Feline Facts for Celebrating International Cat Day

International Cat Day (August 8) is a day to honor one of humanity's oldest pets. Celebrate by spreading awareness on how you can adopt a cat in need or better take care of your feline friends at home. To commemorate our love for cats, we’ve composed a list of cat facts you may not know!

August 05, 2021

By: Kennedy McGilvery

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Cats vs. Dogs

Cats are the most popular pet in the U.S. There are about 13.5 million more cat owners than dog owners in America.

Baby Blue Eyes

All kittens are born with blue eyes. When kittens are born, the pigment in their eyes hasn't developed, giving them a blue appearance. A few weeks after their eyes open, a cat's true eye color appears.

Vision

A cat’s field of vision is 200 degrees.

Sweaty Paws

Cats only sweat through their paws. (Nowhere else on their body!)

Cat Stuck in a Tree?

When cats climb a tree, they can't go back down head first. This is because their claws are facing the same way, instead, they have to go back down backward.

Allergies

Many people are allergic to cats, but cats can actually be allergic to humans too. There have been cases of cats being allergic to the dead skin and other bodily particles that humans shed daily.

Deaf Kitty

Nearly all white cats with blue eyes are deaf.

Astro-Cat

The first cat to take a trip to space was called Félicette. Félicette became the first and only feline to ever visit outerspace. She launched atop a Véronique AG1 rocket and flew nearly 100 miles above the Earth, where she briefly experienced weightlessness.

Whisker for Eyes

From detecting whether they can fit into a tight space to displaying their mood, cats use their whiskers like radar. When a cat is relaxed, it'll push its whiskers forward, but when angry they will push them back.

Ancient Royalty

Cats have been domestic animals for more than 10,000 years. Egyptian culture was famous for its devotion to the cat. The export of cats from Egypt was so strictly prohibited that a branch of government was formed solely to deal with this issue.

House Cat or Wild Beast?

House cats share 95.6% of their genetic makeup with tigers. Many domesticated cats closely resemble the characteristics of their larger wild cat cousins, lions and tigers.

Cat Years

1 year of a cat's life is equal to 15 years of a human's life.

Clean as a Whistle

Cats spend nearly 1/3rd of their lives cleaning themselves. This countless time spent cleaning is an important aspect of a cats wellbeing- cooling their body temperature, distributing natural oils to their skin, fighting infections, and even killing parasites.

Reading Emotions

Our feline companions pay more attention than we give them credit for. They seem to be able to tell when we are happy. Cats have been known to be great Emotional Support Animals and sense the emotions of their owners.

Baby Detectors

Cats have been shown to understand when their owners are pregnant- even being able to hear the heartbeat of unborn babies.