Top 10 Cool Facts About Cats You Didn’t Know

Cats are more interesting than you might think. Check out 10 cool facts cats below to get to know these creatures a little better (and impress your friends with your awesome kitty trivia knowledge). (Photo credit: Ulio/Bigstock)

The first piece of evidence that archaeologists have found with regards to humanity’s relationship with felines dates back to roughly 9,500 years ago. A kitten was found buried next to a human on Cyprus and it’s believed the cat was brought there on purpose. (Photo credit: AZALIA/Bigstock)

Your cat’s ancestors were solitary hunters who preferred taking down small prey. Dogs, on the other hand, have ancestors who hunted in packs and worked together at taking down large prey. This is why your kitty likes eating a lot of small meals throughout the day, while your dog likes to quickly eat as much as possible at every meal. (Photo credit: Adam88x/Bigstock)

All domesticated cats are descendents of the wild cat Felis silvestris lybica. These cats were domesticated in the Middle East at least 9,000 years ago, when farmers needed them to control pests. In addition to helping control pests on farms, cats have also been used for centuries by sailors. They were kept on ships both as good luck charms and to kill rodents. (Photo credit: EcoShot/Bigstock)

Cats evolved to be able to hunt in low-light conditions, so their eyes are large. However, because of this size, they find it hard to focus between far and near. As a result, their eye muscles develop based on their environment. While indoor cats tend to be nearsighted, outdoor kitties tend to be farsighted. But even though they’re nearsighted, their eyes are still so big that they can’t focus on objects that are less than one foot in front of them. Instead, they use their whiskers to feel whatever they can’t see clearly. (Photo credit: Seregraff/Bigstock)

Cats experience many of the same emotions that humans do. A feline brain consists of gray matter that actually has some remarkable similarities with the human brain. Experts can’t agree on the range and depth of cat emotions, but they do agree that cats feel things like people do. Emotions include excitability, happiness, depression, anger, and playfulness. They may even “love too much” and feel separation anxiety that results in pacing, vocalizations, blocking their owner from leaving, vomiting, refusal to eat, and even urinating outside the litter box. (Photo credit: maksheb/Bigstock)

There have been cases of cats traveling long distances to find their way back home, and experts refer to this ability as psi-traveling. Some experts think cats use the Earth’s magnetic fields, while others think felines may use sunlight angles to find their way when they get lost. (Photo credit: sorsillo/Bigstock)

Cats can reach incredible heights when they jump. In fact, a cat can jump up to five times his own height with a single leap. (Photo credit: Seregraff/Bigstock)

A feline’s body has roughly 130,000 hairs on every square inch. Despite all of that fur, though, cats can tolerate heat well because their ancestors lived in deserts. When they do become overheated, they sweat through their paws, find shaded and cool spots to rest in, pant, and groom themselves. (Photo credit: lufimorgan/Bigstock)

Cats can make a variety of sounds with their vocalizations and purrs, and they know what sounds to make to get what they want from you. For example, if they’re really hungry, they’ll make their cries sound urgent in a manner that can’t be ignored. They even seem to retain their kitten vocalizations to talk to humans, but they use different sounds when they communicate with each other. (Photo credit: Taina Sohlman/iStockphotos)

To communicate with fellow felines, cats use a slow blink that puts one another at ease and offers peace. If your cat blinks slowly at you, he’s basically blowing you a kiss. Blow a kiss back by slowly blinking while gazing at your kitty. (Photo credit: GeekTechLive/Bigstock)