Cat Biology Facts

Cats have 32 muscles in each ear.

Cats have more than 20 muscles that control their ears.

Cats have a specialized collarbone that allows them to always land on their feet.

Cats spend nearly one-third of their waking hours cleaning themselves.

A cat's whiskers are roughly as wide as its body.

Ancient Egyptians shaved their eyebrows in mourning when their cats died.

A cat's heart beats nearly twice as fast as a human heart.

Cats have three eyelids.

Cats can rotate their ears 180 degrees.

Cats were first domesticated in the Near East around 7500 BC.

Cats have a third eyelid called a haw.

Cats have 230 bones, while humans only have 206.

Cats have retractable claws.

Cats have been domesticated for about 4,000 years.

A cat's tongue is covered in tiny hooks called papillae.

Cats have free-floating clavicle bones that allow them to squeeze through tight spaces.

The oldest known pet cat was found in a 9,500-year-old grave in Cyprus.

A cat's whiskers are the same width as its body.

The average cat lives for 12-15 years.

A cat's hearing is better than a dog's hearing.

A cat's purr can help heal bones and muscles.

The oldest cat ever lived to be 38 years old.

A cat's eyes glow in the dark because of the tapetum lucidum.

Cats have a natural instinct to scratch to keep their claws sharp.

A cat's sense of touch is highly developed in their whiskers.

A cat's lifespan has doubled in the last 50 years due to better care.

A cat's diet must include taurine for heart and eye health.

Cats can learn to respond to their name.

Cats have been shown to reduce the risk of heart attack in their owners.

A cat's claws grow continuously throughout their life.

A cat's ears can rotate 180 degrees independently.

Cats can detect earthquakes before humans.

A cat's tongue feels like sandpaper because of tiny barbs.

A cat's whiskers help them navigate in the dark.

A cat's heart rate is 140-220 beats per minute.

A cat's spine is so flexible because it has 53 vertebrae.

A cat's liver is very efficient at processing protein.

A cat's kidneys are very efficient at conserving water.

Cats can learn tricks just like dogs.

A cat's claws are retractable to keep them sharp.

A cat's sense of hearing is better than a human's and a dog's.

A cat's eyes are the largest relative to head size of any mammal.

A cat's purring frequency promotes bone density and healing.

A cat's whiskers are deeply rooted in nerve endings.

A cat's eyes can see in near-total darkness.

A cat's sense of hearing can detect ultrasonic frequencies.

A cat's claws are made of keratin, the same protein as human nails.

A cat's hearing range is 48 Hz to 85 kHz.

Cats have been shown to help children with learning disabilities.

A cat's claws are made of keratin.