Cats are amazing little creatures who make purrfect house pets. They are cute, snuggly, and wonderful companions. Cats are known for their whimsical and sometimes mysterious behavior, and they love to play. Learn more about your favorite feline friend with these fascinating cat facts for kids.
1. House cats belong to the Felidae family, which is the same family as all of the big cats.
This means they are direct relatives of lions, tigers, cheetahs, ocelots, jaguars, and other wild cats! Watch this video to see their common behaviors in action.
2. A male cat is called a tom, while a female cat is called a queen or Molly.
Regardless of these terms, we all know cats are the royal leader of any household! Watch this video to learn more fun facts about cats.
3. The ancient Egyptians were the first group of people to domesticate cats, almost 4,000 years ago.
This means they were the first people to keep cats as house pets, as you will learn from this video.
4. Cats are excellent hunters and have been known for centuries to keep away pests like mice and rats.
Watch these cats pretend to hunt with a toy mouse.
5. The average house cat sleeps for 13 to 16 hours per day, which is around 70% of their whole life.
Yet they somehow always know when it is time to get up for food and playtime! Learn more fun facts from this cool video.
6. Cats have tiny hooks on their tongues, which feel like sandpaper, to help them clean and untangle their fur.
Cats are often seen as self-cleaning animals with the help of this brush-like feature, which this video demonstrates.
7. Cats can jump around six times their height.
This explains why you may find your favorite feline lounging on top of your kitchen counter, or even on top of your refrigerator!
8. Cats usually have a total of 18 toes. They have 5 toes on each front paw and 4 toes on each back paw.
Their claws are retractable, which means they can pull them in and out, as seen in this video.
9. Polydactyl cats are born with at least one extra toe on their paws. These cats can have 4 to 7 toes per paw, with the extras typically on the front paws.
The highest number of toes on a cat, according to Guinness World Records, is 28!
10. A group of cats is called a clowder, while a group of kittens is called a kindle.
Talk about cuteness overload, as seen in this video of all that fluffy sweetness!
11. There are an average of 200 million cats living in homes as pets, and an additional 480 million stray cats out in the world.
Watch this video for reasons why you should help save a homeless kitty’s life by adopting one as a pet today.
12. Cats can make up to 100 different types of sounds, including various meows, purrs, chirps, and hisses.
This is one of the most surprising cat facts for kids. While kittens meow when they want milk from their moms, adult cats only meow to communicate with humans. They are quite the chatterboxes in their households, as you can see and hear in this video.
13. Cats often purr when they are happy and comfortable in their surroundings.
Watch this video to learn more about and hear this magical sound, which is like a little motor rumbling in your cute and fuzzy companion.
14. Cats communicate with their tails, which gives important information.
Here is one of the most interesting cat facts for kids. When you come home and your cat greets you at the door with his or her tail sticking straight up, he or she is saying hello to you. Talk about a warm welcome! Check out this cool video to learn more.
15. Cats have 24 whiskers, with 12 on each side of the face.
Whiskers are very important because they help cats gather information about their surroundings and determine space and distance. As you will learn from this video, they are like a built-in navigation system!
16. Cats have 30 adult teeth, including two extra-large canine teeth that look like little fangs.
They are extremely sharp and pointy, as you will see in this video.
17. The average cat weighs from 8 to 11 pounds and is 15 to 20 inches in length.
A cat typically stands 10 inches tall.
18. Orange tabby cats are also known as ginger- or marmalade-colored cats.
They can have four distinct coat patterns: spotted, striped, mackerel, and ticked, which you can learn more about here.
19. The most common type of cat in the United States is the domestic shorthair. They can have any color of fur and style of markings, which gives each cat a distinct look.
Different types include the shorthaired tabby, calico, and tuxedo. Learn more about tuxedo cats by watching this video.
20. The sphynx breed of cat does not have any hair.
They may look different than most fuzzy cats, but as you can see in this video, they behave just like the other members of the feline family!
21. Maine coons are one of the largest cat breeds.
The longest-living domestic cat, Barivel the Maine coon, is 47.3 inches long! Learn more about these gentle giants in this video.
22. Cats have excellent night vision and can see at light levels six times lower than humans.
Perhaps this is why you will often find them roaming around the house in the middle of the night.
23. Cats have a very strong sense of hearing.
They can hear 64,000 hertz, or levels, of sound. Humans can only hear 20,000 hertz, while dogs can hear 45,000 hertz. Go cats!
24. Nine presidents had pet cats while living in the White House, including Abraham Lincoln, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter.
Our current president, Joe Biden, has a cat named Willow. Meet our nation’s First Feline by watching this video!
Some of the most famous feline internet stars include Grumpy Cat, Lil Bub, the purrrfect duo Cole and Marmalade, and Keyboard Cat. Of course, every Harry Potter fan knows all about Crookshanks and Mrs. Norris!
