Education | Valley Falls, KS | Jefferson County Humane Society

EDUCATION

Fun Facts

20 Fun Cat Facts

There are over 100 different cat breeds
Cats can see up to 120 feet away. Their peripheral vision is about 280 degrees
The oldest cat to ever live was Creme Puff, a Texas cat who lived to be 38 years old and 3 days. Creme Puff was born in August 1967 and died in August 2005, according to Guinness World Records.
The average age for an indoor cat is 10-20 plus years while the average age for an outdoor cat is only 3-5 years
Blue eyed cats are often prone to deafness
Cats lap liquid from the underside of their tongue rather than from the top when drinking
In terms of size, Main Coon cats are one of the largest breeds. They are usually 10-16 inches tall, while Ragdolls are 9-11 inches tall. However, both breeds are about the same size in length (measured from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail), 35-40 inches.
At birth, kittens can’t see or hear
Cats' two color-detecting cones let them see blue-violet and yellow-green wavelengths of light, but not red-orange. So, similar to dogs, cats mainly see things in shades of yellow, gray, and blue tinges, but some researchers think that cats may also notice some shades of green.
A quivering cats tail is the greatest sign of love a cat can give you
A cat can jump 5 times as high as it is tall
If a cat snores, or rolls over on his back to expose his belly it means it trusts you
Cats respond more readily to names that end in an “ee” sound
Compared to a dog’s 10 vocalization sounds (approx), cats have 100 different vocalization sounds
Cats purr at the same frequency as an idling diesel engine, approx 26 cycles per second
Sir Isaac Newton, discoverer of the principles of gravity, also invented the cat flap
A cat will almost never “meow” at another cat. This sound is mostly reserved for humans
Cats have the largest eyes of any mammal in relation to body size
Cats are the sleepiest of all mammals. They spend an average of 16 hours sleeping each day
The nose pad of a cat is ridged in a pattern that is unique, just like the fingerprint of a human

20 Fun Dog Facts

The tallest dogs are the Great Dane and Irish Wolfhound
The smallest dogs are the Chihuahua, Yorkshire Terrier and Toy Poodle
A dog’s hearing is very acute. They can register sounds of 35,000 vibrations a second (compared to our 20,000)
Dog’s have a wonderful sense of smell. A Fox Terrier has 147 million ‘smelling cells’ and a German Shepherd has 220 million compared to a humans 5 million
Guinness World Record holder Bobi, a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, passed away at the age of 31 years and 165 days in his home in Portugal on Saturday.
All dogs, regardless of breed, are direct descendants of wolves. Technically they are all the same species, which means they can breed together and produce fertile offspring
2 dogs survived the sinking of the titanic – a Pekinese and a Pomeranian
Dalmatian puppies are pure white when they are born and develop their spots as they grow older
The poodles ‘haircut’ was originally to improve its swimming ability as a retriever.
Dogs take between 10-30 breaths a minute
Dogs have twice as many muscles for moving their ears as humans do
Dogs have a visual range of 250 degrees compared to the human range of 180 degrees
The word puppy derives from the French word poupee which means doll
Puppies are born blind, deaf and toothless
A puppy begins to see when it is between 2-3 weeks old. At 3 weeks it will develop a sense of smell
At 4-8 weeks of age a puppies mouth will get 28 baby teeth. At 4-7 months of age the baby teeth will fall out and be replaced will 42 permanent teeth
Dogs have 3 eyelids – an upper and lower eyelid and a 3rd one hidden between them. It helps protect their eyes from dirt and dust
The Greyhound is the fastest dog and can run at 45mph for short periods of time
The Basenji dog from the Congo is a breed that does not bark, instead makes a yodel type sound
Dogs have been wearing collars ever since Egyptian times