The next time your cat slowly blinks at you, be very honoured. A cat eye blink (also known as a kitty kiss) is a way your kitty shows its love for you. Want to return the favour? Look into your kitty’s eyes and slowly shut and open your eyes.

It’s not just dogs that like to lick whenever they can, cats do it too. When a cat licks your hand, toes, and arms, it’s actually a sign of affection and an indication that she feels safe in your presence.

Cats are pros at manipulation. They know exactly how to get what they want according to new studies, which also found that they do it by mimicking babies crying. When kitty wants food she will make an urgent crying sound while purring so that you’ll fill up her bowl faster.

Cats love warm weather, in fact it’s been noted that they like temperatures that reach as high as 52ºC! Perhaps that’s why you can always find our furry friends basking in light of a sunbeam.

Cats spend up to two-thirds of their lives sleeping. This means that when a cat in nine years old, it would only have been awake for three years of its life. Talk about a purr-fect slumber!

A cat reportedly detected his owner’s breast cancer and tried to alert her by leaping up and sleeping on her right breast every night for two weeks. A medical scan later revealed that she had a pea-sized cancerous lump in said breast, which would have killed her had it been left undiagnosed.

Some evidence suggests that cats were domesticated around 3,600 B.C. That’s about 5,600 years ago, and 2,000 years before the ancient Egyptians who use to worship our feline friends as gods. Whenever a cat died, it was mummified before being buried along with provisions like mice and milk.

Just as some humans are right-handed while others are lefties, the same applies to cats. But interestingly, keen eyed observers have found that more female cats are right-pawed while male cats are left-pawed.

Cats can’t taste sweet things because of a defect in the gene that codes for part of the sweet taste receptor. This means they’ll never enjoy desserts the way that humans do but that’s OK. That leaves more sweet treats for you!

The Singapura cat breed originates from our tiny island and is considered the smallest pedigreed cat. It can weigh as little as 1.8 kg so if you’re looking to adopt a kitty but are short on space, you’re in luck!

The man who discovered the laws of gravity, Sir Isaac Newton, also invented the world’s first cat flap. The story goes that his cat, Spitfire, kept opening the door while Sir Newton was in the middle of one of his experiments. So, with the invention he was able to keep both himself and his cuddly companion happy.

A cat can move at a speed of 49kmph over a short distance. That’s even quicker than the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, who’s top speed in his record breaking attempt was 44.7kmph.

In the 1960s, the Central Intelligence Agency in the US tried to train a cat to become a spy. They implanted a microphone in her ear and a radio transmitter in her skull. However, on her first mission, she was hit by a car.

In the 15th century, cats were closely associated with bad luck at the height of the persecution of the so-called witches of the time. In fact, the holy see at the time, Pope Innocent VIII, thought cats were so demonic that he had them burnt them at the stake along with their owners.

Cats do not have sweat glands, like humans. Instead, when they want to cool off they sweat through their paws, which secrete a scent that they use to mark their territory. So whenever they are walking or scratching they are actually marking that spot as their own.

Cats’ whiskers usually grow to be as long as the cat is wide. Cats often use their long whiskers to make sure their body will be able to fit through tight openings.

Cats are actually listed among the top 100 most invasive species in the world. You many think kitty is a cute bundle of fur but they’re actually natural born hunters who have contributed to the extinction of 33 different species, including birds, mammals, and reptiles.

According to Hebrew legend, cats were made when a lion on Noah’s Ark sneezed and two kittens came out. Ancient Chinese legend, meanwhile, maintains that the cat is the product of a lioness and a monkey. Norse mythology connected cats to the powers of creativity, Mother Earth and the fertility gods.

Adult cats don’t actually meow to communicate with other cats. They’re actually doing that for our benefit. Apparently, the more you talk to your cat, the more it will meow back to you. They do call it two-way communication for a reason!

It’s widely known that some humans can be allergic to cats but did you know that cats get be allergic to humans too? According to one study, feline asthma can occur in cats who are exposed to cigarette smoke, dusty houses and human dandruff.