Buzz
Much like dogs, cats became domesticated due to mutual benefit. In the early agricultural days, humans faced an unexpected problem: rodents destroying their crops and spoiling their grain. This attracted predators like snakes, owls, and, of course, cats. The cats with the friendliest temperaments were gradually accepted into human homes, becoming valuable for their ability to hunt pests. The house cat was domesticated from the African wildcat around 10,000 years ago in the Middle East and has remained by our side ever since, revered as deities in some cultures and feared as demonic beings in others.
10. Skilled Mousers
Initially, cats were domesticated because of their prowess in catching mice and rats. Today, many pet owners are happy to see their cats simply lounging around, but the feline hunting instinct is still alive and well. Those who allow their cats to roam outside may find 'gifts' such as dead birds and rodents left on the doorstep. Even today, cats are hired to control rat populations in places like Disneyland and the State Hermitage Museum in Moscow, Russia.
While history may have seen other exceptional hunters, The Guinness Book of World Records acknowledges Towser, the Glenturret cat, as the ultimate champion of mouse hunting. A female long-haired tortoiseshell, Towser (who lived almost to 24 years old) was stationed at a distillery in Crieff, Scotland, home of Famous Grouse whisky. Over the course of her career, she was credited with killing 28,899 mice (according to Guinness). Towser's successor at Glenturret was Amber, another cat who, despite a nearly 20-year tenure, wasn't known to have caught a single mouse.
9. Mating Habits
Anyone who has owned an unspayed female cat can likely relate to the absolute chaos of her heat cycles. She will howl and attempt to escape in search of mates. Male cats, sensing her readiness, gather around, waiting for their chance. The act of mating is anything but romantic. The female emits loud, dreadful screams during the encounter, and for good reason: a male cat’s penis is not designed for pleasure but rather resembles a medieval instrument of torture. It has backward-facing barbs like fish hooks, made of keratin, that scrape the inside of the female’s vaginal canal. This painful process is believed to trigger ovulation.
8. Roadkill
At some point, it is almost certain that you will unintentionally hit an animal while driving. For most people, the feeling is sickening, and we will stop to assist in any way we can, especially if it’s clear the animal is a pet. Sadly, there are many who drive off without a second thought, even after hitting a person, let alone a pet. In the UK, failing to report an accident involving a dog or even a farm animal is illegal, but strangely, there is no legal requirement to stop if you hit a cat.
7. Milk
While your average cat will happily lap up a bowl of milk as if it’s the finest nectar, the truth is, they are lactose intolerant. Like some humans, as cats mature, they stop producing the enzyme lactase, which is responsible for breaking down their mother’s milk. After this treat, what your cat leaves behind in the litter box may convince you to never offer it milk again. Interestingly, cats (and their natural enemy, the rat) have kidneys so efficient that they can drink seawater to stay hydrated, unlike most other species.
6. Heroes
Dogs have long been celebrated for their heroic deeds, but many assume that cats are too self-centered to perform acts of bravery. In reality, that’s not true. In 2012, a cat who had only been adopted hours earlier from a Humane Society saved its owner’s life during a diabetic seizure. As the woman lost consciousness, the cat jumped onto her chest, nudging and biting her face until she regained awareness. The cat then rushed to the woman's son’s room, pestering him until he awoke and called for help.
A truly incredible story came out of Argentina in 2008 when police discovered a one-year-old boy in the city of Misiones, kept alive by a group of stray cats. Separated from his homeless father, the boy would have perished without the care of these feline guardians. They curled up with him for warmth at night and even brought him scraps of food. When the police arrived, the cats fiercely hissed and spat at them to protect the child.
5. Savannah Cat
The tradition of mating domestic cats with their wild ancestors goes back over a hundred years, when the first Bengal cats (domestic felines crossed with Asian leopard cats) were produced. However, despite their exotic appearance, Bengals are for the most part many generations removed from the jungles of their forebears, and possess a devoted, genial nature.
