Cat Fact Wednesday: We are Siamese if you please!

Did You Know? 

The Siamese traces its royal roots back to the 14th Century in Thailand when it was known as Siam. This elegant breed belonged to members of the Siam royal family who would bestow them to visiting dignitaries. 

This breed began showing up in Europe and the United States by the late 1800s. The first known Siamese to reach American shores was a gift to First Lady Lucy Webb Hayes from the American consul in Bangkok in 1884. Siamese also enjoyed time in the White House during the Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter presidencies. (Read More Here)

Meet Orlando… he’ll be your stock broker today. 

He’s no regular tabby. In fact, Orlando is the most successful stock broker in a London contest this year. No… really! 

Several major newspapers run these types of contests (The Wall Street Journal has a dart board that goes up against reader’s picks - the dart board won this year). At the London Observer, the “portfolio challenge pitted professionals Justin Urquhart Stewart of wealth managers Seven Investment Management, Paul Kavanagh of stockbrokers Killick & Co, and Schroders fund manager Andy Brough against students from John Warner School in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire – and Orlando.”

“While the professionals used their decades of investment knowledge and traditional stock-picking methods, the cat selected stocks by throwing his favourite toy mouse on a grid of numbers allocated to different companies.”

“By the end of September the professionals had generated £497 of profit compared with £292 managed by Orlando. But an unexpected turnaround in the final quarter has resulted in the cat’s portfolio increasing by an average of 4.2% to end the year at £5,542.60, compared with the professionals’ £5,176.60.”

Read more at The Guardian and maybe think twice before lining the kitty bin with yesterday’s financial section.

Cat Bless You!

Cat Fact Wednesday

Despite what you see here, Cheetahs are not good climbers. They rely on their speed for hunting as well as safety. Being the fastest land animal on Earth, they’re pretty set with what they got. 

Did You Know? Cheetahs get their name from the Hindi word meaning “the spotted one.” 

See more Cheetah photos at Explore.org. 

Cat Facts Wednesday

So fresh and so clean, clean! Generally lone hunters, Cheetahs will sometimes form “a small family group consisting of males and females… They hunt together as well, and are more successful than loners. The practice [of] mutual grooming establishes bonds between members of the coalition” (source). 

Check out more Cheetah photos from the Tanzanian plains here at Explore.org. 

Cat Facts Wednesday

This gorgeous cat might be a bit big for your litter box. The Jaguarundi, also called the Weasel Cat or Puma Yagouaroundi, is a 16 pound endangered animal and member of the feline species. It can be confused with an otter, of all things, due to the shape of its head. “The jaguarundi may be found in lowland forests, scrub and chaparral of South America and North America south of the southwestern United States, where it hunts by night and by day in the afternoon, from the ground, and seeks mainly birds and the occasional rodent” (Feline Conservation). 

See more cat (large and small) photos at the Explore.org website and like us on Facebook for more cat facts and fun photos!