Got a dinner party coming up? Impress your friends with these fun cat facts:
• A group of cats is called a clowder.
• The invention of the pet door has been attributed to Isaac Newton.
• Cats have 32 muscles that control each ear. Us humans have just six muscles per ear.
• Cats were considered sacred in ancient Egypt and some cats were so revered they were mummified after their death.
• Tardar Sauce, known as Grumpy Cat, is an internet celebrity – her Facebook page, The Official Grumpy Cat, has almost nine million likes.
• Don’t give your cat cow’s milk. Like humans, cats can be lactose intolerant. And besides, they don’t need milk once they’ve been weaned.
• Cats use their whiskers to tell whether or not they will fit through tight spaces.
• Got a cat that likes to stare? Don’t be too concerned – unlike humans, cats don’t need to blink to keep their eyes lubricated.
• According to the Guinness World Records, the largest litter of domestic cats was born in the UK in 1970. The hard-working mummy cat gave birth to 19 kittens, though four were stillborn.
• The first cat in space was launched by French scientists in 1963.