The serval is a small, leopard-spotted African cat between 20 and 40 pounds, perhaps best known for its extremely long legs. Unlike many wild cats, servals can make good pets. In 1986, the first domestic cat was crossed with a serval, producing the Savannah cat. Since becoming available to the public in the ’90s, the Savannah has enjoyed a growing popularity.
Owners claim that Savannah cats have a temperament akin to dogs; they tend to follow their masters and can even be taught to walk on a leash and play fetch. They have incredible leaping ability and many seem to love water. Depending on your locality, it may be illegal to keep one of these cats. Australia in particular, which already has a terrible problem with feral cats decimating native fauna, has banned the importation of Savannah cats. And even if regulations allow you to have one of these beautiful exotic pets, you’d better have deep pockets if you want one—depending on the amount of serval in the bloodline, they can sell for well over $10,000 each.
4. The Godfather
The Godfather is often regarded as one of the finest films of all time, holding the second spot on the American Film Institute's list, just behind Citizen Kane. Winning three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay, the film has been thoroughly analyzed, particularly the portrayal of the infamous mob boss, Vito Corleone. When we first meet this feared figure, he’s dressed in a tuxedo at his daughter’s wedding, absentmindedly petting a cat. This iconic moment perfectly captures the contrast between the Don's ruthless power and his soft affection for his pet. Interestingly, this scene wasn’t scripted. The cat was a stray that had wandered onto the set, and Marlon Brando simply picked it up to play with, creating a moment of cinematic history.
3. Nine Lives
The expression 'cats have nine lives' has become so embedded in everyday language that few stop to reflect on what it truly means. With their swift reflexes and remarkable agility, cats seem to cheat death at every turn. Their most notable skill is surviving falls from astonishing heights. In contrast, humans are terrible at surviving falls. While there have been remarkable cases of people surviving extreme falls, such as stewardess Vesna Vulovic, who survived a 9,000-meter fall in 1972, the average person is in serious danger after falling from just three stories.
A falling cat has several mechanisms for survival. Perhaps most importantly, its sense of balance acts as a sort of internal gyroscope called “aerial righting reflex.” After dropping a few feet, it is all but guaranteed to land on all fours. The cat’s loose, muscular legs act as springs upon landing, distributing the sudden impact. Being relatively lightweight, the cat has a much lower terminal velocity (the maximum speed at which it can fall) than a human: cats reach about 60 mph; humans easily double that.
This is more than mere conjecture; there are dozens of reports of cats falling from enormous heights and walking away with little more than bruises. In 2011, an elderly cat named “Gloucester” fell 20 stories from an Upper West Side, Manhattan apartment with minor injuries. The following year, a cat in Boston (named “Sugar”) tumbled 19 floors. In 2009, another Manhattan cat fell an astonishing 26 floors, this time with photo evidence taken by nearby window washers. This fortunate feline’s name? “Lucky.”
2. Declawing
Like the cropping of ears and the docking of tails in dogs, declawing cats is a hot-button issue in the pet community. While many owners who have come home to find a shredded couch might believe that declawing is a reasonable solution to their problem, the surgery required to remove the claws is quite brutal. Because the nail grows out of the bone, the veterinarian is required to cut off the end of the cat’s toe, something akin to snipping your fingers off at the first knuckle. Declawing is a relatively common process in the US, with only a few localized areas outlawing it (such as the city of San Francisco), but it is seen as animal cruelty and is illegal in several countries throughout the world, including most of Europe, Israel, Brazil, and Japan.
The Black Death
Pope Gregory IX, who reigned from 1227 to 1241, was a controversial figure known for his aggressive crusades and violent inquisitions against those labeled as heretics. Among his many beliefs, he became convinced that black cats were evil incarnations of the devil, leading him to orchestrate widespread massacres of these felines across Europe. This catastrophic action would have dire, unintended consequences a century later. In the 1340s, when rats infested with the Black Plague swept across Asia into Europe, the continent was vulnerable. The absence of cats, which would have kept the rat population in check, contributed to the devastating spread of the disease, costing millions of lives. Fortunately, modern popes, like Pope Benedict, have shown a greater appreciation for cats, with some even following them around the Vatican grounds.
