If you believe there’s no such thing as a naughty cat or no outfit’s really complete without a few cat hairs on it or you call home and leave a message for your kitty when on holiday, then you’re not alone.
And with cats like Nora, is it any wonder?
Nora is the world’s newest Internet star. More than 5 million people have already watched her YouTube video where she is shown playing the piano. She has now appeared on numerous TV shows around the world and released her own CD—“Cat On The Keys.”
Nora may be the newest cat star but she is by no means unique. For centuries cats and kittens have amused and amazed us with their remarkable talents, personalities and behavior. For example, did you know:
1. Albert Schweitzer’s cat, Sizi, would often fall asleep on his right arm. Rather than disturb her, Schweitzer would write his prescriptions with his left arm and so became ambidextrous.
2. In November 1995 a green kitten was found in Denmark. Initially she was thought to be a genetic mutation but it turned out her color was caused by the high copper content in the area’s water supply.
3. Almost half the cats on the estate of the late Ernest Hemmingway have six toes. Hemmingway, who shared his Key West home with more than 30 cats, once said, “A cat has absolute emotional honesty; human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.”
4. The giraffe, the camel and the cat are the only animals to move forward by moving both their right feet, then both their left feet, when walking. This approach lets them move with grace and agility in perfect silence.
5. Winston Churchill commissioned a painting of his adored orange tabby, Jock, who slept in his bed every night, went to all of Churchill’s wartime cabinet meetings, ate at the same table and was with him when he died..
6. Many cats are lactose intolerant and should not be given cow’s milk.
7. Cats with bells on their collars are often better hunters than those without. This is because they learn to move without the bell making a sound and become even more stealth-like than other cats.
8. French novelist Alexander Dumas owned many exotic birds. One day his beloved cat, Mysouff II ate them all. So he sentenced her to five years in a cage with his pet monkeys. Financial problems then hit Dumas and he had to sell his monkeys, and Mysouff II regained her freedom.
9. Turkish Vans, unlike other cat breeds, adore water and have a waterproof coat.
10. Under the rubble of the World Trade Center, rescuers found three newborn kittens and their mom in a carton of napkins. The queen was named “Hope” and her babies “Freedom,” “Amber” and “Flag.”