(Something I found while browsing on Yahoo today that caught my 
attention so I decided to share)

1. A Year is Not Just a Year. The first year of a cat’s life equals (in 
terms of development) the first 15 years of a human life. After its 
second year, a cat is 25 in human years. After that, each year of a 
cat’s life is equal to about 7 human years.

2. Far and away the favorite breed of cat registered with the Cat 
Fanciers’ Association is the Persian.

3. The hearing of the average cat is at least five times keener than 
that of a human adult. Cats can rotate their ears 180 degrees.

4. The largest breed of cat is the Ragdoll; the males weigh in at 
around 20 pounds.

5. Domestic cats spend about 70 percent of the day sleeping and 15 
percent of the day grooming.

6. A cat cannot see directly under its nose, which is why it may have a 
hard time finding tiny treats on the floor.

7. The color of a Himalayan’s points is heat-related -- cooler spots 
appear darker.

8. Most cats have no eyelashes.

9. Cats have five toes on each front paw, but only four on the back 
ones. It’s not all that uncommon, though, for cats to have extra toes. 
The cat with the most toes known had 32, eight on each paw!

10. Superstition dictates that if you dream about a white cat, good 
luck will follow. 

The Five Most Popular Breeds of Purebred Cats for 1997 (according to 
the Cat Fanciers’ Association): 
1. Persian
2. Maine Coon
3. Siamese
4. Abyssinian
5. Exotic shorthair 

Article Courtesy of Pet Life Magazine 

19 responses total.

I'll bet that the "American Shorthair" isnt considered a breed by them. 
If it were, I am sure it would be the most popular breed. 

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Calicos are cats with a white base and then at least two other colors 
splotched on them (orange and black, orange, black and brown, etc.).

Lynne- actually I think there is an American Shorthair breed... however 
what most people have is a domestic shorthair. ;)

Holy shit.  My cat Dave is 116 years old???
(15 human years, 15 + 10 + 13*7)

I think calico is a coloring. A "tortoise shell" is the same as a 
calico but with no white. Both Calicos and Tortoise Shell cats can be 
found with long hair but it is more commonly found in the short haired 
variety. They are almost always female. 

re#3 I consider it a breed but Cat Fancy apparently doesnt. They are by 
far the most common cats around. 

Our Mom cat and 2 of the girls are long-haired Torties (actually the vet says
Smudge is a Tabby-Tortie, she has a tiger face and ghost stripes on her legs
and tail while her body is mixed up black, orange/brown and tan).

re #4- wow... Go Dave! (My cat would be 46...)

re #5- heh, Cat Fancy can be kind of silly... The Cat Fanciers 
Association lists them as a breed: 
http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/american-sh.html

My cat is a Tortie. She is very bossy.

Smudge is too.  When she thinks it is time for me to go to bed she goes
upstairs, sits outside my bedroom door and yowls until I come up.  Funny
really, because I let her come in with me, she gets petted a little, she might
curl up on my back for a couple of minutes, then she yowls to be let out.

She now owns the part of my soul and corner of my heart not already claimed
by STeve and the kids, while leaving a small crumb for the other 5 kitties.

Smudge . . . that's quite a popular name for a cat.  I know a few people 
that have "Smudges" living in their homes.

She's Smudge because her body coloring looks like someone drew a picture of
a tortie cat in chalk and then smeared.

Yeah . . . my friend Chiaren's smudge was a bobtail, I think, with the 
same colouring you described.

supposedly there IS a difference between a regular domestic short hair,
and an american short hair.
i couldnt point it out though.

Apparently Maine Coon cats don't have a real meow, if I'm remember what 
Jazz told me recently.

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I have a male cat that sounds rather girlie since he has a high pitched meow.
Though he is a better chirper.  A recent thing I notice is that Scott likes
to yawn and meow at the same time... very cute to see bright white  fangs and
a pink mouth emerge from that bundle of black fur.

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If Magnus has the Maine Coon "meow," I doubt it's what Magnus does 
now.  I suppose that, in part, it has to do with lung development, at 
least as it pertains to volume and length of the sound.

re resp:13 Only a *real* cat geek would know the difference between a 
regular domestic shorthair and an American shorthair. You are pushing 
it, though, by knowing that there might be a difference ;)

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