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Cat fact sheet for kids (printable)

By the MeowWise team · Published · Last reviewed

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Ten true facts about house cats, each checked against a scientific paper or a veterinary source. Print this page for reading practice, a science center or a class research project. The reading check and answer key are at the end.

Cat facts

  1. Cats came from wildcats. All pet cats come from a wildcat that lives in the Near East, called Felis silvestris lybica. Scientists showed this by studying the DNA of almost 1,000 cats and wildcats.
  2. Cats have lived with people for a very long time. On the island of Cyprus, scientists found a cat buried next to a person about 9,500 years ago.
  3. Cats are meat eaters. Cats are obligate carnivores. That means they must eat food made from animals to stay healthy.
  4. Cats need taurine. Taurine is a nutrient found in meat. Without enough taurine, a cat's heart can become weak. Good cat food has taurine added.
  5. Cats cannot taste sweet things. A gene that most mammals use to taste sugar does not work in cats, so cats do not notice sweetness.
  6. Whiskers are measuring tools. Most cats have 24 whiskers, 12 on each cheek. Whiskers help a cat feel things close to its face and judge whether a gap is wide enough to fit through.
  7. Cats see well in dim light. Cats can see about six times better than people in the dark, but they have trouble focusing on things very close to their face. Their whiskers help with that.
  8. Cats have amazing hearing. In a laboratory test, cats heard sounds from very low to very high pitches, one of the widest hearing ranges of any mammal. They can hear high squeaks that people cannot.
  9. Cats know their owner's voice. In one study, cats heard three strangers call their name, one after another, and paid less attention each time. When their owner called, they reacted strongly again by moving their ears and heads.
  10. A slow blink is a friendly signal. When a cat slowly closes its eyes at you, it is relaxed. Scientists found cats were more likely to come closer to a person who slow blinked at them.

Kitten bonus fact: Kittens are born with their eyes and ears closed. They open at about two weeks old. Kittens should stay with their mother until they are at least 8 weeks old.

Reading check

Name:

  1. What wild animal did pet cats come from?
  2. What does "obligate carnivore" mean?
  3. Why would a cat not care about a sugary treat?
  4. Name two jobs that whiskers do.
  5. How old are kittens when their eyes open?
  6. Draw a cat and label its whiskers, ears and eyes on the back of this page.

Answer key

  1. A wildcat from the Near East (Felis silvestris lybica).
  2. It must eat food made from animals (meat) to stay healthy.
  3. A gene that most mammals use to taste sugar does not work in cats, so they cannot taste sweetness.
  4. Any two: feeling things close to the face, judging whether a gap is wide enough, helping the cat move around in the dark.
  5. About two weeks old.
  6. Drawings vary. Check that whiskers, ears and eyes are labeled.

Sources

  1. Driscoll C.A. et al. (2007) The Near Eastern origin of cat domestication. Science 317(5837):519 to 523
  2. Vigne J.D. et al. (2004) Early taming of the cat in Cyprus. Science 304(5668):259
  3. Cornell Feline Health Center: Feeding Your Cat
  4. Pion P.D. et al. (1987) Myocardial failure in cats associated with low plasma taurine: a reversible cardiomyopathy. Science 237(4816):764 to 768
  5. Li X. et al. (2005) Pseudogenization of a sweet-receptor gene accounts for cats' indifference toward sugar. PLoS Genetics 1(1):27 to 35
  6. Cats Protection: Why do cats have whiskers?
  7. Heffner R.S. and Heffner H.E. (1985) Hearing range of the domestic cat. Hearing Research 19(1):85 to 88
  8. Saito A. and Shinozuka K. (2013) Vocal recognition of owners by domestic cats (Felis catus). Animal Cognition 16(4):685 to 690
  9. Humphrey T. et al. (2020) The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat-human communication. Scientific Reports 10:16503
  10. Cats Protection: Kitten care

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APA (7th ed.)
MeowWise. (2026, October 8). Cat fact sheet for kids (printable). https://meowwise.com/teachers/cat-fact-sheet.html

MLA (9th ed.)
“Cat fact sheet for kids (printable).” MeowWise, Joshua Israel Ventures LLC, 8 Oct. 2026, meowwise.com/teachers/cat-fact-sheet.html.

Chicago (bibliography)
MeowWise. “Cat fact sheet for kids (printable).” Joshua Israel Ventures LLC. Last modified October 8, 2026. https://meowwise.com/teachers/cat-fact-sheet.html.