As a nation, we definitely love our cats. Both loving, affectionate and strangely aloof at times, there are undoubtedly lots of things that you still don’t know about your favourite feline companion. Here are some surprising catty facts:

• A domesticated cat share 95.6% of its genome with a tiger. They display similar behaviours, such as scratching, scent marking, stalking, urine marking and play. So, yes you really do have a small tiger living in your home! When you need to be away from home, make sure your mini tiger has a great place to stay. For a Cheltenham Cattery, visit https://www.catterycheltenham.co.uk/
• It is believed that cats are the only mammal that cannot taste sweetness.
• Cats have poor close-up vision making them near-sighted. However, their night vision and peripheral vision are far superior to that of humans.

• Cats are able to leap up to six times their own length.
• Normally a cat will have 18 toes, five on each of the front paws and four on each of the rear ones. Some cats do have more than this and are referred to as being polydactyl.
• Because a cat’s claws are curved downwards, it means they can climb up a tree but cannot climb down headfirst. They would have to back down the tree which might explain why so many get stuck in trees!
• A cat has collar bones that are completely independent of the other bones in its body.
• Cats have more bones than humans – 230 compared to 206.
• Cats have an additional organ that allows them to taste a smell. This is why you sometimes see your cat sat with its mouth open.
• A cat doesn’t just have facial whiskers but has them on the back of its front legs as well.
• Did you know that cats have the biggest eyes in relation to the size of their head than any other mammal?
• A cat’s whiskers are about the same width as their body and they use them to ‘feel’ around them, seeing which spaces they can fit into. This is why you should never cut a cat’s whiskers.
• They use their tails to help them balance which is why they are so graceful at walking along ledges and fences.

• Only cats, giraffes and camels walk by moving both of their right feet first and then both of their left feet.
• Cats have a rough tongue that is incredibly adept at cleaning a bone of any shred of meat completely.
• A male cat is more likely to be left-pawed, while females are more often right-pawed. Although a high proportion of cats are ambidextrous.
• Although most moggies hate the water, some are pretty good swimmers.
• Amazingly, cats are able to drink seawater. They have kidneys that are able to filter the salt out, unlike humans.
• It is thought that cats are able to hear dolphin calls and the ultrasonic squeaks that mice and rats use to communicate.
• As unique as a human fingerprint, the ridges on a cat’s nose are a one of a kind and unique to that cat.