Cats
Here are some fascinating cat facts I have collected, And interspersed with photos of Odo and Beanie. (two of my feline companions) plus a couple of pics of their siblings soon after they were born. Yes, they all pop when clicked.
 A cat's heart beats twice as fast as a human heart, at 110 to 140 beats per minute.
A cat that bites you after you have rubbed its stomach is most likely biting out of pleasure, not anger.
A cat will almost never "meow" at another cat. This sound is reserved for humans.
Cats love to chew on grass, catnip, parsley or sage. Become a green thumb and plant an indoor garden for your cat! But be careful - many plants are toxic to your cat!
Sociable cats will follow you from room to room to monitor your activities throughout the day.
 Cats love high places. They share this love with leopards and jaguars that sleep in trees. If a cat begins to fall, its inner ear canal (which controls balance) will help it right itself and land on its feet.
Backward-pointing spikes on a cat's tongue aid in their grooming.
A white cat's hearing has a lot to do with its eye colour. While white cats with orange eyes are generally fine, a large majority of white cats with blue eyes are deaf. Cats with only one blue eye are deaf in the ear closest to it.
Hunting is not instinctive to cats. In fact, kittens born to non-hunting mothers may never develop the skill.
 When a cat buries its faeces it is a tactic designed to cover its trail from predators.
Not only did Sir Isaac Newton discoverer the principles of gravity, he also invented the cat door!
Cats have a peripheral vision of approximately 285 degrees.
The correct way to refer to a group of kittens is a 'kindle'. However, a group of grown cats is called a 'clowder'.
Tap water should be allowed to sit for 24 hours before it is given to a cat - the chlorine in fresh tap water can irritate its nose.
 The cat is one of only three animals that walk by moving both left feet together, then both right feet together. The other two animals are the giraffe and the camel.
Tortoiseshell cats are invariably female. The odds of getting a male 'tortie' are about 1000 to 1.
Cats can't taste sugar or salt.
 Domestic cats are the only cat species that hold their tails vertically while walking - all other cat species hold their tails horizontally or tucked between their legs while walking.
Cats can predict earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and electrical storms.
Cats have 290 bones and 517 muscles in their bodies. They also have a very complex spinal system with five more vertebrae than the human spine.
Only 40 per cent of cats are ambidextrous while the remaining 60 per cent favour either their left or right paws.
 Cats have extraordinary navigation skills, enabling them to often find their way home over incredible distances. One persistent puss travelled 2414 km over a period of 14 months to track down her human companions.
The nose pad of a cat is patterned in such a way that it is unique to each cat - similar to the way each human fingerprint is unique.
Most tortoise shell cats are born female while ginger cats are nearly always male.
 A female cat can give birth to more than 100 kittens during it's life.
To stop your cat from scratching precious items, put lemon or orange scent on them - cats hate these smells!
Most cats like their food served at room temperature and will often refuse any food that is too cold or too hot.
If you can't feel your cat's ribs, it's too heavy. You should be able to see a distinct waist behind the ribs.
Kittens should not be picked up by the scruff of the neck, only the mother can safely do this.
 One of the ways that cats will show that they are extremely happy is by "treading" up and down in the same spot.
Cats greet each other with sounds made with their mouths closed. Open-mouthed sounds are used in situations of aggression, defense, fear or pain.
A cat's normal body temperature is 39 degrees while that of a person should be 37 degrees.
A falling cat takes just 0.3 seconds to right itself, and it will nearly always right itself in the following order: firstly the head will rotate, then the spine will twist and the rear legs will align, and lastly it will arch its back to soften the impact of the landing.
 Your cat gets its sense of security from your voice so try talking to your cat in a soothing tone.
Cats, particularly stressed cats, don't like deep or loud voices as their sense of hearing is greater than ours.
Cats see in colour, but not red.
Cats see the pictures on a CRT television (non LCD) as a series of flickering images whereas we see them as a continuous image.
Cats' eyes come in three shapes: round, slanted and almond.
 A kitten's eyes are usually blue but their final colour may take up to six months to become fixed.
