One of the essential cats’ skills is to locate a sound from about a yard. This is very important skill because cats are predators that hunt and they need to locate a mouse that is hiding in the grass.
Memory is another great skill of cats. Recent research conducted at the University of Michigan concludes that cats remember problem-solving strategies for about 16 hours. This conclusion was confirmed by the American Museum of Natural History.
Cats can find their owner even in place the pets have never visited before. This skill is called Psi-trailing. We have heard about numerous stories telling about cats walking hundreds of miles to get to their owners.
In addition, felines are able to find their home by using the magnetic fields of the earth. This ability is confirmed by numerous studies.
Speed is typical for cats. Domestic felines, for example, can run at approximately 31 miles per hour.
It is a well-known fact that when a cat falls, it lands on its feet. However, this is true only if the cat falls from a short place. In case the feline falls from a height, it can be seriously injured.
The cats’ ability to hear is about 5 times quicker than the ability of an average human adult. Felines are able to rotate their ears at 180 degrees.
Considering low-pitched sounds, felines and humans have similar hearing ability. However, when it comes to high-pitches sounds, cats’ ability to perceive them is much better than humans and even than dogs.
Cats don’t have good close-up vision. In fact, their vision just in front of them is quite fuzzy. But their peripheral vision is perfect and they are able to detect a slight movement from yards.
Something interesting about cats is that they make over 100 various vocal sounds while dogs can make just about 10.
The frequency of a cat’s purr is about 26 cycles per second. This frequency is the same as the frequency of an idle diesel engine. Big cats are not able to purr for a long time, but they can roar, while small cats can purr continuously but they can’t roar.
A female cat and her offspring are able to produce about 420,000 kittens for a period of only 7 years.
Tips about Feline Behavior
Cats prefer to be much warmer than humans. Thus, we will feel uncomfortable when our temperature gets more than 44.5 degrees Celsius while cats will feel discomfort after their temperature reaches about 52 degrees Celsius.
Felines like sleeping and spend about 70% of the day doing this. Another 15% of the day is for grooming. This is valid for both domestic and wild cats. Thus, a lion sleeps about 20 hours per day. While felines sleep they can twitch their whiskers or move their tails. Some scientists also believe that cats dream. This belief is based on studies about the amount of electrical activity in the felines’ brain. People believe that cats are not social animals but this is not true. A domestic cat enjoys and seeks human company.
All types of felines react to catnip in the same time. Some zoos give wild cats catnip to promote environmental enrichment.
There are smells that felines hate and the smell of vinegar is one of them. If your cat sprays around your home to mark its territory, you can pour the sprayed spots with vinegar to keep the cat away.
Automobile antifreeze attracts cats with its sweet taste, so it is recommended to keep it away from them.
Cats may be social animals but this is just to a particular extent. They do not feel lonely much and are more concerned with their territory.
At birth kittens are blind but their touch receptors are well developed. Kittens use their noses to keep contact with their mothers. The nose touching remains a way to greet other cats and humans in later life.
Have you seen your cat standing on the window, watching a bird and making strange noise? This is a feline instinct in wild and domestic cats – they are predators that want to hunt.
Most cats are kneading – they move their paws up and down on your body. This behavior is usually seen when the cat is petted and shows that it is happy and satisfied.
In order to maintain their claws in perfect conditions, cats scratch. They usually scratch on pieces of furniture and thus they destroy sofas, carpets, tables, drawers, etc.
Felines are very patient animals and they usually don’t show they are sick until the situation has become serious. For this reason cat owners should be careful about any behavioral changes or changes in the eating habits. If they notice something they should take the pet to the vet for a consultation.
One medical condition that can be signaled by behavioral changes is hyperthyroidism. If your cat is vocalizing more than usual, if it has increased appetite and is more active, this may be a signal of hyperthyroidism. This condition is treatable but you need to consult a vet.
Cat owners know that felines are very hard to train as they have a mind of their own. There are hardly cats that will perform tricks as dogs usually do. You think that you own the cat, but the truth is that the cat owns you. Cats are curious animals that require your attention and need to be entertained.
Some cat owners decide to put a bell on their cat to protect the birds of their owner. There is little use because studies have shown that belled cats learn to hunt in a quieter and more effective way, but the bell just drives the cat crazy. The sound of the bell annoys the feline and makes it disoriented.
