20 Surprising Cat Facts You Wouldn’t Know Until You Own One

Cats are undoubtedly some of the most beautiful creatures on this planet and are quite popular pets in different households. Of course, there are plenty of good reasons for that, as they appear funny, furry, and overloaded with cuteness.

However, cats seemingly have exciting facts you’ll only realize once you start owning one. Some of these mind-boggling facts include the following;

1. Cats Spend 50% Of Their Life Grooming

Your cat will always top the list as far as maintaining cleanliness and personal hygiene are concerned. Ideally, grooming serves different purposes in a typical cat’s life, such as scent hiding, cooling themselves, and stress relief.

2. Cats Adapt to Your Routine

If you have a routine, your cat will emulate and embrace it. A cat will follow your distinct weekday/weekend pattern. Moreover, it will follow you around and interact with you accordingly based on your routine.

3. They Learn Their Names

If you own more than one cat and name all of them differently, you’ll notice that they learn their names and come when you call each. When you call one, it will look and twitch its tail. When you say anything else in the same tone, it would not.

4. Cats Are Affectionate

A cat’s love is never complicated. However, you must earn its trust before it gets comfortable with you. The cat then reciprocates its sweet affection.

5. They Have Incredible Hearing Ability

Your cat can always hear and tell whether it’s you or not. So incredible is a cat’s hearing that they can listen to you from any room of the house.

6. They Demand Attention

Cats seem independent, but in the ideal world, they are not. They love attention, and you will always come across them in whatever room you are at the same time.

7. Cats Are Territorial

Cats tend to get stressed anytime they change their territory and adapt slowly to the new environment. They can possibly hide for several days and will be skittish since they hate quick change.

8. They Are Social

You may portray your cat as aloof and independent. However, if you wholly earn their trust, they will seek you out and tend to miss you when you are away. Most cats are happier in households with numerous people and multiple cats, so they don’t get lonely.

9. Cats Are Emotionally Intelligent

Your cat may know when you’re sick, sad, or happy. Depending on how attached you are to your cat, it will always be smart enough to detect your mood and feelings. They can also sense hormonal changes.

10. They Have Incredibly Expressive Vocalizations

A typical cat has an impressive range from “meow,” sounding like “hello” for announcing itself loudly, to “mauw,” sounding like protest or disappointment.

11. The Average Cat Sleeps for 16-18 Hours Daily

Cats are naturally somnolent animals. They like sleeping often in most actions, even when you are cuddling it. A typical cat can sleep cumulatively up to 18 hours each day. This translates to about 70% of their lives snoozing.

12. Cats Touch Noses When Greeting Each Other

If you happen to have more than one cat in your household, you’ll notice that once in a while, they tend to touch each other’s noses. This is their strange way of greeting each other.

13. They Have 32 Muscles for Controlling the Outer Ear

Cats have smaller ears compared to human, but they have 32 muscles they use for controlling their outer ears.

14. An Adult Cat Has 30 Teeth

A normal adult cat has a total number of 30 permanent teeth. However, as a kitten, it has 26 primary teeth, often known as deciduous teeth.

15. They Snore

A typical cat is a chronic snorer and grunter in their sleep. The snoring sound is often loud, depending on the size and breed of the cat. Some have loud snoring sounds that you can hear from a room away.

16. They Mark Their Territory by Rubbing off Their Scent

A cat will always rub itself on the owner to mark its territory. It will rub its forehead, chin, and cheeks on you or an object. This is a way of transferring scent in such areas through its scent glands.

17. Cats Help Lower Blood Pressure and Heart Rate

It is vital since it means as a cat owner, you are 40% less likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases.

18. They Purr To Express Different Feelings

Cats can purr to show happiness, contentment, stress, and fear, among others. However, the frequency of cat purring helps it to regenerate tissues and a self-healing technique.

19. Cats Suffer From Acne

Acne problems are quite common among cats. Often, they develop acne around their mouth and chin. Usually, this breakout tends to be common in cats with long hair or skin folds.

20. Cats Can Simply Decide To Ignore You

The psychology of a cat is relatively complex; hence, it can choose just to ignore your call. Researchers assert this phenomenon is apparent in cats since they were never domesticated to respond to humans. Cats operate out of instinct and thus will hardly respond to you unless necessary.