Have you ever seen a cat with extra toes, or a cat that looks like it is wearing mittens? Then you've seen a polydactyl cat! Polydactyl cats (not pterodactyl cats) have extra toes because of a genetic mutation that is passed on from one of it's parents, and it's actually pretty common, especially in Western England, Wales, Canada and the Eastern United States. Let's learn more about these cats with double paws! A common question is how many toes does a polydactyl cat have, and the answer is - it depends on the individual! TheSprucePets.com says that the world record polydactyl cat had 28 toes, 7 on each paw! But, most polydactyl kitties don't have that many toes! In fact, it's rare for...
Have you ever heard of tortitude? It's the perception that the personality of a domestic tortoiseshell cat can be well... feisty, and that tortoiseshell cats are more independent and sassy than their less colorful counterparts, and even known to swat, scratch and nip. But is it true? Let's take a look at tortie personality! First off, what is a tortoise shell cat? While you might imagine a cat with a shell like a tortoise, it's actually the color of their fur that gives them that name. Tortoise shell colored cats will have a mix of colors that are reminiscent of the colors of a tortoise's shell. They most commonly have a mix of ginger and black fur, but can also...
You see a cat on the street and want to pet it. You approach it gently and it hisses and runs away - or it leans in and sticks it's head into your hand for a nice head rub. So, what's the deal, do cats enjoy being pet.. or not? Well, like most things cat, it depends on the individual. So, lets start with the cats that enjoy being pet. Why do cats like to be petted? TheSprucePets.com says that tne enjoyment of petting starts in kittenhood when mother cats cuddle and groom their kittens to keep them clean and nurture them. They say that the hormone oxytocin starts flowing in both the mother cat and kittens, which makes the...
Did you ever look up and see 2 feline eyes staring at you and wonder - why does my cat stare at me? Let's see if we can find out what's behind the cats stare! If a cat is staring at you, it's important to take the rest of the cat's body language into account to try to interpret that cat's behavior. According to TheSprucePets.com, if a cat is calmly staring at you, it is probably just curious about what you're doing and what you might do next. After all, cats are well known for their curiosity! Your cat might also stare at you to get your attention. If it sees that it has caught your eye, it might try...
The internet is full of images and videos of cats, and some of them do some pretty smart things, like opening doorknobs and playing games on an ipad. Others seem to be just constantly baffled. So just how smart are cats? Trying to answer the question "how intelligent are cats?" can be complicated by cats tendency to be, well, cats. As any cat owner knows, cats do what they want, which can make them hard to study. When trying to calculate how smart cats are, one measure that can be used is to count the number of neurons in the brain. According to a 2016 study, cats have an NPD (or neuron packing density) that is much higher than dogs....
