Do you like learning random facts you can use to impress your friends for no reason? Then you've come to the right place! We've compiled a list of random and interesting cat facts any cat lover would want to know! 

  1. When cats climb a tree, they can't go back down it head first. This is because their claws are facing the same way, instead, they have to go back down backward.
  2. A group of cats is called a “clowder.”
  3. According to a Hebrew legend, God created cats after Noah prayed for help in protecting the food stores on the Ark from being eaten by rats. In return, God made a lion sneeze and out came a pair of cats. 
  4. Your cat not only rubs their head against you as a sign of affection, but they are also making you as their territory. They use the scent glands they have around their face, the base of their tails, and their paws to do so. 
  5. Cats are actually more popular in the United States than dogs are. There are around 88 million pet cats versus 75 million pet dogs. 
  6. Cat's can't taste sweetness. Scientists believe it's due to a genetic mutation that affects key taste receptors. 
  7. In Japan, cats are thought to have the power to turn into super spirits when they die. This may stem from the Buddist believe that cats are temporary resting places for powerful and very spiritual people. 
  8. Europe introduced cats into the Americas as a form of pest control in the 1750s.
  9. There are up to 70 million feral cats in the United States alone. A good reason to spay and neuter your pets! 
  10. In Holland’s embassy in Moscow, Russia, the staff noticed that the two Siamese cats kept meowing and clawing at the walls of the building. Their owners finally investigated, thinking they would find mice. Instead, they discovered microphones hidden by Russian spies. The cats heard the microphones when they turned on. Instead of alerting the Russians that they found said microphones, they simply staged conversations about delays in work orders and suddenly problems were fixed much quicker! 
  11. When Ben Rea, a successful British antique dealer and known recluse died in 1988, he left his 12.5 million dollar fortune (26.7 million by today's standards) to his cat, Blackie. Making Blackie the wealthiest cat in the world. Blackie still holds the Guinness World Record for Wealthiest Cat! The money was eventually divided equally to three cat charities who were tasked with taking care of Bliackie until he passed away. 
  12. Some Evidence suggests that domesticated cats have been around since 3600 B.C.E., over 2,000 years before the Ancient Egyptians. 
  13. Cats only meow as a way to communicate with humans. 
  14. Cats can recognize your voice. So yes, they are just ignoring you. 
  15. Cats form the "Halloween Pose" as a sign to tell someone or something to back off.
  16. The oldest cat video dates back to 1894 and is called 'Boxing Cats'
  17. When a family cat died in ancient Egypt, family members would shave off their eyebrows as a sign of mourning. 
  18. Cats and humans have nearly identical sections of the brain that control emotions.  
  19. Cats can move both ears separately and about 180 degrees around. 
  20. While cats are seen as having a lower social IQ then dogs, they can slove much more difficult cognitive problems. When they feel like it of course. 
  21. It was illegal to kill cats in Ancient Egypt. Not only were cats seen as an icon for Bast, the Goddess of Protection, but they were also very effective in keeping rats at bay. It was seen as a civil dis-service to kill them and often resulted in the death penalty. 
  22. Abraham Lincoln kept three cats in the white house. After the civil war was over, Lincoln found 3 kittens whose mother had died and took them in as his own. 
  23. Cat's, as well as other animals' noses,  have their own unique print, much like a humans fingerprint. 
  24. When cats don't cover their poop, it is seen as a sign of aggression, meaning they don't fear you. 
  25. Cats use their whiskers to determine if they can fit through a small space. The bigger the cat, the longer the whiskers will likely be. 
  26. The Egyptian Mau is one of, if not the oldest domesticated cat breed. 
  27. It is also known to be one of the fastest breeds.
  28. Mau is Egyptian for Cat. 
  29. When cats bring you a dead bird or a mouse, it's not a sign of affection but instead to let you know you suck at hunting. Maybe it's a sign of affection, making sure you don't starve but still! 
  30. Only 86% of U.S. Cats are spayed or neutered.
  31. Around only 24% of cats who enter a shelter end up getting adopted. (Spay and neuter your pets!) 
  32. In just 10 years one female cat could produce around 49,000 kittens. Another reason to spay and neuter your pets and help support Trap-Neuter-Release programs. 
  33. Cats spend nearly 1/3rd of their lives cleaning themselves. 
  34. They also spend nearly 1/3rd of their lives sleeping.
  35. Blacks cats are often seen as bad luck in North American whereas, in the Uk and Australia, they are seen as good luck. 
  36. A Cat's spine is so flexible because it's made up of 53 loosely fitting vertebrae. Humans only have 34. 
  37. A Cat's jaw can't move sideways. 
  38. When cats walk their back paws step almost exactly in the same place as the front paws did beforehand, this keeps noise to a minimum and limits visible tracks.
  39. Ever wonder why catnip lulls felines into a trance? The herb contains several chemical compounds, including one called nepetalactone, which a cat detects with receptors in its nose and mouth.
  40. More than half of the world’s felines don’t respond to catnip. Scientists still don’t know quite why some kitties go crazy for the aromatic herb and others don’t, but they have figured out that catnip sensitivity is hereditary. If a kitten has one catnip-sensitive parent, there’s a one-in-two chance that it will also grow up to crave the plant. And if both parents react to 'nip, the odds increase to at least three in four.
  41. The oldest cat ever lived for 38 years. Creme Puff of Austin, TX was born in August of 1967 and passed away in August of 2005. He still holds the Guinness World Record for oldest cat ever. 
  42. The musical Cats is based on a collection of T.S. Eliot poems called Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.
  43. A train station in Southeastern Japan is presided over by an adorable "stationmaster": a 6-year-old calico cat named Nitama.
  44. Polydactyl cats refer to cats with 6 toes on their front paws. 
  45. Approximately 200 feral cats roam the grounds of Disneyland, where they help control the amusement park’s rodent population. They’re all spayed or neutered, and park staffers provide them with medical care and extra food. 
  46. The Hungarian word for "quotation marks," macskaköröm, literally translates to "cat claws."
  47. Cats can drink seawater! Their kidneys are able to filter salt out of water, something humans can't do. 
  48. Contrary to public belief, adult cats shouldn't be given milk as most are lactose intolerant. After a kitten is weaned, the lactase enzyme, which is used to break down lactose,  starts to disappear. Giving your cat milk can cause an upset stomach and other tummy troubles. 
  49. Cats have both short term and long term memory. This means that they can remember, short term, up to 16 hours ago. 
  50. Yet they tend to be more selective compared to dogs. Meaning they only remember what is beneficial to them. 
  51. Scientist suggest that a cat's purr is a method of self-healing! 
  52. Cats can make more than 100 different sounds. 
  53. There are 473 taste buds on a cat's tongue!

And that's all folks! Did we miss any random cat facts you know? Let us know on Facebook! 

Check out our article 50 Dog Facts You Probably Didn't Know!