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According to the American Pet Products Association, the country’s love of cats seems to be growing. Roughly 49 million households own a cat as of 2024, a 23 percent increase over 2023. Homes with three or more cats are up 36 percent from 2018.
Statistically speaking, it’s likely you or someone you know keeps one of these inscrutable animals as a pet. But how well do you really know how cats operate? See if you can tell feline fact from fiction in the quiz below.
Didn’t do so well? Don’t worry: Misconceptions about cats are common. One of the biggest relates to why they purr. While they do it when they’re content, purrs can also be signs a cat is ill, wounded, or stressed. (Purring may actually have a healing effect, with the sound frequency at a level that can promote bone and tissue repair.)
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Another misconception? Catnip isn’t necessarily the organic high humans think it is. Roughly half of all cats don’t react to it at all.
But the biggest feline misconception might be that cats don’t care about people—but evidence suggests that cats really do love their owners. They’re just not as obvious about it as dogs are.
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