Posts and tweets about cat facts, stats and folklore

May 27, 2014

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Share these fun feline tidbits with your clients on social media.

Facebook posts - Cat facts and tips

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Cat owners: Want to avoid future headaches and additional veterinary expenses? Feline expert Dr. Elizabeth Colleran tells you how. http://bit.ly/1jrQagX

By making the carrier irresistible for your cat, regular veterinary visits are made calm instead of chaotic. Snag some helpful hints on how to do this here: http://bit.ly/RFTD5i

Try to imagine taking a stress-free car ride with your cat to the veterinarian. Impossible, you say? Find out what to do to make it a reality: http://bit.ly/1h71Po8

In the 1870s, the Belgian village of Liège trained 37 mail cats to deliver letters. Conceived by the esteemed Belgian Society for the Elevation of the Domestic Cat, the plan was to wrap waterproof mailbags around each feline's neck. Luckily for all the unemployed mail carriers, the system didn't last very long. Author Gretchen Lamont captured this fanciful story in her book 'The Mail Carrier Cats of Liège.'

Did you know? The Clinton White House cat almost had his own Super Nintendo game. It was called 'Socks the Cat Rocks the Hill.'

According to National Geographic, the oldest known pet cat was found in a 9,500 year old gravesite on the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Godfather Book says that iconic image of Marlon Brando stroking a cat in The Godfather was accidental. A stray cat wandered onto the set, Brando picked it up-and the rest is movie history!

ABC reports that in 2009, a 3-year-old cat named Lucky squeezed through a cracked window and fell 26 stories from a lower Manhattan apartment-and lived.

The scientific term for a hairball is trichobezoar. The root, 'trich,' is Greek for 'hair.' A 'bezoar' is any mass found in the stomach or intestines. It comes from the Persian word for 'antidote.'

All feline tongues, from tabby house pets to 600-pound Bengal tigers, are covered with tiny barbs or hooks, giving the tongue a rough texture. These microscopic projections, called 'filiform papillae' face toward the cat's throat and are the tools that help it groom its coat. The barbs work like a comb, catching and cleaning the cat's fur.

Did you know? Cats have whiskers above the eyelids, around the muzzle and on the lower inside part of their forelegs that help them move smoothly in the dark.

Did you know? A cat can't climb head first down a tree because every claw on a cat's paw points the same way. To get down from a tree, a cat must back down.

According to the ASPCA, cats produce all threat vocalizations with the mouth held open to mirror the cat's intense emotional state.

A study published in Science magazine found that when a cat drinks, its tongue skims the water's surface instead of piercing it, like dogs' tongues. Cats lap at the right frequency to maximize the volume of liquid per lap.

Polydactyl cats have more than the usual number of toes and are known by many names, from Hemingway cat and mitten cat to big-foot cat and six-toed cat-or even cats with thumbs.

Cats boast a membrane on the inside corner of the eye, called the third eyelid, that helps keep their eyes safe from dryness and dirt, as well as keep the eye moist.

Blue-eyed white cats are more likely to be deaf. If a cat has one blue eye, the cat is likely deaf on the blue-eyed side.

A study in the UK found that, like people, cats are either right-handed or left-handed, though some are ambidextrous. Females are more likely to be right-handed while males are more frequently left-handed.

The tufts of hair in a cat's ear that help keep out dirt, direct sounds into the ear and insulate the ears are called 'ear furnishings.'

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Facebook posts - Cat stats

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Colonel Meow, a Himalayan-Persian crossbreed held the 2014 Guinness world record for longest fur on a cat. The cat had fur that reached 22.87 cm (9 in).

The oldest cat ever was Creme Puff, who was born on Aug. 3, 1967 and lived until Aug. 6, 2005-that's 38 years and 3 days!

The loudest purr by a domestic cat is 67.7 dB (LA peak) and was achieved by a British cat named Smokey, owned by Lucinda Ruth Adams at Spring Hill Farm, Pitsford, Northampton, UK. Guinness measured this on March 25, 2011.

