are. Since cats do not have collarbones, they can crawl entirely through holes for their head to slide through.


18. Each cat's noseprint is as unique as a human's fingerprint.
19. The heart beats in cats almost twice as fast as in humans (110-140 beats per minute).
20. Cats can only sweat through their paw pads - they have no sweat glands on the rest of the body.

What do we know about cats.

We bring to your attention a large selection interesting facts about cats, many of which may be unexpected for you.

Cats often suddenly throw themselves to the feet of a passing person. This is how they play. The habit remains from childhood, when, as a kitten, she jumped out of an ambush on her relatives.

Cats know how to kiss their beloved owners. They grab a finger or a fold of skin with their teeth and let go.

Cats are sensitive to signs of attention from humans. If they see the absence of such, then they simply lose interest and turn their backs to the person, or rather, their tail.

Cat toys should be light to toss, soft on the teeth and claws, and large enough not to be swallowed.

The earliest ancestors of modern cats lived about 30 million years ago. Scientists named them "Proailurus", which means "the first cat" in Greek. The group of animals to which modern cats belong appeared about 12 million years ago.

A group of words associated with a cat (catt, cath, chat, katze) come from the Latin "catus", meaning "domestic cat", as opposed to "feles", that is, "wild cat".

Often cats bring killed mice to their owners. They do this to thank them for their care or believe that the owner will not be able to feed himself, as he hunts badly. Or maybe he just knows that there are no competitors at home, and the prey can be eaten calmly.

Before starting to eat a captured but still living mouse, cats play with it. She just likes to catch fleeing prey over and over again.

Cats, when catching birds, squat and rise again. There is a version that they are preparing to jump in this way. According to another version, the cat behaves this way only when it understands that “the eye sees, but the tooth doesn’t,” this is a gesture of despair. If it is impossible to catch prey in cats, the jaw sometimes trembles and teeth chatter.

If the cat lies on its back, showing its belly, this is a sign of trust in the present animal or person. After all, the stomach is the most vulnerable spot in a cat.

Often in a cat's bowl, you can see his favorite toy. He brings it, since it is his territory, and he considers it safe, suitable for storing a toy.

Cats are not afraid of water, contrary to the impression. In nature, they can plunge freely to catch fish. But they hate being thrown into the water against their will, and even being held.

The most popular cat breed in the world is the Persian cat, followed by the Raccoon cat (Maine Coon) and the Siamese cat.

If the cat is faced with a choice whether to drink water from a bowl or from a dripping tap, he will choose the latter. Cats are hunters and love everything fresh: food and drink. The water in the tap seems fresher to them than in the bowl.

At birth, kittens cannot see or hear. They open their eyes at 7-10 days, and their vision and hearing develop at 2 weeks. They begin to walk at 20 days.

The effect of glowing eyes in cats is due to the reflection of light from the reflective shell (tapetum), which is located behind the retina of the eye. As a result, light passes through the retina again and is "processed" again. The surface of the tapetum is pigmented from yellow to green.

Cats often lick unfamiliar objects, especially plastic. They are sensitive to smells and get acquainted with new ones. A person does not feel smells so subtly.

Do all cats love valerian? Not all at all, but only those who have a special gene. Sometimes cats (less often cats) roll over the place where the valerian was shed, or over the leaves of a plant. Then they return for a long time to the cherished place and lick it again. But there are cats that absolutely do not react to the plant and the medicine of the same name.

Cats wrinkle their upper lip when they are interested in the smell. The sensitivity of the feline organ of smell is 14 times stronger than that of humans. In addition to the nose, the Jacobson tube, located behind the upper front teeth on the palate, belongs to the organs of smell. When a cat uses this particular organ, it upper lip trembles.

The cat is trembling lower jaw and teeth chattering, only if the prey is unattainable.

A cat's tail is a part of the body by which you can find out the mood and thoughts of the animal. She waves it when she stands in front of difficult choice... For example, if on the street pouring rain, and the animal is about to leave, but hesitates, it wags its tail. But once the cat makes a decision, it stops waving. If the cat makes the same gesture near the owner's feet, she shows her love for him. It is worth letting her stand next to her as long as necessary. The tail has dropped - you can move away, the cat has received a charge of positive energy.

