My chat with Charlie

Charlie and I were having a discussion the other day and he was telling me all sorts of things about his species.

There are about 100 breeds of cats. A group of cats is called a “clowder,” but a group of kittens is called a “kindle.”

Charlie says that, in Egypt, entire families would shave their eyebrows as a sign of mourning when the family cat died.

People should never pick up cats by the nape of the neck. Only a mama cat knows how to do that carefully and safely.

Charlie says that cats have a third eyelid, called a “haw.” We’ll only see that when he isn’t feeling well.

Did you know that cats can see six times better at night than humans can! Charlie has very pretty yellow eyes, but all cats have blue eyes when they are born.

Some of them start to change colour at about three weeks.

Many cats lack the necessary gene required to be affected by catnip, but Charlie goes mad for it!

Charlie has four rows of whiskers on either side of her face. The top two rows move independently from the bottom two.

He says it’s because the whiskers help measure openings. He can only fit through an opening as long as either side doesn’t touch his whiskers. Pretty cool, huh!

Charles has a really cute nose, but did you know that’s not the only way he smells? He has something called the Jacobson’s organ, which is located in the upper surface of the mouth.

Did you know a cat, left to its own devices may have three to seven kittens every four or five months?!

This means that during a cat’s lifetime, she can have up to 2,100 kittens in a 10-year life span. This is why spaying and neutering is so important.

Charlie said when he was a stray, he would use his homing ability to get back to the place he started but I don't think it worked because he walked into my life.

He uses his biological clock, the angle of the sun, and the earth’s magnetic field to get back home. Who knew cats were this smart?

Did you know cats are three times more likely to contract rabies than dogs? They cover more territory, they roam freely and spend a large part of their time at night, increasing their chance of running into a rabid animal.

Rabies vaccinations are so important to cats. Please make sure your cat visits the vet every year for this.

Cats have over 100 vocal sounds. Dogs have only about 10. Charlie says you can learn a lot about a cat by its tail.

First of all, a cat’s tail has 32 muscles. You can tell how a cat is feeling by how it controls its tail. For instance, a cat’s tail held high means happiness.

A twitching tail is a warning sign and a tail tucked in close to the body is a sign of insecurity. Cats step with both left legs, then both right legs when they walk or run. The only other animals that do this are giraffe and camel.

Charlie says he ages differently than I do. A cat that is one year old is equivalent to 16 human years. The second year, a cat ages eight human years, and each year after that, about four human years.

This means a six-year-old cat is equivalent to 40 human years!

God help me when Charlie turns one in a few months!