In January 2012, the BBC reported that a British cat named Gemma went under the knife when a tumor the 'size of two cricket balls' prevented her from eating-but it wasn't a tumor. It was actually a 5-in wide hairball that weighed 7.5 ounces!

A study performed by researchers at Turkey's Ataturk University in 1991 showed that the majority of domestic cats are right pawed (50 percent), 10 percent are ambidextrous and the remaining 40 percent favor their left paws.

Cats have more bones in a key part of their spine than people do. Cats have a combined 20 thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, compared with 17 in people. The number of bones in the mid-spine region accounts in part for the power and flexibility cats have when it comes to fast acceleration and leaping ability.

According to cat expert Dr. Arnold Plotnick, approximately one calico in 3,000 is male, thanks to a genetic oddity known as 'Klinefelter syndrome.' An animal with this condition has X and Y chromosomes, making it a male, but also it has an extra X chromosome (which allows for the expression of the calico coat pattern).

One retrospective study cited in the American Heartworm Society's 2014 Feline Guidelines states that approximately 25 percent of cats diagnosed with adult heartworms were considered indoor-only cats.

According to the Humane Society, an estimated 50 percent of cats don't respond to catnip-it's an inherited sensitivity.

A normal cat boasts five toes on its front feet, four on the back-a total of 18. But polydactyls have more, often on their front feet.

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Facebook posts - Feline folklore

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It is said that Unsinkable Sam, a black and white cat (also known as Oskar) survived the sinking of a total of three ships during World War II: Bismarck, HMS Cossack and HMS Ark Royal.

In early America, a cat with its back to the fire foretold a cold snap; all four paws tucked under meant bad weather was coming.

Did you know? Animal hairballs were once thought to cure epilepsy, the plague, and poisoning. During the Middle Ages, hairballs were even set in gold.

While many parts of Europe and North America consider the black cat a sign of bad luck, in Britain and Australia, black cats are considered lucky.

Interrupted from his work at Cambridge by his cats scratching at the door, lore tells us Sir Isaac Newton invented the cat door.

Long ago, some believed that cats could start storms through magic, so sailors always made sure cats were content.

Have you ever heard a cat chatter? Some say that this sound indicates frustration, like when an indoor cat finds it's unable to get to the birds at the feeder outside.

Did you know? It is believed that cats respond more readily to names ending in '-ie' or '-y.'

It has been reported that a cat can travel at a top speed of approximately 31 mph (49 km) over a short distance.

It has been reported that domestic cats have a top speed of 29.8 mph.

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Tweets - Cat facts and tips

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Make regular vet visits calm instead of chaotic with helpful hints to make the carrier irresistible for your #cat. http://bit.ly/RFTD5i

The costliest #cat ever is named Little Nicky, who cost his owner $50,000, @BBCNews reports. He is a clone of an older cat.

The CIA's Acoustic Kitty operation in the 1960s tried to use #cats to obtain secret recordings at the Kremlin and Soviet embassies. @DNews

#Cats have powerful night vision, allowing them to see at light levels 6 times lower than what a human needs in order to see. #sciencedaily

The first cat in space was a French cat named Felicette (a.k.a. 'Astrocat') in 1963. She survived the trip.

Did you know? If you search #cats in Google, you get about 110 million results.

The purr sound #cats make is produced both on the inhale and the exhale, with an instantaneous break between breaths. @ASPCA

Did you know? In certain circumstances, seawater can provide hydration for #cats.

Disneyland keeps 200 feral #cats on hand to rid it of rodents at night. @CNN

Collar bones in #cats are unattached to other bones, enabling them to squeeze through small places.

#Cats recognize their owners' voices, but may still ignore them! @dvm360

In multi-cat households, the rule of thumb is to provide one litter box per #cat, plus one additional one.

In the 1870s, the Belgian village of Liège trained 37 mail #cats to deliver letters. It didn't last long.

The iconic scene of Marlon Brando stroking a #cat in

The Godfather

was an unplanned cameo for the feline after the actor found it on set.

