Quirky Cat Facts

Our top-ten selection of fascinating feline facts!

We at Cat Diaries pride ourselves on the amount of useful information we can provide for you. But sometimes, it’s fun to indulge ourselves in the useless side of things! Here are 10 facts about cats that we didn’t know. They may not be helpful in the literal, practical sense, but they’re fun conversation-starters amongst fellow cat lovers. And if you’ve got any that you’d like to add to the list, we’d love to hear from you…

Did you know?

1.    There are about 100 distinct breeds of the domestic cat in the world today.
2.    Cats have over 100 vocal sounds (dogs only have about 10).
3.    Like humans, cats can be either left- or right-handed.
4.    Cat urine glows under a black-light. Lovely!
5.    And keeping the bodily function theme going: cats bury their poo to cover trails from predators. That’s why mother cats teach their kittens to use a litter tray.
6.    Kittens are born with both their eyes and ears closed. When the eyes open (usually after 10 to 14 days), they are always blue to begin with, changing gradually over the following few months until they arrive at the final, set eye colour.
7.    The phrase ‘raining cats and dogs’ originated in England in the 17th century. It was believed that cats and dogs would drown during prolonged periods of heavy rain.
8.    The ancient Egyptians used to shave their eyebrows off to mourn the death of their cats.
9.    Having an orange and black male cat is not only extremely rare, but you will also not be able to breed him. In order to have both the orange and black coat colours, the male cat must possess part of both female X chromosomes – an unusual combination that renders him sterile.
10.    Cats possess an extraordinary homing ability. By using its own biological clock, the angle of the sun and the Earth’s magnetic field, a cat can find its way home from many, many kilometres away.

Image by: Joshua R Grant