Some lesser-known facts and stories about cats
In the 1960s, the CIA decided that a cat would make a great spy. In an hour-long procedure, a vet implanted a microphone into a cat’s ear and a radio transmitter at the base of her skull. They hoped to train the cat to sit near foreign officials so that she could eavesdrop on their conversations. The first time this was tested, the poor kitty was taken to a park to eavesdrop on two men sitting on a bench. Instead of listening to their conversation, the cat wandered off into the street, and was killed when she got hit by a taxi. Fortunately, that was the end of that idea!
Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States, is said to have been a great cat lover and used to play with his cat for hours. His wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, was once asked whether her husband had any hobbies. Her reply? “Cats.”
Cats have quite a reputation for generally not being crazy about water. They are also known for being fussy, with minds of their own. However, if your kitty draws blood when you attempt to bath her, it is not because she is being difficult; she simply doesn’t like being wet because her coat isn’t designed for it. When the whole coat is drenched, it weighs her down and makes her feel uncomfortable.
For a cat lover, few things come close to the sound of purring – you know that your cat is content, and the peaceful purring makes you feel better as well. But there might be more to the healing nature of the purr. Did you know that cats also purr when they are in pain? Some experts think that it might be a method of self-healing, as the frequency of the purr happens to be the frequency at which muscle and bones best grow and heal.
Your cat doesn’t care about your deadlines. And sometimes she will show this by making herself comfortable on your laptop’s keyboard. There is a reason for this: no, she doesn’t secretly care about the work you need to get done, but she does enjoy the heat coming from your computer, especially in colder weather.