Although it is believed that the ancient Egyptians were the first to domesticate cats, the oldest known domestic cat was recently found in a 9,500-year-old grave on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. This is ahead of the mention of the cat in Egyptian art for over 4000 years.

There is a breed of cats that love to swim. Wool of the Turkish Van, a breed bred in Central Asia, has a unique texture that makes it waterproof.

Over time, cats begin to enter into a dialogue with the owner. If you talk to them, they begin to answer, meowing and looking into the eyes. They behave in the same way when the owner speaks on the phone. Since there is no one else next to the people, it means that the owner is talking with the pet. And since he talks, he must answer.

Cats emit purring sounds from an excess of emotion. It doesn't matter if they are positive or negative. The number of sounds produced by cats during communication reaches several hundred, which significantly exceeds " vocabulary»Dogs and even gorillas.

Good hearing allows the cat to hear the owner's footsteps from a distance, to recognize his car by the sound. It happens that the cat does not respond to the call of the owner from another room, but this does not mean that the cat is hard of hearing, most likely, it is full and lazy.

The food for the cat is placed in a bowl, and she pours or pulls it out on the floor nearby. The fact is that she does not like the contact of food with the walls of the dishes. And the tongue may not reach the food from the narrow part of the bowl. But if the container is wide and with a rounded bottom, perhaps the pet will love to eat from it.

Cats do not like sweets, as they do not have such taste bud... They don't love him so much as they don't feel. All representatives of the feline family have the same feature.

Often, when cats fall from a great height, they simply stand up and run away without receiving any damage. The fact is that they know how to control their bodies. During the fall, the cat spreads its paws in different sides, and the body acquires the properties of a parachute. There is another version: the cat flies from a great height, rotating. This reduces the rate of fall. When jumping from a small height, cats land on their paws, which are slightly springy.

A cat's tail can speak for its mistress: an angry cat aggressively hits its tail, while a satisfied cat will lazily wag only the tip of its tail.

A cat can jump up to 5 times its own height.

The cat can move on maximum speed about 50 km / h over short distances.

If the cat disgusts touching something, it starts shaking its paws. She also behaves when stepping into the water. This is the instinct for dislike of water.

Most cats, when ill, hide in a secluded place in the apartment, and, if possible, leave it altogether. This is an instinct for self-preservation. The animal understands that the disease makes it weak and easily accessible to the enemy.

People with heart - vascular diseases have a chance to live longer if they have a cat, unlike those who do not have a cat or a dog. Since communication with a cat lowers the heart rate.

Everyone knows that a cat sees in the dark. In fact, in complete darkness, she cannot. But if there is at least 1/6 of the light that is necessary for a person, the cat will already see. Cats have congenital farsightedness, while dogs have myopia. The cat sees even at a distance of 60 m. But the clearest vision of objects is if they are at a distance of 75 cm to 6 m. The acuity of her vision does not depend on the shape of the cat's eyes (round, slanting, almond-shaped). The dilation of the pupils occurs when the intensity of illumination decreases or when the animal is interested in something. Kittens are born blue-eyed, but the color of the eyes may change by 2-3 months.

Cats can see up to 60 meters. The field of view is 185 and the peripheral vision is about 285 degrees.

A cat's sensitivity to sounds is 3 times that of a person, and 1.5 times that of a dog. The cat's ear can be rotated 180 degrees, using 32 muscles. The ears may not move synchronously.

Whiskers in cats is one of the senses. They help the animal to determine the air temperature, the presence or absence of wind. A cat without a whisker is like a person whose skin feels nothing. He may die from severe burns or frostbite. A cat with a trimmed mustache is also in danger of death.

Cats live 5 times less man... A three-month-old kitten corresponds in development to 4-5 summer child. Three years of age animal is equal to 21 years in humans, 8 years - 40 years, 15 years - 70 years. The life span of a wild cat is 3 times less than that of a domestic cat.

