Portal:Cats/Did you know

...that a polydactyl cat (pictured) is a cat that has more than the usual number of toes on one or all of its paws?
...that Unsinkable Sam was a ship's cat of both the Kriegsmarine and Royal Navy during the Second World War who survived the sinking of all three ships on which he served?
...that William Gore Ouseley, a diplomat noted for representing British interests in Nicaragua and Honduras, found one of the earliest sources for the Pantomime story of Dick Whittington's cat?
...that caracal is very powerful for its size and has even been known to bring down a full grown adult Gazelle?
...that Scarlett the cat is a former stray cat whose efforts to save her kittens from a fire, at serious harm to herself, attracted worldwide media attention and has been related in a number of nonfiction books?
... that Peter, the Lord's cat is the only animal to be given an obituary in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack?

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...that a polydactyl cat (pictured) is a cat that has more than the usual number of toes on one or all of its paws?
...that Unsinkable Sam was a ship's cat of both the Kriegsmarine and Royal Navy during the Second World War who survived the sinking of all three ships on which he served?
...that William Gore Ouseley, a diplomat noted for representing British interests in Nicaragua and Honduras, found one of the earliest sources for the Pantomime story of Dick Whittington's cat?
...that caracal is very powerful for its size and has even been known to bring down a full grown adult Gazelle?
...that Scarlett the cat is a former stray cat whose efforts to save her kittens from a fire, at serious harm to herself, attracted worldwide media attention and has been related in a number of nonfiction books?
... that Peter, the Lord's cat is the only animal to be given an obituary in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack?

...that the practice of taking cats aboard ships (pictured) dates back to the Ancient Egyptians?
...that Oscar the Cat was featured in the New England Journal of Medicine for his purported ability to predict the impending death of the terminally ill?
...that Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia gave away his cat to one of the soldiers tasked with his execution?
...that the Witches of Belvoir supposedly believed a cat named Rutterkin helped them cast spells?
...that cats learn by trial and error, observation and imitation? Cats' learning abilities are aided by their good memory. Research has found cats to have memory about two hundred times better than dogs. Cats are even thought to have even better memory than monkeys and chimps.
...that, despite the name, Mrs Chippy, the ship's cat on Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was actually male?

...that an odd-eyed cat (pictured) is a cat with one blue eye and one green, orange or yellow eye, a feline form of heterochromia?
...that after receiving global media attention for pulling her kittens out of a burning garage, Scarlett the cat and her kittens received 7000 adoption requests?
...that animals have delivered mail throughout history, with different postal services using pigeons, reindeer and even cats?
...that the Canadian Parliament Buildings have housed several dozen stray cats since the 1970s?
...that Felix the Cat is a cartoon character from the silent-film era? His black body, white eyes, and giant grin, coupled with the surrealism of the situations in which his cartoons place him, combined to make Felix one of the most recognizable cartoon characters in the world?
...that Stalking Cat was a San Diego man who spent more than 150,000 US dollars on tattoos and cosmetic surgery working towards his goal of resembling a live tiger?

...that the fauna of Scotland includes almost half of the EU’s breeding seabirds, but only one endemic vertebrate species, and that although a population of wildcats (pictured) remains, many of the larger mammals were hunted to extinction in historic times?
...that the average lifespan of a feral cat who survives kittenhood is two years, compared to 16 years for house cats?
...that in addition to human spaceflight, there have been many animals in space, including monkeys, apes, mice, dogs, guinea pigs, frogs, rats, cats, tortoises, fish, newts, insects, snails, spiders and nematodes?
...that in cat coat genetics, two different X-chromosome alleles must be expressed to create a calico?
...that Socks was one of Bill Clinton's two pets while President of the United States?
... that Grumpy Cat's signature facial expression is permanent and probably caused by feline dwarfism?

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