My human is a cat expert, in case you haven’t guessed. So she knows more about cats and cat behavior than most people (except for her other cat expert friends). But even she didn’t know these 8 facts, or if she did, she didn’t know the explanation behind them. So here’s your chance to find out how good you are at cat trivia! Bet you didn’t know all (or maybe any) of these.
- You know how two cats will bond with a mutual grooming session? There’s actually a term for that — allogrooming.
- The oldest known pet cat predates Egypt! Archaeologists found it buried next to its owner in Cyprus in 2004. Surrounded by treasured artifacts, the cat’s grave is estimated to be about 9,500 years old.
- Most of you know that cats have a third eyelid as an extra shield against dirt and other debris, and that helps lubricate the eye. But did you know what’s it’s called? Its scientific term is palpebra tertia or nictitating membrane, but it’s also called a haw.
- Cats can get a form of motion sickness from watching fast-moving objects on a screen. While it’s probably not the same kind of nausea as human motion sickness, it still can cause disorientation and anxiety. The intensity a cat experiences this type of distress can vary between felines.
- Cats have a thin layer of muscle attached to their skin and fascia, and that’s what makes their skin twitch in that quirky way. It’s called the panniculus carnosus and it’s spread through the back, chest, abdomen, and the upper part of the back legs.
- A cat’s cerebral cortex contains 250 million cells — just one million fewer than a bear’s! This is in spite of a bear’s brain being 10 times larger than a cat’s.
- Not only do cats have emotions (as anyone with a cat knows), the part of their brain controlling emotion is almost identical to a human’s.
- Most of you know that cat’s can’t taste sweet because they lack those specific receptors on their tongues…but did you know how many taste buds they do have? 473!
I hope you enjoyed these, and that you learned something new about us kitties! Were you stumped? Let me know in the comments.