Kittens start dreaming at just over one week old.
The time a cat spends in REM sleep is also closely related to how safe the cat feels in its environment.
A cat's ears pivot 180 degrees. There are 32 muscles in each ear 12 or more of which are used to control ear movement.
Cats rub up against other cats, and people, in an attempt to "mark" them with their scent glands. They most often use the scent glands between their eyes and ears (near the temple area) or their scent glands near the base of their tail.
 A lack of taurine in your cat's diet can cause irreversible eye damage and heart failure. It also needs arachidonic acid, arginine, niacin and vitamin A in its diet.
A cat's eyesight is better than a human's thanks to its elliptical pupils, a tapetum and a large number of light sensitive receptors that allow it to see at night.
A cat's social group is a co-operative structure. By contrast, dogs have hierarchical structure where there is a small group of animals with one dominant male.
The Jacobson's organ, located in the upper surface of a cat's mouth, is used for smelling. In fact, a cat's sense of smell is so strong it can detect another cat up to 100 metres away.
 A tortoiseshell cat named Felix, reportedly survived 29 days without food or water after escaping from his travelling cage and getting stuck in the hold of an international aircraft!
Both humans and cats have identical regions in the brain responsible for emotion.
A cat's brain is more similar to a man's brain than that of a dog.
Cats do not have a collarbone, so they can fit through any opening the size of their head.
 Cats have 32 muscles that control the outer ear (compared to human's 6 muscles each). A cat can rotate its ears independently 180 degrees, and can turn in the direction of sound 10 times faster than those of the best watchdog.
Cats' hearing is much more sensitive than humans and dogs.
Cats' hearing stops at 65 khz (kilohertz); humans' hearing stops at 20 khz.
In relation to their body size, cats have the largest eyes of any mammal.
 Most cats do not have eyelashes.
A cat sees about 6 times better than a human at night, and needs 1/6 the amount of of light that a human does - it has a layer of extra reflecting cells which absorb light.
Recent studies have shown that cats can see blue and green. There is disagreement as to whether they can see red.
A cat has approximately 60 to 80 million olfactory cells (a human has between 5 and 20 million).
 A cat has a total of 24 whiskers, 4 rows of whiskers on each side. The upper two rows can move independently of the bottom two rows. A cat uses its whiskers for measuring distances.
When a cat drinks, its tongue - which has tiny barbs on it - scoops the liquid up backwards.
Cats purr at the same frequency as an idling diesel engine, about 26 cycles per second.
All the cats' purrs, including the cheetah, have frequencies 4 Hz from the entire repertoire of low frequencies known to be therapeutic for all of the ailments.
 That fact that the cats in a study produced purring frequencies that have been proven to improve healing time, strength and mobility could explain the purr's natural selection. After a day or night of hunting, purring could be likened to an internal vibrational therapeutic system, a sort of "kitty massage" that would keep muscles and ligaments in prime condition and less prone to injury. Additionally, the purr could strengthen bone, and prevent osteodiseases. Following injury, the purr vibrations would help heal the wound or bone associated with the injury, reduce swelling, and provide a measure of pain relief during the healing process.
 Domestic cats purr both when inhaling and when exhaling.
The cat's front paw has 5 toes, but the back paws have 4. Some cats are born with as many as 7 front toes and extra back toes (polydactl).
Cats step with both left legs, then both right legs when they walk or run.
Cats walk on their toes. 
A domestic cat can sprint at about 50 kph.
Cats lose almost as much fluid in the saliva while grooming themselves as they do through urination.
Almost 10% of a cat's bones are in its tail, and the tail is used to maintain balance.
If a cat is frightened, the hair stands up fairly evenly all over the body; when the cat threatens or is ready to attack, the hair stands up only in a narrow band along the spine and tail.
 Cats respond most readily to names that end in an "ee" sound.
The female cat reaches sexual maturity within 6 to 10 months; most veterinarians suggest spaying the female at 5 months, before her first heat period. The male cat usually reaches sexual maturity between 9 and 12 months.
