Greetings! Monday, October 16 is Global Cat Day which means that ALL of our readers can celebrate. Don’t confuse it with International Cat Day which was August 8. We’re not sure why there’s two holidays that are basically the same. But we deserve them. We recommend treats, cuddles, and all-around pampering.

Sgt Stripes loves to work with Mr. Google. He has found some trivia to share with your human.

• Cats are digitigrade. We can walk on our toes.
• The average weight for a house cat is 6-10 pounds (2.7-4.5 kg). And we average 20-28 inches (50.8-71.1 cm) long. Mancats are generally bigger than the ladies.
• We can bristle (fluff up) because of tiny erector muscles at the base of our hair follicles. It helps us look bigger when we want to frighten someone. (We have learned that this behavior does not work with human toddlers.)

• We can twist our bodies around because our vertebrae (our backbone) are held together by muscles. Humans have ligaments between theirs which are nowhere near as flexible. That’s why we can stretch and contract our backs. And arch them up to scare off intruders.
• We don’t have any crushing teeth (like molars in humans). We cut up our food when we eat it, rather than chewing it.
• Our eyes are extra sensitive to light because of something called guanine. It coats our eyes and lets us see in extremely low light. It’s also what makes our eyes glow.

• There are over 100 different cat breeds.
• We have the largest eyes, in relation to our body size, of any mammal. This lets us see approximately 280 degrees. (A full circle is 360 degrees.) That’s why it’s so hard to sneak up on us. (We also have excellent hearing.)
• The average lifespan of an indoor cat is 15 years, but only 5 years for an outdoor cat. The oldest cat known lived 36 years.

• A cat can jump 5 times as high as its tail.
• Cats respond more quickly to names that end in the “ee” sound. (We do not know who studied this or really believe it. We do not respond to anything we do not want to respond to.)
• Cats have over 100 different vocalization sounds while dogs have approximately a dozen. We are obviously more articulate.

• We purr at the same frequency as an idling diesel engine (approximately 26 cycles per second). We are much quieter.
• We sleep more than any other mammal – an average of 16 hours per day. (Humans just aren’t that interesting.)
• A cat’s nose pad is ridged in a unique pattern, like a human fingerprint.

Cats have been living with humans for thousands of years. There’s some disagreement whether we first joined the hunter-gatherers as companions or waited until humans settled in one place and moved in as pest control. In either case, we are extremely popular these days. These countries have the most cats:

1. United States – 76.5 million
2. China – 53 million
3. Russia – 12.75 million
4. Brazil – 12.5 million
5. France – 9.5 million
6. Italy 9.5 million
7. United Kingdom – 7.75 million
8. Germany – 7.75 million (we know it’s a tie with the UK; the computer won’t let us have 2 #7s)
9. Ukraine – 7.5 million
10. Japan – 7.25 million

We don’t know who counted the cats. We’ve never taken part in a census. But that’s a lot of cats.

Finally, wanted to give a meow-out to a few places that really love cats:

• Mykonos Isle, Greece – The island is famous for it’s cats, and every street in the main town of Chora has its own kitty mascot.
• Rome, Italy – The Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary has almost 300 cats living among the temple ruins.
• Istanbul, Turkey – The Stray Cat Hostel is a cat-themed hostel where you can stay free if you add to the artwork. Istanbul is known as a haven for stray cats.
• Key West, Florida – Ernest Hemingway’s home (now a museum) is home to more than 40 polydactyl cats.
• Moscow, Russia – home to the Moscow Cat Theater and Cat Temple where you can watch cats perform or visit the 200 cats who live in the temple.

We hope you appreciate all the hard work Sgt Stripes put into his research. And hope you and your human enjoy Global Cat Day!

Pictures courtesy of Google Images.