8 Incredibly Surprising and Weird Facts about Cats (1)

Cute, delightful, fluffy, cuddly, mysterious and full of curiosity, cats are excellent companions. Your cat can brighten your day with their charm, melt your heart with their antics, and lift your spirits in times of despair.

However, while most of us know a thing or two about cats, being adorable isn't the only thing that your feline friend has going for them. Cats also have an impressive and unique set of qualities besides what most of us already know about.

Are you ready? Let’s learn some surprising and interesting cool facts about cats.

1. Domestic Cats Share Over 95% of Their DNA with Tigers

Interestingly, a study found that tigers share 95.6%of their DNA with domestic cats. They've also been found to have similar scent and spray marking behaviors, stalking, pouncing etc.

2. Cats Possess a Special Organ to Smell Better

Yes, you read that right. Known as the Jacobson's Organ or the vomer nasal gland, this is a small sac found on the back roof of your cat's mouth.

It contains canals that lead to the mouth and nose, allowing your cat to smell and analyze scents/pheromones. This explains why cat's often open their mouths from time to time when trying to smell something.

3. Cats Have Whiskers in Other Body Parts

Cats have whiskers on their cheeks, but their chin, eyebrows, and the backs of their front legs also have some. Cats use their whiskers to decipher their environment, determining which spaces can accommodate them. (What spaces they can squeeze through). 

Whiskers positions can indicate a cat’s mood.

Never cut your cat's whiskers or feed them in bowls that limit their whiskers.

4. Cats Spend 70% Of Their Lives Sleeping

Sleeping is vital for cats, and we know it. Typically, cats will spend anywhere from 13 to 16 hours a day sleeping. This accounts for 70% of their lives, according to Veterinary Hub. It's a cat's thing!

5. Cats Move Like Camels and Giraffes

If you're sharp-eyed, you'll have noticed that cats move with both right feet first, followed by both their left feet, whether walking or running. Did you know? 

They seemingly move half of their body forward first by simultaneously moving the front and back legs on one side, followed by the front and back legs on the opposite side.

Camels and giraffes are the only other animals known to move this way.

Other four-legged animals usually move the left front leg simultaneously as the right hind leg and their right front leg with the left rear leg.

6. Male Cats Are More Likely to Be Left-Pawed

According to Animal Behavior, male cats typically favor their left paws compared to female cats, who are significantly more likely to be right-paw-dominant. However, some cats are ambidextrous. 

7. Four-Month Kittens Can Get Pregnant

As unconvincing as it may sound, your 4-month-old little kitten can become pregnant if they've hit puberty. To prevent such occurrences, have your cats spayed or neutered as early as four or five months. Spaying and neutering can also extend your cat's life.

8. Cats Are Excessive Groomers

Your cat is an ardent groomer, but did you know that they can spend up to a third of their waking hour's grooming. Courtesy of their tongue, grooming helps your cat stimulate skin blood flow, regulates body temperature and relaxation.

Your cats' rough tongues can also lick clean any shred of meat in bones.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, these fun facts can help you fully appreciate how awesome your cat is.

We hope you enjoyed reading these fun facts about cats. Guess what — we aren't done yet.

There are many more exciting and awe-inspiring facts about cats that most of us probably haven't heard of. Look out for our next post on more surprising and weird cat facts!