Cats living in the same territory go hunting in turn, observing their "cat schedule". Something similar happens in people when they use a shared bathroom or stove.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, one of the heaviest cats in the world was the Australian cat "Himmy", which weighed 21 kilograms. The record was set in 1986. His waist was 84 centimeters!

In Yekaterinburg, there was a cat named "Kuzya" who protected the mice! His mistress found mice in the pantry, the cat dealt with one mouse, but felt sorry for the four mice that hid under it thick coat... Kuzya warmed up the kids and took care of them.

On average, cats spend 2/3 days sleeping. This means that the nine-year-old cat has only been active for three years of its life.

Unlike dogs, cats do not have a sweet tooth. Scientists believe this is due to a mutation in one of the key taste receptors.

Cats, as a rule, "dig" with their right paw, and cats - with their left.

The cat cannot climb a tree upside down due to the device of its claws. In order to get down from the tree, she needs to retreat, backing away.

Cats make about 100 different sounds. Dogs are only 10.

The cat's brain is biologically closer to the human brain than the dog's brain. The same brain regions are responsible for emotions in cats as in humans.

More than 500 million domestic cats live in the world, there are about 40 different breeds.

In order to sew a coat, you need about 24 cat skins

During the Spanish Inquisition, Pope Innocent VIII recognized cats as the devil's helpers, and thousands of cats were burned. Unfortunately, mass kill cats led to a sharp increase in the rat population, which exacerbated the consequences of the "Black Death" (plague epidemic).

In the Middle Ages, cats were associated with black magic and on Saint John's Day, people all over Europe stuffed them into sacks and threw them on fires.

The first cat to be in space was a French cat named Felicette (that is, Astrocat). In 1963, France launched it into space. Electrodes implanted in the cat's brain sent neurological signals back to Earth. Astrocat survived this flight safely.

According to Jewish legend, Noah prayed to God, asking him to protect the food on the ark from rats. In response, God made the lion sneeze, and a cat jumped out of it.

Cats rub against people not only out of affection, but also in order to mark the territory with the smell of glands located around the muzzle. Also, the smell is emitted by the areas near the cat's tail and paws.

Scientists don't know exactly how the cat purrs. Most veterinarians believe that a cat purrs by vibrating the vocal cords located deep in the throat. To do this, the muscles of the larynx open and close the air passage about 25 times per second.

In ancient Egypt, when a domestic cat died, family members shaved their eyebrows and mourned for her. They also held a funeral, during which they drank wine and beat themselves in the chest. The cat was embalmed and placed in a family tomb or in an animal cemetery with tiny mummies of mice.

In 1888, more than 300,000 mummified cats were found in Egyptian cemeteries. The fabric was removed from them and taken to England and the USA for use as fertilizer.

Most cats give birth in a litter of one to nine kittens. The largest known litter consisted of 19 kittens, of which 15 survived.

Smuggling cats from ancient Egypt was punishable by death.

The largest wild cat for today is the Amur tiger. It can grow more than 3.6 m in length (about the size of small car) and weigh up to 320 kg.

The smallest wildcat today is the Blackfoot Cat. Females are less than 50 cm in length and can weigh as little as 1.2 kg.

While a black cat is considered a bad sign in many parts of Europe and North America, in the UK and Australia, meeting a black cat bodes well.

Some Siamese cats squint with their eyes due to the special arrangement of the optic nerves.

The world's most expensive cat, Little Nicky, cost its owner $ 50,000. She is a clone of his former cat, who died of old age.

The cat has about 12 whiskers on each side of the muzzle.

A cat's eyesight is both better and worse than human eyes. Better because cats see much better in the dark and have a wider peripheral vision. Worse, because they don't distinguish colors the way humans do. For example, the grass appears red to cats.

There is a parable in Spanish-Jewish folklore that the first wife of Adam, Lilith, turned into a black vampire cat, sucking the blood of sleeping babies. Perhaps this fact became the reason for the belief that a cat can strangle a sleeping baby or "suck" his breath.

