Cats are one of the most popular pets around the world.

Magnificent and fiercely independent, these furry bundles of joy and mischief wow us with their unconditional love.

But they remain mysterious and intriguing and we often discover that we don’t know as much about them as we think we do!

There are plenty of fun cat facts that simply stagger us and there are just as many facts about cats that makes us love them even more.

Here are some lesser-known facts that every cat lover should know.

If you can’t get your fill of cat facts, then at the bottom of this post you’ll find a link to our mega post of mind blowing cat facts.

1. Cats are more popular pets than dogs in America. There are 88 million cats compared to 74 million dogs.

2. Evidence suggests domesticated cats have been around since 3600 B.C., 2,000 years before Egypt’s Pharaohs.

3. Cats don’t have taste receptors that react to sweet things. This means that cats, from lions and tigers right down to domestic felines, cannot taste anything sweet.

4. The reason why cats have a vertical slit pupil is because they are ambush predators. The vertical slit pupil helps them to judge the depth so that they can leap at their prey.

5. A single cat produces 2-8 kittens in a litter. The prolific cat produces 2-3 litters per years, which mean that a single cat can produce 24 kittens per year! A cat can give birth to 100 kittens during her productive years. Therefore a single pair of cats and their kittens can produce as many as 420,000 kittens in just 7 years.

6. When cats bring dead mice or birds back to their owners, “…they are teaching their human to hunt, or helping their human as if feeding an elderly cat, or an inept kitten.”

7. Whenever a cat slowly closes its eyes and opens them again or winks at you, that means they trust you and recognise you as a friend.

8. A study found that pet cats do recognise their owner’s voice but choose to ignore their call/commands.

9. Cats can become addicted to tuna and refuse to eat anything. They are known as  ‘Tuna Junkies’. However, eating too much of Tuna can cause the dangerous “Steatitis” or “Yellow Fat” disease (Pansteatitis).

10. Ancestors of modern day cats relied on their prey to get an adequate amount of water but the present day cats diet of dry foods prevent the cats from staying hydrated. This may lead to Kidney disease and various other complications. So keep your cats hydrated!

11. Feeding milk to an adult cat is a bad idea because adult cats do not produce Lactase – an enzyme that digests lactose present in the milk.

12. Scientists believe cats are afraid of water because their ancestors lived in an area with very few large bodies of water and never had to learn how to swim.

13. Cats are not nocturnal. They are actually crepuscular, which means they are most active at dusk and dawn.

14. Cats enjoy Species Appropriate Music than human music. They enjoy music that uses the frequencies and tempos similar to the ones cats use to communicate.

( h/t: UNBFACTS )