Everything you need to know about cats
Cats are among the most popular pets around, with data company Statista estimating that around 12.5 million UK households played host to a feline friend as of 2024.
Now, if you've been to any of those houses, you might've noticed that not all cats look the same - but why? Well, here at BBC Bitesize, we've done a deep dive into a few of the internet's biggest cat queries, from their average lifespan to their head‑butting tendencies to the reason for all those different breeds.
And, for a bit of fun, we've put together a 'Which cat breed are you?' quiz, to help you find your purr-fect kitty counterpart!
How long do cats live?
On average, household cats in the UK live to around 12 years old, though some can live for up to 20 years.
The lifespan of a cat depends on a number of factors, including diet, genetics, veterinary care and environment. For example, indoor cats will generally have a longer lifespan than outdoor cats, who face a greater number of threats from their outside environment.
While feline lifespans generally range between 10 and 20 years old, there are some notable exceptions, such as Creme Puff, who holds the record for 'oldest cat that's ever lived', reaching a whopping 38 years of age. Born and raised in Texas, Creme Puff came into the world on 3 August 1967, passing away on 6 August 2005.
Can cats see in the dark?
Whilst cats have substantially better night vision than humans, they aren't entirely nocturnal, and still require a certain level of light to see.
Cats have more rod photoreceptors in their retinas than humans do, making them more sensitive and attuned to dim light conditions. However, this comes with a trade off, as their increased rod count means cats have fewer cone receptors than humans do, weakening their visual acuity in daylight hours.
Whilst often mistaken for nocturnal creatures, cats are actually crepuscular animals, meaning they're generally most active around dusk and dawn. This is why domestic cats can often be found whizzing round the house in the late or early hours, as this mimics their natural crepuscular hunting times.
You can read more about crepuscular and nocturnal animals with this article from BBC Bitesize.
Why does my cat keep headbutting me?
Unlike in humans, a cat head-butting you isn't necessarily a sign of anger or aggression, as a matter of fact, it usually indicates the opposite.
Sometimes known as bunting, cat head-butting is actually a signal of affection, and shows that a cat considers you part of their inner circle. Cats head-butt things as a means of spreading their scent, doing this to create an area they perceive as familiar and safe. For this purpose, you might have noticed your cat head-butting objects like sofas or drawers. Whilst this might seem odd, or worrisome, know that this is just them spreading their scent to these areas, as a means to confirm they are safe for the cat to move around.
Why do we have so many different cat breeds?
Our unique relationship to our feline friends is thought to have begun some 10,000 years ago, as wild cats began to linger around human territories to prey on mice attracted to grain stores.
Scientists believe that farmers in the Near East were the first people to domesticate cats, be it deliberately or accidentally. A second wave of domestication came in Ancient Egypt, with cats going on to travel right across the world, now populating every continent save for Antarctica.
Whilst initially valued for their ability to catch rats and mice, over time, cats became prized for their beauty, and with this breeding followed. For the most part, modern cats - of all breeds - resemble their wild cat ancestors pretty closely, unlike dogs, which have shown more significant signs of evolution from their antecedent wolves.
Variation in cat breeds mostly comes from human breeding, with cats predominantly bred for specific aesthetic traits rather than utility - again, unlike dogs. As humans began to desire increasingly specific features in cats, a greater number of breeds came to be. According to current estimates, there's thought to be around 40 - 75 different breeds of cat, with some feline assessment boards accepting different numbers of breeds than others.
