They steal your heart and determine your life, but how much do you really know about your cat? You think you’re well-informed about your favourite animal, but you’ll be surprised at how little people know about the feline sweetheart. Cats are complicated creatures, that’s for sure. Here are 7 interesting facts about the bodily functions of the cat:
1. Cats have three eyelids
Unlike people who have an upper and lower eyelid, a cat has an extra third eyelid. The technical name is cuticle. It moves diagonally across the eye, from the corner of the eye. This third eyelid moves faster than the other two eyelids and is better at removing dirt from the eye. So if your cat is hunting mice, it can use the membranes to clean the eyes without actually closing them.
2. Cats make about 100 different sounds
Everybody knows cats meow. You learn that before you even go to school. But cats can do more than just meow. Most cats make over 100 different sounds, each with their own meaning. A few examples are blowing, chirping, meowing, growling, moustaches and whining. It is your job as an owner to hear the difference so you know what your cat is trying to make clear.
Source: Shutterstock3. Cats can jump up to six times their height
This cat fact of course varies from cat to cat, but a healthy adult cat has the physical strength to jump six times its height. Some even go higher than that. Their muscle bundles are built on this.
4. A cat’s eye is better than your eye
Cats not only have beautiful, big eyes, but their spectrum is also larger than that of a human being. Humans have a field of vision of about 180 degrees, but cats have a field of vision of up to 200 degrees. They can also see better in dim environments.
Source: Pexels5. Their ears, too, are better than yours
Just above their sharp eyes, cats still have a sharp sense with their ears. At low tones, cats and humans hear a similar sound. The big difference, however, is in the spectrum of treble that a cat can perceive. Cat ears can distinguish sounds up to 64 kHz, which is more than 1.5 octaves higher than what we hear, so their hearing is also better than that of dogs.
6. Cats use their whiskers for spatial orientation
The whiskers of a cat are super cute, but they also have a practical function. Cats use these groping hairs that grow around their nose and eyelids to determine the exact location and size of an object. Especially in the dark, and when silently sneaking up on prey, they come in especially handy.
Source: Pexels7. The nose of a cat is as unique as the human fingerprint
If you want to know which cat is so bored that he/she starts to push all the plants out of the window with their nose, you could go back to the nose tearing. Just like the human fingerprint, the prints of cats’ noses are unique. Just look at your cat’s threads, nicks, bends and shapes and you’ll notice that they’re beautifully shaped.
Finally, an unproven fact: Cats have their cuteness in their DNA. Look at your cat. Those beautiful big eyes, that sweet little nose, that lovely soft coat! It seems obvious to me that their cuteness is part of their DNA.
