Facts About Cats Infographic

Cats are special in that they are predators of our native species, as well as pets and companions for many people. They have attracted humans for thousands of years. From the downy ears to the wag of the tail, it's hard for us humans to ignore the mystery and beauty of cats.

The first year of a cat's life is equivalent to the first 15 years of a human life in terms of growth. After its second year, in human years, a cat is 25. And after that, a year of life for

a cat is equivalent to around seven human years. The hearing of the average cat is at least five times keener than that of a human adult. There are many other interesting facts about cats. Here are some listed below:

• Cats have 32 muscles in each ear.

• Cats have 26 infant teeth and 30 permanent teeth.

• Cats have 4 rows and an average of 24 whiskers

• Cats can jump 5 times their height

• The house cat is genetically 95.6 percent of the tiger.

• Cats have roughly 130,000 hairs per square inch

• Cats sleep 12-16 hours a day and spend 1/3 of their waking hours grooming.

• Domestic cats can hit speeds of 25mph unless they are really nervous when they can run at 30mph! Just 27.89mph will the fastest individual fly.

• The oldest cat in the world lived to the age of 38 years and three days!

• Cats are the most common pets in North America: there are 73 million cats, compared with 63 million dogs.

• Around 30 million years ago, the oldest ancestor of the modern cat existed. It was named Proailurus by scientists, which in Greek means "first cat."

• Many cats give birth to between one and nine kittens in a litter.