Lesser Known Cat Facts

There is a legend that many little kittens were thrown into a river to drown. The mother cat wept and was so distraught that the willows on the bank felt compassion and held out their branches to the struggling kittens which clung to them and were saved. Ever since, each Spring, the willow wears grey buds that feel as soft and silky as the coats of little kittens, thus, these trees are called 'pussy willows'.

Harrison Weir organized the first cat show at the Crystal Palace in London in 1871.

Chinese legend has it that the cat is the product of a lioness and a monkey - the lioness endowing her offspring with dignity and the monkey, with curiosity and playfulness.

Around 450 BC, anyone who killed a cat in Egypt was punished by death. It was also customary in Ancient Egypt, in the case of fire, to save the domestic cat before any attempt was made to put out the flames. When a cat died the whole family would shave off their eyebrows as a sign of mourning.

Confucius himself was reported to have owned a cat of which he was very fond.

Mr. Mistopheles was the original conjuring cat from TS Eliot's 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'. A small, quiet black cat, he managed to produce seven kittens out of a hat!

Edgar Allen Poe was devoted to his tortoiseshell cat Catarina. Poverty stricken and unable to afford sufficient heat for his dying wife, Poe placed Catarina on the bed to keep his wife warm. The cat stayed with the sick woman and, inspired by its loyalty, Poe was moved to write one of his best-known tales - 'The Black Cat'.

Non-pedigree cats generally live longer than pedigree cats.

The largest recorded cat in Britain was a male named Poppa who died in 1985 weighing 44 lbs. From Gwent, Wales, his average daily intake consisted of one and a half cans of cat food, one can of evaporated milk, two handfuls of cat biscuits, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, gravy and home-made sponge cake.

Sir Isaac Newton was a confirmed cat lover who was so deeply concerned about the welfare of his feline friends that he invented the cat-flap to provide them with the liberty to wander freely in and out of the house when the doors were closed.

In 1758, Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus classified the domestic cat as felis catus. Since then it has also become known as felis domesticus.

Two of the most commonly used names for cats in England during the Middle Ages were Pyewacket and Grimalkin, the latter meaning 'little grey man'. Nostradamus owned a cat by this name.

Other White House cats before Socks included Jimmy Carter's Misty Malarky Ying Yang, a male Siamese; Shan, Gerald Ford's Siamese; Teddy Roosevelt's blue-grey polydactyl Slippers; and JFK's Tom Kitten (daughter Caroline's cat). Tom Kitten died August 21, 1962.

The domestic cat has been known to reach running speeds of up to 25 mph.

Charles Dickens' white cat Williamina produced a litter, one of which he kept and which was called The Master's Cat because of its devotion to him. In order to gain attention as the day grew late, this cat would use its paw to snuff out the candle which lit the author's desk. Dickens would acknowledge the hint and happily give the little cat a cuddle. (By the way, Williamina was originally William before the litter was born!)

Ernest Hemingway once had some thirty cats at his home in Havana. In Paris, he would leave F. Puss to babysit while he and his wife went out. F. Puss would sit upright and on guard until the Hemingways returned.

In New York, in 1963, a Chinchilla Persian Longhair named Babyface and a Silver Persian Longhair named Nicodemus were married. Conducting the ceremony was a Beagle while the Matron of Honour was another Persian cat.

The largest litter in the UK belonged to a Burmese named Tara who, in 1970, gave birth to nineteen kittens.

A legend says that when Noah built his ark, he had two of every animal except the domestic cat, which was unknown at that time. As the rats began to multiply during the voyage, Noah asked the lion for advice. The lion thought, scratched his head and sneezed, whereupon two small lions jumped from his nostrils. These were the very first cats and they immediately began hunting, quickly taking care of the mice and rat problem.

In Ancient Egypt, the male cat represented the sun and the female, the moon.

Cardinal Richelieu was so fond of cats that he shared his home with fourteen of them - names including Pyramé, Thisbe, Lucifer, and Perruque. Specially appointed attendants cared for them, and upon his death, the Cardinal left all his worldly wealth to his feline companions.

Siamese cats kept in high temperature conditions will produce a lighter, more desirable coat. Conversely, a drop in temperature produces a much darker coat.

