Amazing Facts About Cats!

Cat ownership is on the rise in the United States. Cats are great for small apartments and homes. With increased cat ownership comes increased curiosity about cats. Here are some great cat facts I found interesting.

Who was the first president to have a cat in the White House? Abraham Lincoln. He was given two stray cats that lived with him in the White House—Tabby and Dixie. Why are there fewer cat breeds than dog breeds? Dogs were domesticated for different jobs, like hunting, guarding, and herding. Cats were bred primarily as mousers and companions, and therefore needed fewer specific traits. As a result, there are hundreds of dog breeds, and around 50 cat breeds. Can cats see in color? Not exactly. While cats cannot see the same range of colors most humans can, their world is not entirely a shade of gray. A cat’s vision is actually similar to that of a human who is colorblind. Cats can see shades of blue and green, but reds and pinks look greenish, and purple looks bluish. Why do cats sleep so much? Cats are predators with an ingrained need to hunt, which takes a lot of energy (and therefore requires a lot of sleep). Even if pet cats do not hunt, they exert plenty of energy playing with toys, stalking “prey,” or just exploring. To store up energy, cats alternate between dozing and sleeping deeply. Can cats taste sweetness? No. Sweetness typically signifies to omnivores that a food contains carbohydrates, but since cats are strictly carnivores, they lack the ability to detect sweetness. Cats also have far fewer taste receptors than humans do (470 to our 9,000). Why can’t cats climb down trees headfirst? A cat cannot climb headfirst down a tree trunk because all of its claws point in the same direction—making it easy to climb up. If a cat wants to get down, it has to back down slowly.

I hope you have enjoyed these facts. I plan for more in the future. If you have questions about pets, please contact Dr. Norette L Underwood of Trumann Animal Clinic at catdoc56@gmail.com