Cats: most interesting facts about common domestic pets

Every year, Americans spend four billion dollars for cat food which is one billion dollars more than they usually spend on baby food!
The pattern on a cat's nose is as unique as a human fingerprint. There are over 500 million of domestic cats in the world, they subdivide into 33 major breeds. The University of Lyons informs there are about 400 million of domestic cats in the world. In Australia, there are nine domestic cats per ten citizens. In Indonesia there are over 30 million of domestic cats; in France - 8 million domestic cats, the biggest amount in Europe. However, there are some countries such as Peru and Gabon where domestic cats are infrequent.

Cat's heartbeats are twice as faster as human ones and make up from 110 to 140 beats per minute.

It is known that 25 percent of cat owners blow-dry their cats after bathing.

The Singapore cat is the smallest cat breed: tom-cats weigh about three kilogram and cats weigh about 2 kilogram. Rusty spotted cat, Prionailurus rubiginosus, living in India and Sri Lanka is the smallest one in the cat family. It is almost twice as smaller as the common domestic cat: it is about 15 cm long and weighs not more than 1.4 kg. Panthera tigris is the biggest cat: male tigers may weigh over 300 kg and be up to three meters long plus a tail that may reach a meter. A tiger may eat 40 kg of meat at a sitting.

When cats hunt mice they save up to 10 tons of grain every year. In England, cats are officially put down for allowances for protection of granaries from mice. Cats also protect books and other relics kept in the British Museum from mice. In Austria, cats who served as storehouse guards for several years are granted lifelong pensions paid in milk, meat and bouillon.

Domestic cats are the only variety of the cats family that have their tails vertical when walking while others wild cats walk with their tails horizontal or between legs. This is astonishing but cats never employ meowing to communicate with each other. This sound is meant for establishing contacts with humans only.

Cats usually give birth to 1-8 kittens at a time and on average have 2-3 broods a year. A cat may give birth to over 100 kittens within its life.

The cat's skeleton consists of 290 bones and has 517 muscles. Cat's ears may do 180-degree turns. A cat has 32 muscles in every ear, it employs twelve or more muscles to move the ears.

Domestic cats may live 15 years on average while wild cats live only 3-5 years. If a cat is 3 years old its age corresponds to the human age of 21 years. When a cat turns 8 it will be as mature as a human at the age of 40. Cat Puss from England was the oldest cat ever living on the planet. It died in 1939 a day after its 36th birthday.

As it turned out, a cat may catch 28,899 mice. Scottish catTowsercaught28,899 mice within the 21 year of his life which means approximately four mice a day.

The first cat exhibition was held in New York's Madison Square Garden in 1895.

Cats detest the smell of lemon or orange, so experts recommend scenting furniture with lemon or orange aroma in case your cat scratches it.

The Guinness Book of Records registered a couple of cats in the early 1960s after they inherited $415,000 as the richest cats. The richest lonely cat ever registered inherited $250,000.

It is believed that seeing a white cat on the threshold before marriage symbolizes luck. In Russia, many people believe that black cats protect the home from thieves.

Cats need just one sixth of the daylight necessary for people to see. Cats' night vision is astonishing! In darkness, cat's eyes use even the light reflected by retina. Cats may see at a distance of up to 60 meters and their periphery vision makes up approximately 285 degrees. Kittens may have their eyes color changed as time goes by. When born, kittens cannot see or hear. They open the eyes only in 7-10 days after their birth; the eyesight and hearing develop at the age of two weeks.

Cats are the laziest mammals; they sleep 16 hours a day. When not asleep, cats devote 30 percent of their time to care of themselves. Opinion polls reveal that 95 percent of cat owners talk to their pets.
 
In 1986, the Guinness Book of Records registered the heaviest cat Himmy from Australia who weight 21 kg, the biggest result ever fixed in the world. The cat's waist made up 84 cm. The previous record was fixed in 1977 by cat Spice from Connecticut who weight 20 kg when died. 

It is known that cats are more aggressive when not sterilized. Twenty one percent of American families have domestic cats.

An adult cat has 32 teeth.

People can predict weather by watching the behavior of their cats. When one sees his cat sleeps with four feet under the body it indicates the weather will be cold.

Every year, Americans spend four billion dollars for cat food. It is one billion dollars more than Americans usually spend on baby food!

In Ancient Egypt, people used to shave off their brows when mourning for their favorite domestic cats.

Cats' sense of smell is 14 times stronger than that of humans. Besides the nose, cats may smell with the so-called Jacobson tube that cats have on the upper palate behind the front cutting teeth. Cats employ these tubes when they concentrate on some particular scent. They draw the air in with the upper lip and the nose slightly raised.

Cats can produce about 100 of various sounds. Just compare with dogs that produce just about ten sounds.

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