2009: ABC reported a 3-year-old #cat named Lucky squeezed through a cracked window falling 26 stories from a Manhattan apartment and lived.

The scientific term for hairball is trichobezoar. 'Trich' is Greek for 'hair' & 'bezoar' is a mass found in the stomach or intestines. #cats

All feline tongues are covered with tiny barbs. These microscopic projections face toward the #cat's throat and help it groom its coat.

#Cats have whiskers above the eyelids, around the muzzle & the lower inside part of their forelegs to help them move smoothly in the dark.

A #cat can't climb head first down a tree b/c every claw on a cat's paw points the same way. To get down from a tree, a cat must back down.

Published in

Science

: when a #cat drinks its tongue skims the water's surface lapping at a frequency to maximize volume of liquid per lap.

Polydactyl #cats have more toes than the average cat and are called Hemingway cats, mitten cats, big-foot cats or cats with thumbs.

#Cats have a membrane on the inside corner of the eye-the third eyelid-that helps keep their eyes safe from dryness and dirt.

A UK study says #cats are right- or left-handed, though some are ambidextrous. Females more likely to be right-handed; males left-handed.

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Tweets - Cat stats

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#Cats sleep an average of 15 hours a day. @petmd

Fact: Domestic #cats can jump up to five times their own height. @CornellVetMed

Fact: #Cats spend nearly 1/3 of their waking hours grooming. @CornellVetMed

#Cats have only 473 taste buds, compared with about 9,000 in people. @HillsPet

#Cats have a memory of up to 16 hours (vs. five minutes in dogs). @VPI

Although #cats sleep up to 16 hours a day, three-quarters of that sleep is snoozing, not deep sleep. @catster

The book 'Communicating with your cat' reports that a cat's field of vision is 285 degrees, compared with 210 in people. #cats

59 percent of #cats are acquired without the owner's prior intent. @dvm360

Half as many #cats get annual checkups as dogs. @dvm360

#Cats can hear up to 100,000 Hz, while dogs hear at a top range of 35,000 to 40,000 Hz. (People's top range-20,000 Hz). @ArdenKnowsPets

Colonel Meow, a Himalayan-Persian crossbreed held the 2014 Guinness world record for longest fur on a #cat at 22.87 cm (9 in).

The loudest purr by a domestic #cat-67.7dB-was achieved by a British cat named Smokey, measured by Guinness on March 25, 2011.

Researchers at Turkey's Ataturk University in 1991 found 50% of domestic #cats are right pawed; 10% ambidextrous; 40% left pawed.

#Cats have a combined 20 thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, compared with 17 in people. This helps when it comes to acceleration & leaping.

.@TheCatExpert says ~1 calico in 3,000 is male caused by 'Klinefelter syndrome,' an extra X chromosome (which allows for the calico pattern).

A study cited in American Heartworm Society's 2014 Feline Guidelines states ~25% of #cats diagnosed w adult heartworms were indoor-only cats.

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Tweets - Feline folklore

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Interrupted from his work at Cambridge by his #cats scratching at the door, lore tells us Sir Isaac Newton invented the cat door.

Some believed #cats could start storms through magic, so sailors always made sure cats were content.

Ever heard a #cat chatter? Some say this indicates frustration, like when an indoor cat finds it's unable to get to the birds at the feeder.

Did you know? It is believed that #cats respond more readily to names ending in -ie or -y.

It has been reported that a #cat can travel at a top speed of approximately 31 mph (49 km) over a short distance.

It has been reported that domestic #cats have a top speed of 29.8 mph.

It is said Unsinkable Sam, a black & white #cat, survived the sinking of three ships during WWII: Bismarck, HMS Cossack and HMS Ark Royal.

DYK? Animal hairballs were once thought to cure epilepsy, plague & poisoning. During the Middle Ages, hairballs were even set in gold. #cats

While parts of Europe & North America consider the black cat a sign of bad luck, in Britain & Australia, black cats are considered lucky.