The most famous comic cat in literature is Cheshire Cat in "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll. With his ability to disappear, this enigmatic character personifies the magic and witchcraft historically associated with cats.

In the original Italian version of Cinderella, the fairy godmother was a cat.

At the Dutch Embassy in Moscow, employees noticed that two siamese cats from time to time they began to meow and scratch the walls of the building. Their owners finally decided to find out what was the matter, thinking they would find mice. Instead, they found Russian spy microphones hidden in the walls. Cats heard the microphones when they were turned on.

The ability of cats to find their way home is called psi travel. According to experts, cats either determine their location by the angle of sunlight, or cats have magnetized cells in their brains that act like a compass.

The cat's jaws do not move from side to side, so the cat cannot chew large pieces of food.

Cats very rarely meow at other cats, usually only at humans. The cat is more likely to snort, purr, or hiss at other cats.

The cat's back is very flexible because it has 53 vertebrae loosely adjacent. People are only 34.

Approximately 1/3 of cat owners believe that pets are able to read their minds.

All cats hide their claws at rest, with the exception of the cheetah.

Excessive love to cats is called Ailurophilia (from the Greek: cats + amateur).

Most cats were shorthaired until, about 100 years ago, experiments with breeding and crossbreeding became fashionable.

Cats have 32 muscles that control the outer ear (humans only have 6). Therefore, cats can rotate their ears 180 degrees.

One of the reasons kittens sleep so much is because growth hormone in cats, like in humans, is only released during sleep.

Cats have approximately 20,155 hairs per square centimeter.

The oldest Guinness World Record cat was Creme Puff from Austin, Texas, who lived from 1967 to August 6, 2005 and died three days after his thirty-eighth birthday. Cats usually live up to 20 years, which is the equivalent of 96 years of age as a human.

Each of us has a passion.
Someone is engaged in modern dances, someone breeds aquarium fish, someone is keen on creating figures from paper or balloons, and someone is rollerblading.

Hobbies are very diverse, but each of them brings joy and the opportunity to open up from a new side, improving in your favorite pastime.

But no matter what we are fond of, we are all united by love for our pets, which are not only the subject of our special care and pride, but also, sometimes, truly amazing creatures, about which you can tell a lot of unusual facts.

Today I want to bring you 50 amazing facts about cats - the usual inhabitants of our apartments, which will help you get to know our little fluffy pets better.

1. There are 33 main cat breeds in total. And the number of domestic cats in the world reaches 500 million.

2. The heart rate of a cat is much higher than that of a person and ranges from 110 to 140 beats per minute.

3. On average, cats weigh about five kilograms, but cats of the Singapore breed - only two and a little kilograms.

4. The smallest cats are the representatives of the Indian red spotted cat breed living in Sri Lanka. Their weight does not exceed one and a half kilograms, and their size is about 15 centimeters.

5. Although the lion is considered the king of beasts, he is not the most major representative feline. Much larger than a lion are tigers, growing up to three meters and weighing about three hundred kilograms. A tiger can eat about 40 kilograms of meat at a time.

6. In England, cats are willingly attracted to guard the granaries. One cat that hunts mice can save up to 10 tons of grain per year. Also, cats are used to guard food warehouses, and they are officially put on ration.

7. If a cat is standing near you with a raised pipe and a slightly quivering tail - this is an expression of her love for you.

8. Cats wag their tail in the event that she cannot make a choice or cannot decide on something.

9. From pleasure cats often spread their fingers, releasing and retracting claws.

10.In wildlife felines keep their tail horizontally or downward and only domestic cats can walk with their tail lifted up with a pipe.

11. Domestic cats do not communicate with each other by meowing. They use this "language" exclusively for communicating with people.

12. During its life, a cat can bring up to hundreds of kittens.

13. In the fifties of the last century in Texas, a cat named Dusty set a record for fertility - for his long life more than 400 kittens were born from him. Moreover, the last kittens were born from him when he was already over 18 years old.

14. Most big number the number of surviving kittens in one litter is 14 and was recorded in a cat named Bluebell in South Africa.

