Fun Facts about Cats.

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Cats are an enigma that has captured the hearts of people for thousands of years. Their mysterious personalities and adorable looks have made them an incredibly popular pet, and are ruled by a cat. With so many cats around us, surely that would mean that everyone knows everything possible about them, right? Wrong! There are so many interesting facts about cats that you probably haven’t heard of, from the world’s largest cat to the surprising way they walk, to how big the largest cat is, we bet you haven't heard some of these fun facts!

1. The oldest known pet cat existed 9,500 years ago.

This interesting fact about cats is guaranteed to wow at your next dinner party. Did you know that originally it was thought that Egyptians domesticated the cat? But in 2004, French archaeologists discovered a 9,500-year-old cat grave in Cyprus. This makes this the oldest known pet cat and it predates Egyptian art about cats by over 4,000 years!

2. Cats spend 70% of their lives sleeping.

If you thought cats spent a lot of their lives sleeping, you’d be right. According to Veterinary Hub, Cats actually spend 70% of their lives sleeping, which works out to around 13-16 hours a day. It’s a cat’s life!

3. A cat was the Mayor of an Alaskan town for 20 years.

An orange tabby cat called Stubbs was the mayor of Talkeetna, a small town in Alaska for 20 years! He had several uncontested elections and although he didn’t hold any legislative power, he was loved by locals and tourists alike.

4. The record for the longest cat ever is 48.5 inches.

Domestic cats are usually considered to be quite small and dainty creatures. But did you know the world’s longest cat was a Maine Coon called Stewie, and was measured at 48.5 inches? Whereas, the record for the tallest cat belonged to Arcturus at a whopping 19.05 inches tall! Those are some big cats.

5. The richest cat in the world had £7 million. The richest cat in the world according to Guinness World Records is Blackie. When his millionaire owner passed away he refused to recognize his family in his will and instead gave his 7-million-pound fortune to Blackie! We can’t believe that interesting cat fact!

6. Cats walk like camels and giraffes.

Have you ever noticed that cats walk like camels and giraffes? Their walking sequence is both right feet first, followed by both left feet, so they move half of their body forward at once. Camels and giraffes are the only other animals to walk this way.

7. In 1963 a cat went to space

You’ve heard of monkeys and dogs in space, but did you know that a cat braved the great unknown too? On October 18th, 1963 Felicette, also known as ‘Astrocat’ was the first and only cat to go to space.