Interesting facts about cats and cats

Cats are one of the most beloved and common pets. It would seem that living side by side with the animal, we fully studied it and we all know about it. However, this is far from the case, and cats always have something to surprise people. There are a lot of interesting facts about cats and cats.

Cats, like all other animals, have their own interests and things that bring them pleasure. First of all, pets appreciate comfort, good care and good nutrition. Cats love warmth, therefore they often lie on places warmed by the sun, or on sofas and armchairs.

Animals will not miss the opportunity to share their food with the owner. However, it should be remembered that eating from a person’s table is not suitable for a cat and can harm his health.

Cats by their nature are very clean and love to monitor their appearance. They independently clean their hair, wash their eyes and ears, and clean their claws. And they also like when their toilet is cleaned, so the animal tray should always be clean and dry.

Almost every cat loves to conquer the peaks. Therefore, they tend to jump onto tall cabinets, climb up the carpets and climb the curtains. Another favorite pastime of cats is claw turning. Pets are happy to do this about furniture or interior fittings. This problem can be solved by timely accustoming to the scratching post.

Pets are often interested in indoor plants. Animals can touch them, sniff and even eat. To preserve indoor flowers and protect the animal from poisoning by poisons that are contained in some plants, it is best to plant special grass for cats at home. Pets love affection, attention and care, even if sometimes they try to show the opposite. In any case, do not forget that each cat is individual and may have its own specific predilections.

Since ancient times, people were interested in the unusual feature of cats in the fall. The amazing thing about this process is that animals always land on all 4 legs. To understand the essence of such a mysterious phenomenon, serious research was conducted.

It was found that kittens aged 3-4 weeks appear to fall when they fall on their feet. Finally, the skill is formed at 6-7 weeks from the moment of birth.

In order for the animal to be able to make a complete 180 ° flip in the air, the fall height should be at least 30 cm. The developed vestibular apparatus, which is located in the inner ear, is mainly responsible for the amazing landing abilities. In addition, cats have a reflex during the fall to breed their limbs to the sides.

However, reflex breeding of paws may not work if the fall height is too large, as the animal may experience shock. If the cat falls from an insignificant height, then it can be injured, as it does not have time to group. As for the speed of fall, regardless of altitude it will not be more than 100 km / h.

It was found that with a fall, the rearrangement technique for all cats is almost identical. Animals pull the forelimbs closer to themselves, and the hind legs straighten. Then the cat quickly changes the position of the body, while its front and rear parts deviate in different directions. After that, the front limbs are extended, and the rear limbs are drawn closer to the body.

The rear and front of the hull rotate and take the desired position for landing. It is believed that the tail helps cats to feel balance and take the right position. However, representatives of tailless breeds also land well on their feet, as do their brethren with a tail.

Mustaches not only adorn the cat's face, but also perform a number of important functions. If we talk about the scientific name of the mustache, then it sounds like vibrissa. They are solid long hairs, which are a special sensory organ.

Vibrissas are not only close to the cat's nose, but are scattered in some areas on the body, such as the chin, the area above the eyes and on the hind and forelimbs. Each such hair is equipped with a hair bag, near which nerve endings are located.

Vibrissas are able to capture air currents that come from close objects, and cats with their help receive information about nearby objects and feel obstacles. It vibrissa help animals to navigate well in the dark. Mustache also helps to feel objects that are in the so-called blind spot. The fact is that cats do not see well at short distances. Thus, mustache and smell help cats find a treat or find small prey in the immediate vicinity.

Animals cannot be deprived of vibrissa. If you cut off the mustache, it will not be fatal for the pet, however, it will negatively affect its mental state and ability to navigate well in space. Do not be scared if several fallen off vibrissas were found on the floor or on furniture in the house.Cats periodically lose their mustache throughout their lives, but new ones grow in their place. An exception is when they start to fall out in large quantities. This may indicate a lack of vitamins or a disease.

It is believed that cats can express their emotions with a mustache. If the vibrissa are sent to the sides and not tense, then the pet is in a calm mood. When the animal puts forward the mustache and holds them in such a tense position, this indicates feelings of anxiety. If the mustache is pressed to the face, then at the moment the pet is angry or in fear. To get complete information about the state of the cat, it is important to analyze the totality of its gestures and sounds made, and not take into account only the position of the mustache.

There are many different myths about cats. False beliefs have affected the sight of animals. Some believe that cats, by their nature, cannot distinguish colors, but see the world around them in black and white. In fact, they know how to capture and determine shades.

Animals are less likely to distinguish between green, yellow and red tones. But they have a subtle perception of gray and dark colors. This can be explained by the pet’s lifestyle. The main prey for domesticated predators are rodents that have gray hair. Green color is primarily vegetation, which is not the main component in the diet of cats.

Almost all people know about the strong love of cats for sleep. However, not everyone can say how much time animals sleep. According to statistics, animals spend about 70% of their lives sleeping. They can sleep 18 hours a day.

Such a duration of sleep is not due to laziness of animals, as it might seem at first glance. The thing is that cats are predators by nature.

The hunter's cycle looks like this: the cat tracks the prey, approaches it and attacks. All this usually happens in a few minutes, during which the animal spends a lot of energy. After which it eats prey and should allow the body to rest and recover, and therefore goes to bed.

