A house cat can reach speeds of up to 30mph Ancient Egyptians would shave off their eyebrows when their cats diedĪccording to Ancient History Encyclopedia, Herodotus wrote in 440BC that when a pet cat died in Ancient Egyptian times the family members would shave off their eyebrows in mourning. 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. So he called the Cambridge carpenter to saw two holes in the door, one for the mother cat and one for her kittens! Apparently these holes can still be seen at the university today. How Stuff Works writes that when Newton was working on his experiments at the University of Cambridge he was constantly interrupted by his cats scratching at the door. The scientist is most famous for calculated gravity, but it’s also believed that Isaac Newton invented the cat door. This makes this the oldest known pet cat and it predates Egyptian art about cats by over 4,000 years! 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 interesting fact about cats is guaranteed to wow at your next dinner party. The oldest known pet cat existed 9,500 years ago We bet you haven’t heard some of these cat facts!įun facts about cats 1. 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. Their mysterious personalities and adorable looks have made them an incredibly popular pet, and according to a survey 18% of households in the UK alone are ruled by a cat. From the unusual way they walk, to how big the largest cat is, we bet you haven't heard some of these fun facts!Ĭats are an enigma that have captured the hearts of people for thousands of years.
18% of households in the UK own a cat, but there's still so much that we don't know about them.