15. The skin pattern on a cat's nose is comparable in its uniqueness to fingerprints.

16. The cat has 517 muscles. In this case, 12 of them are used to control each ear.

17. There are almost 40 more bones in a cat's skeleton than in a human skeleton.

18. The age of a cat correlates with a human in something like this: when a cat is 3 years old - this corresponds to about 21 human years, when 8 years - 40 human years, and 14 years - 70 human years.

19. Longest lived cat named Puss in England. She passed away a couple of days after her 36th birthday.

20. Average term life wild cats much less than that of domesticated ones and is about 5 years old.

21. One cat in Argentina lived on a tree for six years, where she brought several litters of kittens.

22. The body temperature of cats is almost the same as that of humans - 38 degrees.

23. People who have a cat at home are less prone to heart attacks and, on average, live longer than those who do not have a cat.

24. Cats hate the smell of citrus fruits. This is used to create tools that discourage shitting in certain places or sharpen claws.

25. Cats understand your mood and tone of voice well, even if they do not show the species.

26. The more you talk to your cat, the more she talks to you.

27. Cats hardly distinguish small details, but they see quite well in the dark - they are quite enough a few hundredths of the illumination when the human eye already ceases to distinguish something in the darkness.

28. The cat sleeps almost 16 hours a day. And from the time when she does not sleep - a third of the time takes care of herself.

29. Whiskers help the cat not only to determine whether it will crawl through the hole, but also to navigate in space in general and receive information about temperature, wind direction and other environmental parameters.

30. A cat's whiskers are in motion all the time. If the cat is interested in something - the whiskers are looking forward, if the whiskers are looking back - she is scared of something.

31. In England, according to statistics, there are nine domestic cats per ten inhabitants.

32. On average, Americans spend about $ 4 billion a year on food for cats, a billion less than on food for babies.

33. The heaviest cat in the world was Himmy from Australia. Its weight was 21 kg. His waist was 84 cm.

34. The smallest domestic cat was the Tinker Toy Himalayan cat, which weighed a little over a pound and had a height of 7 cm at the withers.

35. In cats, only the pads on the feet sweat.

36. Cats can make about 100 different sounds - ten times more than dogs.

37. Cats are quite farsighted and see well from a distance of at least 70 cm.

38. Cats are three times more sensitive to the volume of sounds. The frequency range perceived by cats is from 50 Hz to 60 kHz, while a person can hardly hear even a sound as high as 20 kHz.

39. A cat smells on average 14 times better than a human.

40. If a cat defends itself, it presses its ears to its head, and when it attacks, it spreads its ears to the sides for greater intimidation.

41. According to some reports, the purring of cats can have a beneficial effect on human health, and its bioenergy has a positive effect on the work of the cardiovascular system.

42. Cats have paranormal abilities anticipating disaster before it happens - they anticipate earthquakes, fires, floods and other natural disasters.

43. In medieval Europe cats were destroyed by burning at the stake as servants of the devil. It is believed that it was the extermination of cats that contributed to the plague epidemics spread by bred rodents.

44. Cats in a dream - to deception in love. If a cat scratches you in a dream, in reality you can get sick.

45. It is believed that adopting a homeless kitten is to bring good luck into the house. If you drive away the nailed kitten - 7 years will not see good luck.

46. ​​Drowning kittens - within 7 generations, doom your family to possible violent deaths, including through drowning.

47. If a cat hisses at a person who has come to your house - the person is disposed towards you unkindly, but if it fawns on him - the person who has come to you has good intentions and wishes you well.

48. If a cat lies down on you or crumples a certain part of the body with its paws, then there may be some developing disease that she feels and wants to help you get rid of.

49. Places where cats like to sleep are usually unfavorable for humans and should not be chosen for installing a bed or chair.
50. If the cat is washing - to the soon guests, and if it curled up into a ball, covering its nose with its tail - to cold weather.

These are such amazing animals, these cats. It is not for nothing that having a cat at home has always been considered a good luck. So if you want to live happily ever after, then just get yourself a cat and luck will not leave you!