Rumour has it that cats first became domesticated during the time of the Ancient Egyptians. During their time, the death penalty was imposed for killing cats and cats were normally mummified before being buried.
The Romans also revered cats. However,history shows that cats' luck changed in the 15th Century, when Pope Innocent VIII decreed that all cat-worshippers in Europe be burned as witches. Black cats are still considered to be unlucky in many countries as they tend to be associated with witchcraft.
However, perversely in Britain, where it would appear that the largest number of cats were persecuted, black cats are still regarded as lucky.
Cat fortunes did not appear to improve in Europe until the late 18th Century. Cats were tolerated first as mousers and then taken in as pets. In fact, the Witchcraft Act of 1735 was not repealed in Britain until 1951. Fortunately, nowadays, cats have a much easier life.!
Throughout history, many famous people have been associated with cats. The following were all well known cat lovers:Albert Einstein,Cardinal Richelieu, Cardinal Wolsey ,Louis Pasteur,Queen Victoria,Sir Isaac Newton, and Winston Churchill.
Many famous writers had cat companions. A few were Aldous Huxley, Charles Dickens,Ernest Hemingway, Henry James,H.G. Wells, P.G. Wodehouse,Mark Twain, and Raymond Chandler.
In 1987, a cat gave birth to her last two kittens at the age of 30. When she died 2 years later, she had produced a total of 218 kittens during her life.
The Largest Pet Litter record goes to a Burmese/Siamese cat owned by V. Gane of Church Westcote,Kingham, Oxon, UK who gave birth to 19 kittens in one go in 1970.
Himmy, owned by Thomas Vyse of Redlynch, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, still holds The title of being the heaviest recorded cat. When he died at the age of 10 in 1986, heweighed 46lbs 15 ¼ oz (21.3 kg). Imagine him jumping on your knee whilst you're watching TV ! A neutered male tabby, his neck measured 15in (38.1cm), his waist 33 in (83.8cm) and he was 38 in (96.5cm) long.
The Smallest Domestic Cat Tinker Toy, owned by Katrina & Scott Forbes of Taylorville, Illinois, USA holds this record. He is a male blue point Himalayan - Persian and measures just 2 ¾ ins (7cm) tall and 7 ½ ins (19 cm) long.
In 1950, a four month old kitten owned by Josephine Aufdenblatten from Geneva,Switzerland walked into the record books by following a group of climbers to the top of the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps. The height of which is 14,691 ft (4478m).
When Towser, a female tortoiseshell died in 1987 at the age of 24, she had caught a total of 28,899 mice - an average of 3 per day.
A cat's whiskers are genetically set. So, if a cat puts on a lot of weight, its whiskers do not grow to accommodate its new girth. This means that the cat can no longer detect its own width and might get stuck in places that are too small for its body.
There are approximately 60,000 hairs per square inch on the back of a cat and about 120,000 per square inch on its underside. Apparently, it is the longer daylight hours and not the warmer temperatures that triggers moulting.
The Musical Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats" is the longest running musical ever performed in the West End of London. Based on T.S.Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats", it opened on 11th May 1981 at the New London Theatre. It has since been translated into 10 different languages and performed in 13 different countries.