20 Weird and Interesting Facts About Cats

If you own a cat (or more), you already know that it can be difficult to understand everything your feline companion does. These strange behaviors can consist of them suddenly fixating on nothing in particular (at least that you can see), leaping out of nowhere to 'attack' your feet, or simply the different vocalizations that they make.

As if cats seemed mysterious enough, here are more facts that you may not have known about these interesting creatures.

Cat Facts

1. Male cats tend to be left-pawed, while females are often right-pawed. Similarly in humans, the large majority of people who are left-handed also tend to be male.
2. Cats can make approximately 100 different sounds, while dogs can only make about 10!
3. Cats cannot see directly under their noses.
4. Cats have 32 muscles in each ear, while humans only have six.
5. Many white cats with two blue eyes are deaf, while a white cat with one blue eye is only deaf in the ear that is on the same side as the eye (Not all cats with one or two blue eyes are deaf, though).
6. Cats need only about 1/6 of the light that people need to see.
7. Recent studies have shown that cats are able to see greens, reds, and blues.
8. Just like with human fingerprints, each cat's nose pad has a unique pattern.
9. A cat can jump up to five times its height in a single leap.
10. While a male cat is called a 'tom', a female is called a 'queen' or a 'molly'.
11. Cats are unable to move their jaws sideways, so they cannot chew large chunks of food.
12. Calico cats are almost always female.
13. Unlike humans and dogs, cats do not have a 'sweet tooth'. Cats only have 473 taste buds, while people have 9,000.
14. Cats can only sweat through their paws, unlike people who have sweat glands all throughout their bodies.
15. The oldest cat to ever give birth was named Kitty, who gave birth to two kittens at the ripe old age of 30!
16. A group of adult cats is called a 'clowder', while a group of kittens is called a 'kindle'.
17. Cats use their whiskers to determine whether a space is large enough to fit through.
18. The cat who holds the record for surviving the longest fall is Andy, who fell from the 16th floor of an apartment building (about 200 feet from the ground).
19. The average lifespan of an indoor cat is around 15 years, while the average for an outdoor cat is only 3 to 5 years.
20. Sticking to their picky nature, the majority of cats prefer their food at room temperature and will refuse food that is too cold or warm.