Is Your Cat Hiding These Shocking Secrets?

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• There are many facts about cats that may surprise you, even if you’re a long-time cat owner
• The oldest known cat, from Austin, Texas, was named Crème Puff and lived to be 38 years and 3 days old
• About 80% of orange cats are males, which has to do with the fact that the gene causing color is on the X chromosome
• Your kitty can only taste savory, salty, bitter and sour flavors — not sweet
• That high-pitched kitty voice you use when talking to your favorite feline? Research shows your cat adores it

Kitties are beloved for their many unusual tendencies and quirks, from pawing at running water to waking us up at 3 a.m. to play. But there are many more facts about cats that may surprise you, even if you’re a long-time cat owner. Read on to learn about the fascinating lives of cats — you just might know your own cat a little bit better once you get to the end.

10 Surprising Facts About Cats

1. The oldest cat lived to be 38 — While most cats have a lifespan of 13 to 17 years, this is not set in stone. The oldest known cat, from Austin, Texas, was named Crème Puff and lived to be 38 years and 3 days old. Not surprisingly, Crème Puff’s owner incorporated home-prepared fresh foods throughout those 38 years (including eggs and broccoli). The current world’s oldest cat is 27-year-old Flossie, who lives in the U.K.
2. Zoomies may occur after a bathroom break — Zoomies, which are technically known as frenetic random activity periods, or FRAPs, typically occur due to a burst of pent-up energy. But cats may also zoom around the house after using their litter box. “Think of it as sort of a victory lap. Lots of cats will run like crazy after using the litter pan for a bowel movement,” says Dr. Sandra Mitchell in PetMD.
3. Hyperesthesia can make your cat act ‘crazy’ — If your cat goes from resting to amped up from one moment to the next, or is sitting calmly while you pet him one second and then acts like he’s about to pounce the next, it could be due to an unusual condition called hyperesthesia, which means “abnormally increased sensitivity of the skin.”
   
   Kitties with hyperesthesia may get ripples in their skin, from the shoulders to the tip of the tail, and likely a feeling similar to your feet falling asleep, with a strong tingling sensation and possibly some sciatica-type pain.
4. Most orange cats are males — About 80% of orange cats are males, which has to do with the fact that the gene causing color is on the X chromosome. According to Mitchell in PetMD:
   

   “Because a male cat has only one X gene, if that X chromosome has the orange gene, he will be orange. This means that if an orange female cat has a litter of kittens, all the males will be orange — regardless of their dad’s color. But a female cat will only be orange if both of those X chromosomes carry the orange color, meaning both parents must be orange to create an orange female kitten.”

   Orange (aka ginger) cats are known to be outgoing and friendly, and their distinct personalities may also be linked to their coat color.
5. Most cats sleep 12 to 18 hours a day — Cats spend a large part of their day asleep, with most sleeping 12 to 18 hours and close to 40% sleeping more than 18 hours a day. While humans usually sleep in one long stretch at night, cats’ sleep pattern is polyphasic, which means they have multiple sleep sessions each day and night. Each time your cat falls asleep, she’ll sleep for an average of 78 minutes, although this can vary significantly and commonly ranges from 50 to 113 minutes.
   
   Unlike humans, who have a diurnal sleep cycle that predisposes us to be awake during the day and asleep at night, cats are crepuscular animals. This means they tend to be most active at dawn and dusk, during the twilight hours — hence those 3 a.m. wake-up calls. This is beneficial for cats, which, as prey animals, can be awake just before sunrise to prey on diurnal birds as well as around sunset, to prey on nocturnal animals.
6. Cats can’t taste sweets — Your kitty can only taste savory, salty, bitter and sour flavors — not sweet. This is because they only have 473 taste buds, compared to 9,000 in humans and 1,700 in dogs.
7. Cats see better in dim light than you do — Cats’ ability to see well at night has to do with their pupils, which are up to 50% larger than humans’ pupils in dim light. This lets more light into their eyes, helping them see better. Cats’ eyes also have a curved cornea, vertical pupil and large lens, all of which contribute to their excellent low-light vision.
   
   In fact, while humans’ pupils can expand about 15 times in low light, cats’ pupils can expand up to 300 times. There’s a trade-off, however. In terms of visual acuity, cats’ daytime vision is only about one-seventh as sharp as humans’.
8. Most people let their cats sleep on their beds — There are more than 94 million pet cats in the U.S., and the majority of them get to snuggle up next to their guardians in bed come nighttime. Surveys suggest that 62% of cats sleep with their adult owners while another 13% sleep with children in the household.
9. Cats don’t get cavities — Cats don’t get the same type of cavities as people. “Instead, cats get feline resorptive lesions, in which the dentin wears away, leaving them with a painful mouth,” Mitchell says. But this doesn’t mean you don’t need to take care of your cat’s teeth. It’s reported that 50% to 90% of cats older than 4 years suffer from some form of dental disease, such as gingivitis, periodontitis or tooth resorption.
10. Your cat loves your ‘kitty voice’ — That high-pitched kitty voice you use when talking to your favorite feline? Your cat adores it. One study found indoor cats react to their owner’s “kitty voice” more so than their normal voice, suggesting this is one simple way to help bond with your pet.
    
    And while it’s often believed that cats don’t get as attached to their owners as dogs, this study suggests one-to-one relationships are important to cats, who they believe form strong bonds with humans.

Looking for more kitty fun facts? Here are 20 different ways cats sleep — and why.

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