{"id":20013,"date":"2024-09-19T13:58:12","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T20:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/towncats.org\/sandbox202604\/?p=20013"},"modified":"2026-03-25T20:54:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T03:54:55","slug":"10-facts-you-never-knew-about-cats-physical-characteristics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/towncats.org\/sandbox202604\/10-facts-you-never-knew-about-cats-physical-characteristics\/","title":{"rendered":"10 facts you never knew about cats\u2019 physical characteristics"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><b>Cats have the same 5 senses we do &#8212; but most of them are better: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cats have a more expansive hearing range than humans, according to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.merckvetmanual.com\/cat-owners\/description-and-physical-characteristics-of-cats\/description-and-physical-characteristics-of-cats\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Merck Manual Veterinary Manual<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Their eyesight is also superior to that of dogs, and they can see six times better than we can in dim environments. Another fun fact: cats have three eyelids.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Oil secretions are responsible for your cat\u2019s glossy fur<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The dermis skin layer contains oil glands that produce an oily substance known as sebum. Not only do these oils protect your cat\u2019s coat, but they also give their fur a sleek and shiny appearance.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2022 <\/span><b>Kittens grow as they snooze<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: According to the nonprofit educational resource organization <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/catsinternational.org\/amazing-cat-facts\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cat International<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, our fur babies experience the majority of their growth while sleeping.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2022 <\/span><b>Cats are fast runners, but only in short spurts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Healthy domestic cats can run up to a whopping 31 miles per hour, but only for about a minute until their speed starts to decrease.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Newborn kittens have a faster heart rate than adult cats<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: As outlined in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/9781118269305.app1\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cat Owner&#8217;s Home Veterinary Handbook, Third Edition<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">normal heart rate for an adult cat falls between 140 and 240 beats per minute, with the average being 195 beats. In comparison, a kitten experiences between 200 and 300 heart beats per minute as they\u2019re born.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2022 <\/span><b>Cats take more breaths per minute than we do<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: 12 to 18 breaths per minute is considered a healthy human respiratory rate, according to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/my.clevelandclinic.org\/health\/articles\/10881-vital-signs\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cleveland Clinic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But adult cats take approximately 20 to 24 breaths per minute.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Cats don\u2019t know what sweetness tastes like<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Our furry friends don\u2019t have sugar cravings the same way we do (lucky ducks\u2026). According to experts at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/why-cats-taste-no-sweets\/#:~:text=All%20cats%2C%20however%E2%80%94including%20lions,prevents%20cats%20from%20tasting%20sweets.\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scientific American<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, this is because they\u2019re missing a portion of DNA in one of two genes needed to detect sweet flavors.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2022 <\/span><b>That little flap of skin on your cat\u2019s ear has a name<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: True to name, that small pocket that sits at the base of each of your cat\u2019s outer ears is called Henry\u2019s pocket. While it\u2019s not entirely understood why these pockets exist, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lilydalevetcentre.com.au\/did-you-know-about-henrys-pocket\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lilydale Vet Centre<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> explains that these flaps are thought to potentially enhance cats\u2019 hearing.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2022 <\/span><b>Cats have a dominant hand\u2026 or paw<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Researchers from a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0003347217303640\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2018 study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> published in Animal Behavior found that male domestic cats were fans of using their left paw for natural behaviors, such as stepping over things or grabbing at food. On the other hand, female cats preferred using their right paw.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2022 <\/span><b>The world record for cat tail length is over 16 inches<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Honored in 2021, a strikingly silver pet cat named Altair Cygnus Powers hailing from Farmington Hills, Michigan holds the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.guinnessworldrecords.com\/news\/2023\/8\/handsome-cat-altair-inherited-record-breaking-tail-from-his-late-brother-757412\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Guinness World Record<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for longest cat tail at a staggering 16.07 inches. Clearly gold medals run in the family, as Altair\u2019s late brother Cygnus previously wore the title.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Contributed to Town Cats by Erin McCluskey<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cats have the same 5 senses we do &#8212; but most of them are better: Cats have a more expansive hearing range than humans, according to the Merck Manual Veterinary Manual. Their eyesight is also superior to that of dogs, and they can see six times better than we can in dim environments. Another fun [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":20014,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,347],"tags":[352],"class_list":["post-20013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-posts","category-cat-knowledge","tag-cat-knowledge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/towncats.org\/sandbox202604\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20013"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/towncats.org\/sandbox202604\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/towncats.org\/sandbox202604\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/towncats.org\/sandbox202604\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/towncats.org\/sandbox202604\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20013"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/towncats.org\/sandbox202604\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20030,"href":"http:\/\/towncats.org\/sandbox202604\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20013\/revisions\/20030"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/towncats.org\/sandbox202604\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/towncats.org\/sandbox202604\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/towncats.org\/sandbox202604\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/towncats.org\/sandbox202604\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}