In the 9th century, King Henry I of Saxony decreed that the fine for killing a cat should be sixty bushels of corn.

Puss from Devon was probably the oldest male cat ever recorded. He died the day after his 36th birthday in 1939.

According to legend, the 'M' marking on the forehead of the tabby was created by the prophet Mahomet as he rested his hand lightly on the brow of his favorite cat...

The tradition of treating cats lavishly began with ancient Egyptians, who adored cats and even had a temple to Bastet, the cat goddess.

Cats were declared sacred in Japan in about 1000 A.D. - and were kept in the lap of luxury.

All cats have three sets of long hairs that are sensitive to pressure - whiskers, eyebrows, and the long hairs between their paw pads.

Cats have wonderful eyesight. They can see up to 120 feet away, especially if there's movement. Their peripheral vision is about 285 degrees - giving them a great, wide field of vision.

Cats' eyes come in three basic shapes: slanted, almond, and round.

Ailurophobia is the deep fear or hatred of cats. Among the historical characters with an aversion to cats were: Hitler, Mussolini, and Napoleon.

In 1904, the American Cat Club began registering cat breeds. Members of that organization also formed the Cat Fanciers Association, now the largest cat association in the world.

Cats may sleep for three-quarters of the day, especially when they're young. The average cat can sleep for 14 to 18 hours a day, in a combination of short and long stretches.

All cats, from large jungle cats, belong to the CAT family, Felidae, order Carnivora. There are about 38 species of cats, all part of the Felidae family. The domestic cat, Felis catus, is a species indigenous to the Old World.

Some of the most popular names for U.S. cats are: Smokey, Tiger, Max, Charlie, Rocky, Sam, Mickey, and Toby.

Nose leather is the name for the tip of a cat's nose. A healthy cat's nose leather should be cool and damp.

The name for a group of kittens is a kindle. A group of grown cats is known as a clowder.

Felix the Cat was the first true animated film star, with a career that began in a three-minute short called "Feline Follies" in 1919. Other feline cartoon stars include Top Cat; Krazy Kat; Sylvester; Tom (and Jerry); Courageous Cat; and Azrael.

Mohammad, founder of Islam, was fond of cats and had a cat named Muezza. One day Muezza fell asleep on the prophet's sleeve. Mohammad was reluctant to disturb the cat's slumber when he was called away, so he cut off the sleeve of his robe rather than awaken his beloved cat.

One of the most famous modern cats was Morris the Cat, spokescat for 9 Lives Cat Food. Adopted from an animal shelter in 1968, Morris made his first commercial in 1969 and was an overnight success. The original Morris died in 1978. Perhaps the most famous of all cat stories is Puss in Boots. This old tale has many versions, but the best-known was written by Charles Perrault in 1696.

Many famous people in history have been cat lovers, including Mark Twain, Auguste Renoir, J.R.R. Tolkien, Teddy Roosevelt, and Queen Victoria.

Certain plants are toxic to felines. Avoid hyacinth, lily of the valley, narcissus, primrose, philodendron, azalea, winter cherry, mistletoe, oleander, cherry, laurel, begonia, geranium, and ivy.

On Christmas Eve, according to folklore from the English Cotswolds, cats can be conversed with - if you speak in rhyme.

A British Burmese holds the record for multiple births, delivering 19 kittens in August 1970. Talk about a feeding frenzy!

Black cats aren't bad luck everywhere. In the English Midlands, a black cat as a wedding present is thought to bring good luck to the bride.

Cats' ears can be rotated because they are connected to 30 muscles. There are only six muscles connecting human ears, so we can't rotate ours.

The Egyptians believed that cats, which have exceptionally good visual powers, were also "seers" in the occult sense. Their eyes were also believed to tell time: cat's eyes shone more brightly at full moon and grew dimmer at its wane.

There are 11 breeds of longhair domestic cats and 20-plus breeds of shorthair cats. In each breed there are often a number of varieties, adding up to more than 100 different breeds that have been standardized throughout Europe and North America.

The Italian word for purr is fusa. It could also be "firsta" because Italy became the entry point for the spread of shorthaired cats into Europe, starting around 900 B.C. Longhaired breeds came to Italy from Turkey during the 16th century.

Got some facts for us?

Created June 16, 1998 by Mary

Last Visited July 12, 1998