Clay cat litter came about by
accident. In 1948 a neighbour by the name of Kay Draper went into her local
sawmill to pick up some sawdust for her cat's litter tray. She had been
using ash, but was fed up with it being tracked all over her house. Ed
Lowe, the son of the owner offered her some clay, known as Fullers
Earth which was used to absorb grease. Ed realised he was onto
something, and started marketing the product in pet shops & at cat
shows. It took a while to take off, but eventually it became a multi million
dollar business.
Sir Isaac Newton invented the
cat flap.
An ailurophile is a person
who loves cats. The word ailuro is from the ancient Greek word for
"cat".
More cats are left handed
than right handed. Out of every 100 cats approximately 40 are left-pawed, 20
are right-pawed, and 40 are ambidextrous.
The ridged pattern on a cat's
nosepad is as individual as a human fingerprint.
At their fastest, cats can
run at 30mph.
A group of kittens is called
a kindle.
A group of cats is called a
clowder.
The cat is the only
domesticated animal NOT mentioned in the bible.
Male cats used to be called
"rams" or "boars", however in 1760, an anonymous author
wrote a book entitled "The Life & Adventures of a Cat"
in which the central character was a male called Tom the Cat. This book was
hugely popular & the name tom cat quickly replaced "ram" or
"boar".
A cat's pulse is between 130
- 240 beats per minute.
A cat's gestation is between
61 - 70 days.
Cats have 30 vertebrae.
Humans have 25.
The normal body temperature
is 102 degrees F.
Like humans, kittens have
"baby" teeth, which are replaced with their adult teeth from
around 6 months of age.
Cats perspire through their
paws.
Cats breathe at a rate of 20
- 30 breaths per minute.
The cat's front paws have 5
toes & their back paws have 4. However, some cats have more than this
number of toes. When a cat has more than 18 toes, it's called a
"polydactyl". Poly comes from the Greek word "polys" which means many or more than one. Dactyl also comes from a Greek word
"daktylos" or finger.
Cat urine glows under
"black light".
Cats don't kill their prey
with their claws, the claws are used to hold onto the prey, the teeth are
used to kill the prey.
The claws on the cat's back
feet aren't as sharp as the claws on the front feet because they can't
retract into the toe, therefore they're continually being worn down by
walking.
Cats have existed longer than
humans.
Cats walk on their
toes.
Cats can jump 5 times their
height.
The domestic cat is the only
species of cat that can hold it's tail vertically while walking.
Cats have the largest eyes in
proportion to their body size of all mammals.
Cats usually have 12 whiskers
on each side of it's nose.
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