Little known facts about cats!

Non-pedigree cats generally live longer than pedigree cats.
Mature cats can jump up to seven times higher than their own height.
To analyze new smells, a cat often relies on a special scent organ, called the Jocobson's organ, located in the roof of the mouth. This is why cats sometimes appear to be sneering when they encounter a strong odoir.
Kneading behavior in cats is actually a remnant from kittenhood, when they kneaded their mother's abdomen to stimulate milk flow. Some full-grown cats will knead and drool when being petted; this usually means they are happy and content.
Cats with white fur are susceptible to sunburn which can lead to skin cancer. Protect your cat by applying sunscreen to its nose and ears, or by keeping it inside.
When a cat is frightened, its hair stands up fairly evenly over most of its body; when a cat is threatening or preparing to attack, its hair stands only in a narrow ridge along its tail and spine.
Cats have five toes on each front paw, but only four toes on each back paw, and they walk on their toes instead of on the whole foot. Cats born with six or seven front toes and extra back toes are called polydactls.
Although cats sleep up to 16 hours per day, they are constantly alert and sensitive to stimuli. In other words, if you poke a sleeping cat, be prepared for him to respond accordingly.
Cats have an average of 24 whiskers, arranged in four horizontal rows on each side.
Of all the species of cats, the domestic cat is the only species able to hold its tail vertically while walking. All species of wild cats hold their talk horizontally or tucked between their legs while walking.
The spots on a tabby cat's belly are called buttons.
Most cats have 18 toes. Cats with extra toes are called polydactyl cats.
Put a ping-pong ball inside a shoe box. Cut holes in the sides, big enough for your cat to put her arm through, but not as big as the ball. Your cat will have hours of fun trying to get the ball out.
Baking chocolate is the most dangerous chocolate to your cat.
You check your cats pulse on the inside of the back thigh, where the leg joins to the body. Normal for cats: 110-170 beats per minute.
Jaguars are the only big cats that don't roar.
Domestic cats purr when breathing in as well as out-tigers only purr when breathing out.
A cats field of vision is about 185 degrees.
According to a Gallop pole, pet owners in the United States primarily obtain their cats by adopting strays, and the average American Cat is a mixed-breed- or " alley cat"- named "Baby".
Cats have individual preferences for scratching surfaces and angles. Some are horizontal scratchers while others exercise their claws vertically.
For several years the Maine Coone Cat has been gaining popularity and in 1992, it passed the Siamese to become the second most frequently registered breed in the Cat Fanciers Association. As recently as the 1970's, one cat registry had declared the breed extinct.
The Maine Coone is the only native American long haired breed and comes in a variety of colors and patterns. Perhaps the best known colour and pattern combinations are the brown classic tabby and the brown mackerel tabby, but more breeders are showing solids, tortioseshells, smokes and part-colors.
Tabby cats are thought to get their name from Attab, a district in Baghdad, now the capital of Iraq.
Although a cats sight has poorly developed colour, it can see far better in the dark due to the crystalline layer in the retina that enables it to absorb 50% more light than humans.
Ancient Egyptians preserved the bodies of sacred animals, such as cats.
To kill a cat in ancient Egypt was believed to bring immediate death. To Egyptians cats were sacred to Bast, the cat headed goddess of pleasure, and cat funerals were so numerous that animal cemetaries are still used by modern Egyptians as a source of rich soil.
Retractable claws are a physical phenomenon that sets cats apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. In the cat family, only cheetahs cannot retract their claws.
A typical cat with hairballs vomits one to three times a week, eliminating a tubular shaped mat of hair.
Cats sleep an average of 18 hours a day.

Ancient Egyptians were the first to tame the cat, using them to control pests. Cats were so important to ancient Egyptians that family members often shaved their eyebrows as a sign of mourning when the family cat died.
Purring is a tension-reducing sound.
A cat's normal body temperature is 101.5F, just a little higher than a human.
Unlike many animals,cats can watch tv. They do so by following the action with their eyes and heads.
When the air temperature reaches about 97 degrees, a cat will pant to cool itself. Cats have sweat glands in the pads of their feet and scattered over their bodies, but sweating is not a temperature-regulating mechanism.
Cats are found all over the world from Africa to icy Greenland.
Cats have two coats. An under coat of soft fur and a top coat of stiff, longer hairs known as guard hairs. These guard hairs give the cat its colour and pattern.
Whiskers and guard hairs have sensitive roots and so are organs of touch helping the cat feel objects in the dark and judge small spaces.
Cats can see 6 times better than humans at night.
All cats can swim. They just don't like to.
In hot countries cats sleep up to 18 hours a day
A cheetah can run as fast as 96 kph (60 mph) and can reach its top speed in under 3 seconds from a standing start. A lot quicker than most cars.
A breed of cat known as The Sphynx has no hair. It's totally bald.
Manx cats (Manx meaning from the Ilse of Man off the Northwest coast of England) have no tails. Well sometimes just a stub.
The fishing cat of India flips fish from the water with its paw and has been known to dive in and catch fish in its mouth.
 

CAT FABLE: Cats that disappear for a few days are just out hunting: there's no need to worry.
FACT: The disappearance of any pet is cause for alarm. For their own safety, cats should be kept indoors. If your cat does become lost, look for him immediately-before it's too late.
CAT FABLE: Cats can see in the dark.
FACT: Cats cannot see in total darkness. They can see better than many animals in semi-darkness, however, due to the special anatomy of their eyes.
CAT FABLE: Cats can't swim.
FACT: Cats are good swimmers, they just don't like the water.
CAT FABLE: Cats can instinctively find their own way home.
FACT: Despite many great stories about cats making their way home over long distances or across town, an ID tag is the best protection for a lost pet.