FUN FACTS

Why A "Cat" Is Called A "Cat"  

The English word "cat" is very similar to the word used for our feline pets in other languages spoken in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The table below lists the word for cat and the language:   

Kat Dutch  
chat French  
Katze German  
gatta Greek  
kottur Icelandic  
gatto Italian  
qattus Maltean  
katt Norwegian  
kot Polish  
gato Spanish  
katt Swedish  

Clearly "cat" is an ancient word that spread into many regions from a single source. The source appears to be Arabic because the oldest use of "cat" is in North Africa where the term is "quttah".   

A few other terms relating to cats originate from the Mediterranean. One is the word "tabby", which is derived from the Turkish word "utabi". And the general word for a cat in Turkey is "kedi", which may be the ancestor term for the English word "kitty".     

Cat Nips e-zine, 4/3/2007

A Bit of Cat-Trivia

 ·          A cat can be either right-pawed or left-pawed.

 ·         A cat can jump as much as seven times its height.

 ·         A cat cannot see directly under its nose. This is why the cat cannot seem to find tidbits on the floor.

 ·         A cat has 230 bones in its body. A human only has 206 bones.

 ·         A cat has four rows of whiskers.

 ·         A cat in a hurry can sprint at about thirty-one miles per hour.

 ·         A cat sees about six times better than a human at night because of the tapetum lucidum , a layer of extra reflecting cells which absorb light.

 ·         A cat uses its whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through. The whiskers act as feelers or antennae, helping the animal to judge the precise width of any passage.

 ·         A cat will almost never meow at another cat. Cats use this sound for humans.

 ·         A cat will clean itself with paw and tongue after a dangerous experience or when it has fought with another cat. This is believed to be an attempt by the animal to soothe its nerves by doing something natural and instinctive.

MEWSLETTER 57: August, 2007 (from p.dewberry@ntlworld.com)

Kitty Trivia

--The nose pad of a cat is ridged in a pattern that is unique, just like the fingerprint of a human.

--There are more than 500 million domestic cats in the world, with 33 different breeds.

--The largest known litter (with all surviving) was that of a Persian in South Africa named Bluebell. Bluebell gave birth to 14 kittens in one litter!

--Your cat loves you and can "read" your moods. If you're sad or under stress, you may also notice a difference in your cat's behavior.

--The American cat population reached nearly 68 million in 1996. American Demographics magazine estimates that's about 200 million kitty yawns per hour and a whopping 425 million catnaps each day!

--The weirdest cat on record was a female called Mincho who went up a tree in Argentina and didn't come down again until she died six years later. While treed, she managed to have three litters with equally ambitious dads.

Cats are like greatness: Some people are born into cat-loving families,
some achieve cats, and some have cats thrust upon them.- William H.A. Carr

--posted on eons.com, Kitty Time

Evolution of the Dog

Maybe not fun, but true:

One female cat and her offspring can produce 420000 cats in seven years. One female dog and her offspring can produce 67000 puppies in six years. ...