Interesting Facts About the Common House Cat

The common house cat, which is also known as "felis domesticus", according to answers.com, has a long history. It's believed that ancient Egyptians domesticated cats in 2000 BC. The felines were valuable in keeping the rodent population down. The Egyptians ended up considering cats to be sacred animals. Mafdet, the cat goddess, was said to have killed a serpent with its claws. And there was the goddess Bastet who had the body of a woman and the head of a cat. She protected women, children and house cats, according to touregypt.net. Read this informative article and learn some interesting facts about the common house cat you're sure to enjoy!

Some People Like House Cats, and Some Don't
"Beware of people who dislike cats," according to an old Irish proverb. That's an interesting warning since notorious names in history like Genghis Kahn, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Benito Mussolini and Adolph Hitler all disliked common house cats. If you're afraid of cats, you have
"felinophobia".

On the other hand, Pope Benedict XVI, the prophet Mohammed, Abraham Lincoln, Florence Nightingale and Sir Isaac Newton like/ed cats. If you love cats, you're an Ailurophile.

Kindles, Clowders, Toms and Queens
An interesting fact about the common house cat is, if you visit my home, you'll see a clowder, or group of cats. A fertile male cat is a tom, while a fertile female is a queen. A female cat can become pregnant when she's as young as five months old. The gestation period takes about 61 to 65 days. When a cat gives birth it's called queening. And, a group of kittens are a kindle. Calico kittens are likely to be female. Only 1 in 3,000 calico cats are male.

Is Your Common House Cat Overweight?
On the average, a cat weighs around 12 pounds. If you can feel Kitty's ribs, s/he is at a healthy weight. Otherwise, kitty cat needs to go on a diet.

An interesting fact about the common house cat is, a tabby named "Himmy" holds the record for the heaviest cat. Himmy weighed a whopping 46.8 pounds and had a 33-inch waist. He died when he was 10 years old.

The Lifespan of the Common House Cat
The average indoor cat lives to be 14 or 15 years old. There are several ways to figure a cat's "human age". A simple way to figure it is, visit the Age Calculator at www.thisoldcat.com. According to that site, a 1-year-old cat is 15 in human years. The oldest cat I've had so far lived to be 21 which is about 100 in human years.

According to www.petplace.com, the "world's longest-living cat and the Guinness award "worlds oldest cat" was Granpa. Granpa was 34 years, 2 months and 4 hours old when he died in 1998.

Is Your Cat Sleep-Deprived?
Most likely not. A typical common house cat spends about 60% of their lives sleeping. Just like infants and senior humans, kittens and older cats sleep the longest. When your cat is awake, s/he spends about 30% of the time grooming.

The Common House Cat From Head- to-Toe
The rough, bare skin on your cat's nose and paws is called leather. A cat's nose leather has a pattern on it that's much like a human fingerprint. A cat's sense of smell is 10 times more sensitive than a human's. Adult cats have 32 teeth.

Even though cats are much smaller than humans, they have more bones in their bodies- 290 bones versus our 206. A cat's heart beat is 110 to 140 beats per minute, twice as fast as a human's.

Most cats have 5 toes on their front paws and 4 toes on their back paws. If your cat has 6 front toes, s/he is considered to be a "Mitten Toe" or a "Polydactyl", according to www.dogbreedinfo.com.

May 15 Is Hug Your Cat Day
According to www.petamore.com, the top-ten most common names for cats are Tiger, Kitty, Fluffy, Max, Sam/Samantha, Morris, Callie, Socks, Felix and Tom.

So, don't forget to give your Tiger or Kitty more affection on that day!

Resources
http://www.answers.com/topic/domestic-cat-house-cat-felis-domesticus-felis-catus
http://www.catscans.com/facts.htm
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/domestic-cat.html
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/catbreed/americanpolydactyl.htm
http://www.catsofaustralia.com/cat-facts.htm
http://www.petplace.com/cats/world-s-oldest-cat-140-in-human-years-but-who-s-counting/page1.aspx
http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/mag04012001/magf1.htm
Cat Fancy Magazine
http://www.petamore.com/Pet-Names/Pet-Naming-Tips/Most-Common-Cat-Names.html