Have you ever met someone and been at a complete loss at what to say? Beyond the whole “Hi, my name is…” intro, it can be tricky to find interesting topics of conversation with a stranger. Why not put a spin on things, and talk about animals? You could start with “Just to be clear, I am NOT a crazy cat-lady…. But I did just learn a few interesting things about felines, that I bet you’ve never heard.” Launch into a battle of wits, and see who knows more pet facts! Here is some ammunition below, and some suggestions on how to introduce the topic in casual conversation.
- Cats cannot taste anything sweet. (Sample conversation starter suggestion: “Caramel vanilla latte, huh? It’s a good thing you are not a cat, or you wouldn’t taste a thing. They have no palate for anything sweet!”)
- Did you know that cats can run up to 30 miles per hour, which is faster than the human record holder at 27 mph?
- All the crazy cat people in the world should move to Alaska. Why? Because in the city of Talkeetna, a cat is their mayor. It should be called TalCATna. (This lame joke might win you sympathy!)
- Cat eyes are nearly 6 times stronger than human eyes. Though they can’t see in complete darkness, they can detect detailed objects with the most minimal levels of light.
- Adolf Hitler hated cats; Abraham Lincoln loved them and kept 4 cats in the White House. (Case in point- good people love cats!)
- Cats aren’t the only animals that purr! So do rabbits, guinea pigs, squirrels, lemurs, gorillas and elephants. (And they don’t just purr because they are happy; they purr when stressed, anxious, or when they don’t feel well, or when they want to calm down.)
- An idle diesel engine makes the same frequency as a cat purring (roughly 26 purrs per second), and they purr continuously by breathing in and out through the voice box.
- Cat brains have nearly 1,000 times more storage than an iPad.
- Felines can hear ultrasonic noises, such as the nearly silent communications rodents use amongst each other. These sounds are undetectable to the human ear, but they do not escape cats (which is why not many rodents do either!).
- Are you a cat person or dog person? (Then, once they have responded, ask what they think about the following comment: Recent studies have shown that dog-people tend to be more social, energetic and athletic, while cat people are more thoughtful, intellectual and sensitive.
Try to avoid launching into a full-on monologue listing these facts off one by one, or the cat-fanatic warning you gave at the beginning will go right out the window. But because animals are universally entertaining and loveable, it could be a good way to connect with someone. It is always positive to stand out as an interesting individual who has more to offer in a conversation than just their job description. The more we observe cats, the less we seem to understand their inscrutable ways; and there is always something to learn. So next time you are out and about, bring some of these cat facts with you, and see where the conversation goes!