Common Cat Facts Most Owners Don’t Know

A male cat is a Tom, only if it is not neutered.

An unspayed female cat is called a Queen.

One pair of unfixed cats, and all their kittens can produce over 400,000 kittens in just seven years.

photo source

Mother cats may carry their kittens by the scruff of their neck but humans should never pick up kittens or adult cats this way.

A tom cat may kill kittens to try to bring the mother back into heat.

Kittens who are not fully vaccinated (and spayed or neutered) should not go outside or be around other cats excluding their mother).

In the USA alone over 2 million cats and kittens are euthanized every year as excess, unwanted, animals.

Although cats love milk they should not have it, most cats are lactose intolerant and the calcium contributes to urinary tract problems.

Cats also love fish but this really is not a natural food for them.

Cats generally dislike the smell of citrus.

Domestic cats can hold their tail vertically while they walk, but wild cats do not do this.

Cats do not always land on their feet, it depends on the height they fall (or are dropped) from.

White cats with blue eyes are often deaf.

Calico, Tortoiseshell, and Torbi, are color patterns that occur nearly only in female cats.

Orange cat are more typically male, but not at the same rate as calico (and so on) is in female cats.

Tabby can mean a breed of cat, but also refers to a cat with a striped pattern. Tabby colored cats have an “M” on their foreheads, some may be harder to see.

Siamese is a breed of cat, many people erroneously refer to their cat as a Siamese when in fact they are describing a color (correctly a color point cat).

Not all tailless cats are of the Manx breed, and not all cats of the Manx breed are tailless.

Although many people refer to all long haired cats as Persians, this is also not correct, there are many breeds of cat with long hair.

Persian Cat

According to the Pedigree act in most countries no cat shall be referred to as a purebred unless it has registration papers.

Registration papers do not prove quality, only genetics.

Cats who are not registered are referred to as DSH, DMH and DLH, Domestic Short Hair, Domestic Medium Hair, and Domestic Long Hair.

Cats walk on their toes, which is why older cats who have been declawed years earlier may suffer from back pain and be irritable (declawing removes their toes).

Declawed cats often develop mental issues such as having a heightened “flight or fight” response, meaning they either become shy or oddly aggressive. Some have physical pain and litter box issues.

In some areas declawing is considered inhumane and illegal.

Cats are true carnivores. In order to be truly healthy meat must make up the majority of their diet (check your cat food, many are mostly corn).

Cats should not eat dog food, it does not contain enough protein and lacks taurine.

photo source

Many cats are overweight, this is not always due to over eating, but is often the result of eating poor quality cat food.

Cats who are well fed make better mousers than cats who must hunt for food.

Cats are not quite colorblind but they see blue and green best of all.

Female cats (unless breeding) tend to live slightly longer than males, both having longer lifespans if spayed or neutered (generally due to reduce risk of some cancers).

Among mammals, cats, giraffes, and camels, share a unique way of walking, by moving the limbs on one side of their body before the other.

Cats bond to places rather than people, and this is why cats often try to return to their old home after moving.

Kittens generally cannot smell cat nip, but as they mature they develop a keen sense of smell, and desire, for it.

Feral is the term given to a previously owned cat that has turned wild. A truly wild cat never had an owner at any time.

Cats purr when happy, but also when stressed, and often when dying.

Related Links

Declawing Cats

Unique Cat Features

Unique Cat Breeds

What is in Your Cats Food