Can you get a purr-fect score?

TEST YOUR knowledge of feline facts with our fun quiz.

1. Domestic cats spend what percentage of their lives sleeping?

a. 37 percent

b. 45 percent

c. 70 percent

d. 56 percent

2. Which of the following is the only big cat capable of purring?

a. Leopard

b. Cheetah

c. Cougar

d. Jaguar

3. True or false? A cat's taste buds do not have receptors for sweet flavors.

4. Which of the following treatments can help cats suffering from idiopathic cystitis (a bladder infection)?

a. Providing interactive toys and tall cat trees

b. Keeping the litter box very clean

c. Reducing stress

d. All of the above

5. True or false? The ability to respond to catnip is genetic.

6. What are the names of the two cats who pull the chariot of the Norse goddess Freya?

a. Loki and Thor

b. Bygul and Trjegul

c. Huginn and Muninn

d. Geri and Freki

7. Cats have been associated with people for how long?

a. 10,000 years

b. 5,000 years

c. 7,500 years

d. 2,000 years

8. What term is used to refer to cats with extra toes?

a. Multidigital

b. Phalanges

c. Polydactyl

d. Metatarsals

9. When you hear that familiar hacking sound in the middle of the night, your cat is getting ready to bring up what?

a. A dead mouse

b. Bile

c. A trichobezoar

d. A bolus

10. Which of the following is the most common pattern seen in cats?

a. Calico

b. Tabby

c. Tortoiseshell

d. Bicolor

Answers: 1. (c) Domestic cats sleep 16 to 18 hours a day; 2. (b); 3. True As far as we know, cats are the only mammals that lack the receptors for sweetness; 4. (d); 5. True But kittens don't develop a response to catnip until they are 3 to 6 months old; 6. (b) Freya's cats are nameless in mythology, but fantasy author Diana L. Paxson named them Bygul (bee-gold) and Trjegul (tree-gold) in honor of Freya's associations with honey and ambe; 7. (a); 8. (c); 9. (c) Trichobezoar is the scientific term for, yes, a hairball; 10. (b). The pattern comes in many different colors and serves as effective camouflage. When the sun shines just right on some solid-colored cats, you can see underlying tabby markings.