Female felines are "superfecund," which means that each of the kittens in her litter can have a different father.
Many cats love having their forehead gently stroked.
 If a cat is frightened, put your hand over its eyes and forehead, or let him bury his head in your armpit to help calm him.
A cat will tremble or shiver when it is in extreme pain.
Cats should not be fed tuna exclusively, as it lacks taurine, an essential nutrient required for good feline health.
Not every cat gets "high" from catnip. If the cat doesn't have a specific gene, it won't react (about 20% do not have the gene). Catnip is non-addictive.
 Cats must have fat in their diet because they can't produce it on their own.
While many cats enjoy milk, it will give some cats diarrhea.
When a domestic cat goes after mice, about 1 pounce in 3 results in a catch.
Mature cats with no health problems are in deep sleep 15 percent of their lives. They are in light sleep 50 percent of the time. That leaves just 35 percent awake time, or roughly 6-8 hours a day. Cats come back to full alertness faster than any other creature.
A cat will spend nearly 30% of her awake life grooming herself.
 A cat can jump 5 times as high as it is tall.
Spaying a female before her first or second heat will greatly reduce the threat of mammary cancer and uterine disease. A cat does not need to have at least 1 litter to be healthy, nor will they "miss" motherhood.
Neutering a male cat will, in almost all cases, stop him from spraying (territorial marking), fighting with other males (at least over females), as well as lengthen his life and improve its quality.
 Declawing a cat is the same as cutting a human's fingers off at the knuckle. There are several alternatives to a complete declawing, including trimming or a less radical (though more involved) surgery to remove the claws. Instead, train your cat to use a scratching post.
The average lifespan of an outdoor-only (feral and non-feral) is about 3 years; an indoor-only cat can live 16 years and longer. Some cats have been documented to have a longevity of 34 years.
Cats with long, lean bodies are more likely to be outgoing, and more protective and vocal than those with a stocky build.
 An estimated 50% of today's cat carers never take their cats to a veterinarian for health care. Also, because cats tend to keep their problems to themselves, many people think their cat is perfectly healthy when actually they may be suffering from a life-threatening disease. Therefore, cats, on an average, are much sicker than dogs by the time they are brought to your veterinarian for treatment.
Never give your cat aspirin unless specifically prescribed by your veterinarian; it can be fatal. Never ever give Tylenol to a cat. And be sure to keep anti-freeze away from all animals - it's sweet and enticing, but deadly poison.
 Most cats adore sardines.
It has been scientifically proven that stroking a cat can lower one's blood pressure.
In 1987, cats overtook dogs as the number one pet in America (about 50 million cats resided in 24 million homes in 1986). About 37% of American homes today have at least one cat.
If your cat snores or rolls over on his back to expose his belly, it means he/she trusts you.
 Cats respond better to women than to men, probably due to the fact that women's voices have a higher pitch.
When your cats rubs up against you, she is actually marking you as "hers" with her scent. If your cat pushes his face against your head, it is a sign of acceptance and affection.
 Contrary to popular belief, people are not allergic to cat fur, dander, saliva, or urine - they are allergic to "sebum," a fatty substance secreted by the cat's sebaceous glands. More interesting, someone who is allergic to one cat may not be allergic to another cat. Though there isn't (yet) a way of predicting which cat is more likely to cause allergic reactions, it has been proven that male cats shed much greater amounts of allergen than females. A neutered male, however, sheds much less than a non-neutered male.
Cat bites are more likely to become infected than dog bites.
Six-toed kittens are so common in Boston and surrounding areas of Massachusetts that experts consider it an established mutation.
 Cat families usually play best in even numbers. Cats and kittens should be acquired in pairs whenever possible.
Cat litter was "invented" in 1947 when Edward Lowe asked his neighbor to try a dried, granulated clay used to sop up grease spillsinfactories. (In 1990, Mr. Lowe sold his business for $200 million.)
Cats lived with soldiers in trenches, where they killed mice during World War I.
The cat appears to be the only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible.
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