At home, kittens and adults, instead of hunting, are forced to simply run and play with various objects. The prey is replaced by the feed that people give to the pets. At the same time, the peculiarity of the organism does not change, and the domestic predator, like the wild relatives, is forced to regain strength after the “hunt”, and therefore it goes to bed.

As for the place to sleep, animals prefer to choose a warm and safe shelter for themselves. Instinctively, they tend to climb as high as possible, whether it be a tree or a cupboard. Cats believe that no one will be able to detect and disturb them there, and they, in turn, will be able to see what is happening below.

It has long been known that cats can communicate not only with their brothers, but also with other animals and humans. They do this with the help of movements, facial expressions, sounds and chemical signals. A person can not perceive far all the signals with which cats transmit information.

Between themselves, animals most often communicate using the sounds made. Cats have fairly developed vocal cords. Therefore, they can emit very different signals in tone, volume and intonation.

By analyzing the voice signals of cats, you can understand what emotions they are experiencing at the moment and what they want to report. For example, pets most often express dissatisfaction using a low timbre, and a good mood is shown using a high timbre. Cats prefer to communicate with kittens with the help of special sounds that a person cannot catch.

In addition to voice, animals use body language, facial expressions and smells for communication. Chemical signals most often mean that cats mark their territory. For people, such labels say little about anything, but other animals can read quite a lot of information. For example, they recognize the cat’s age and behavior by smell. For a person, the movements and facial expressions of the pet are more understandable.

After observing at least one cat’s look, you can get information about her mood and emotions. Semi-closed eyelids most often speak of her relaxed state, especially if this is accompanied by a purr. Large bulging eyes indicate that the pet is interested in the object of observation or that something is bothering him.

It is best to pay attention immediately to all the signals that the cat gives. In communication, not only the eyes and vocal cords can be involved, but also the tail, ears, vibrissae, limbs, and the whole body as a whole. Each pet can have its own sets of characters to convey certain emotions. With frequent regular communication with animals over time, they become clear to a loving owner.

Feline paws are certainly one of the most interesting parts of the pet’s body that evoke positive emotions in many people. Paws also perform many useful functions for the pet. As for their structure, the forelimbs should normally have 5 fingers, and the hind legs - 4. However, genetic mutations are possible when there can be 6 or more fingers on the paws.

It is believed that representatives of the cat family, like humans, can be right-handed and left-handed. The dominant limb of a cat is usually used to perform complex actions.

Cats are used to tiptoeing, that is, at their fingertips. This allows them to sneak up silently, and also provides the opportunity for quick start maneuver if necessary. And also the paws in animals are characterized by good sensitivity and flexibility.

It may seem a little unusual that cat's paws serve cats as a kind of temperature regulator. The thing is that sweat is released through the pads. Do not forget that part of the paws are claws, which are very important in the life of every cat.

Among the representatives of the cat family in history there were many unusual and world-famous individuals. An American cat named Stubbs is known for serving as mayor of Talkitna in Alaska. The reign began in 1997, and ended in 2017, when the animal died.

The largest cat in the world is Maine Coon from Australia, named Oscar. In 2017, he was included in the Guinness Book of Records. In length, he reached a mark of 1 m 20 cm, and his body weight was equal to 14 kg at that time. However, in history there was another Maine Coon, whose length was 1 m 23 cm. The cat was called Stu, and he was from the American city of Reno. The animal was inferior to Oscar only in body weight.

Therefore, ship cats were not a rarity. They were needed on ships to cheer up all the team members, and also acted as a kind of mascot. Simon received worldwide fame among all ship cats.

He was discovered by an English sailor in 1947 in Hong Kong at a place designated for ship repair. The animal was sick and weak.Secretly from the captain, the kitten was carried onto a ship, where he quickly recovered. Soon, the pet began to hunt rats and even “shared” its prey, dragging it into the bunkers of sailors.

The new captain, who came to the ship a year after the appearance of Simon, quickly found a common language with him. The cat settled down in his cabin and loved to sleep in the captain's cap.

The Chinese began to shoot at the ship, and one of the shells caused the death of the captain of the ship. The cat was nearby at the time and was also injured. The team members hastened to help Simon, and they managed to save his life. After rehabilitation, the cat returned to the ship again and continued to fulfill his duties of trapping rodents, as well as raising the command spirit of sailors.

Although it seems like domestic cats have long been studied, and everything about them is known, they do not cease to amaze. Over time, more and more funny and interesting facts about animals appear, and scientists continue to study feline ones. Not so long ago, it was discovered that cats, unlike humans, can drink salt water from the seas. This is due to the special structure of the kidneys, so that they can filter the fluid.

The cat's ear can receive ultrasonic signals. Thus, it can be assumed that they can hear the sounds made by rodents and dolphins. When running, domestic cats can reach speeds of up to 50 km / h. However, most often the speed does not exceed 14 km / h.

Cats do not have receptors that allow them to taste sweet. Neither sugar nor any substitutes will feel the pet. The physiological feature is determined by the feline lifestyle. In the natural habitat, predators do not eat fruits and berries, so the ability to recognize sweet tastes is absent as unnecessary.

The cat's body is able to digest milk only at an early age. Adults are not recommended to give this product, as serious health problems can occur. Domestic cats are also sensitive to food temperature. Food should be at room temperature, but not cold or hot. A person and a cat have much more in common than it might seem at first glance.

About 10 more interesting facts about cats and cats, see the video below.