A cat can spend five or more hours a day grooming himself.

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One reason that kittens sleep so much is because a growth hormone is released only during sleep.

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While many parts of Europe and North America consider the black cat a sign of bad luck, in Britain and Australia, black cats are considered lucky.

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Cats lived with soldiers in trenches, where they killed mice during World War I.

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Cats make about 100 different sounds. Dogs make only about 10.

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Approximately 1/3 of cat owners think their pets are able to read their minds.

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Phoenician cargo ships are thought to have brought the first domesticated cats to Europe in about 900 BC.

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Mountain lions are strong jumpers, thanks to muscular hind legs that are longer than their front legs.

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The cheetah is the world's fastest land mammal. It can run at speeds of up to 70 miles an hour (113 kilometers an hour).

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On average, cats spend 2/3 of every day sleeping. That means a nine-year-old cat has been awake for only three years of its life.

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According to a Gallup poll, most American pet owners obtain their cats by adopting strays.

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Researchers are unsure exactly how a cat purrs. Most veterinarians believe that a cat purrs by vibrating vocal folds deep in the throat. To do this, a muscle in the larynx opens and closes the air passage about 25 times per second.

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The biggest wildcat today is the Siberian Tiger. It can be more than 12 feet (3.6 m) long (about the size of a small car) and weigh up to 700 pounds (317 kg).

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The silks created by weavers in Baghdad were inspired by the beautiful and varied colors and markings of cat coats. These fabrics were called 'tabby' by European traders.

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There are up to 60 million feral cats in the United States alone.

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Most cats give birth to a litter of between one and nine kittens. The largest known litter ever produced was 19 kittens, of which 15 survived.

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In 1987 cats overtook dogs as the number one pet in America.

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About 37% of American homes today have at least 1 cat.

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A cat can jump up to five times its own height in a single bound.

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A cat has more bones than a human being; humans have 206 and the cat has 230 bones.

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While many cats enjoy milk, it will give some cats diarrhea.

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All cats have claws, and all except the cheetah sheath them when at rest.

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Jaguars are the only big cats that don't roar.

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Sir Isaac Newton is credited with creating the concept for the pet door that many cats use today to travel outdoors.

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A cat's cerebral cortex contains about twice as many neurons as that of dogs. Cats have 300 million neurons, whereas dogs have about 160 million. See, cats rule, dogs drool!

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