Apart from the myth of having nine lives and the tendency to fall on their feet first, cats are pretty remarkable pets to keep. For all the cat fans, here are a few historical facts and records that might interest you!
- The first cat with a recorded name was Nedjum (means star), which lived in 1479 – 1425 BC in Egypt.
- The heaviest cat, Himmy, was recorded in Queensland, Australia and weighed a whopping 21.3 kg! He had a 38.1 cm neck and an 84 cm waist and died in 1986 at the age of ten.
- The smallest cat, Tinker Toy, a male Blue Point Himalayan of Illinois, USA is 7 cm tall, 19 cm long and weighs 625 g.
- The biggest breed of cats is the Maine Coons, which are a North American breed of muscular big-boned cats. The males often reach 6-8 kg in weight. Cats typically weigh between 2.5 and 7 kg
- One of the oldest cats recorded is the French born Grandpa Rex’s Allen, a Sphynx cat in Texas, USA. He died in 1998 at the age of 34!
- The largest litter of kittens recorded was 19! In 1970, Tarawood Antigone, a female Burmese gave birth to these kittens – amazingly, 15 survived. An average cat has 1-8 kittens per litter, and 2-3 litters per year.
- The best mouser was called Towser, a female tortoiseshell – she managed to catch over 25,000 mice during her lifetime. She died in 1987, aged 24.
- The countries with the most number of cats are USA with 80 million, China with 57 million, and Russia with 16 million.
