These cat trivia questions come in five rounds of 16: the house cat's body and senses, what its behavior means, cats in history, wild cats from lion to sand cat, and cat words, coats and breeds.
Read the full guide
Five rounds for cat people
What cat behavior means covers the slow blink, the upright tail, bunting and kneading. Cats in history runs from the Near East of 7500 BCE to the first cat in space. Wild cats leans on the Smithsonian's National Zoo: the cat that swims, the cat that climbs down headfirst, the cat that goes weeks without water.
Quiz a table or yourself
Tap a choice to check it; the reason and the page it came from appear with the answer. See all 80 with answers shows the full list, and Scored round asks 20 before it marks any.
Tips
Cat words, coats and breeds is the hard round: gib, grimalkin, ailurophile and the Manx word rumpy.
Questions and answers
What are some easy cat trivia questions?
On which part of its feet does a cat walk? What letter marks a tabby's forehead? Why were cats taken aboard ships? The answers are its toes, the letter M and to control rodents.
What is a group of cats called?
A clowder. A female cat is a queen and a neutered male is a gib; the words round asks all three.
Why can't cats taste sweet things?
House cats and wild cats share a change in one taste receptor gene that keeps their sweet taste buds from binding to sugars. A cat has about 470 taste buds; a human tongue has more than 9,000.
How were the answers checked?
Each was read on October 2, 2026 on the page linked under it: the Smithsonian's National Zoo for ten wild cat questions, Wikipedia for most others and Wiktionary for five words. Care, feeding and health advice are left out.
A cat can pass through any space big enough for which part of its body?Answer: Its head. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
About how long after birth do kittens open their eyes?Answer: Seven to ten days. Source: Wikipedia: Kitten
About how many taste buds does a cat have?Answer: 470. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
At what age does the righting reflex begin to appear in kittens?Answer: 3 to 4 weeks. Source: Wikipedia: Cat righting reflex
The house cat is the only domesticated species of which animal family?Answer: Felidae. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
How do cats save energy?Answer: By sleeping more than most animals. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
Most cats have how many claws on each front paw?Answer: Five. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
On which part of its feet does a cat walk?Answer: Its toes. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
What does a polydactyl cat have?Answer: More toes than usual. Source: Wikipedia: Polydactyl cat
What is the fundamental frequency of a cat's purr?Answer: Around 25 hertz. Source: Wikipedia: Purr
What is the reflective layer behind a cat's retina called?Answer: The tapetum lucidum. Source: Wikipedia: Cat senses
What is the scientific name of the house cat?Answer: Felis catus. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
What is the scientific word for whiskers?Answer: Vibrissae. Source: Wikipedia: Whiskers
Where is a cat's vomeronasal organ, also called Jacobson's organ?Answer: In the roof of the mouth. Source: Wikipedia: Cat senses
Which sounds can a cat hear that a person cannot?Answer: Sounds too faint or too high in pitch. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
Which two features let a falling cat twist in the air to land on its feet?Answer: A very flexible backbone and no working collarbone. Source: Wikipedia: Cat righting reflex
What cat behavior means 16
A cat wrinkles its muzzle, lowers its chin and lets its tongue hang. What is it doing?Answer: Opening the way to its scent organ. Source: Wikipedia: Cat senses
About how many hours a day does a cat usually sleep?Answer: 12 to 16. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
About what share of cats are strongly attracted to catnip?Answer: About two-thirds. Source: Wikipedia: Catnip
At which stage of life do cats mainly knead?Answer: As kittens. Source: Wikipedia: Kneading (cats)
The cat is a social species. How does it hunt?Answer: Alone. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
Kneading is often a sign that a cat is about to do what?Answer: Sleep. Source: Wikipedia: Cat behavior
Kneading, when a cat pushes its front paws in and out, has which nickname?Answer: Making biscuits. Source: Wikipedia: Kneading (cats)
Purring and trilling are sounds a cat makes with its mouth in which position?Answer: Closed. Source: Wikipedia: Cat communication
To some extent, a house cat may adapt its sleep to what?Answer: Its owner's sleeping pattern. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
What do cats tend to do with their droppings?Answer: Bury them. Source: Wikipedia: Cat behavior
What does a slow blink from a cat show?Answer: Trust and affection. Source: Wikipedia: Cat communication
What does a tail held straight up generally show?Answer: Happiness or confidence. Source: Wikipedia: Cat communication
What is it called when a cat bumps you with the front of its head?Answer: Bunting. Source: Wikipedia: Cat communication
When a cat kneads, how often does it switch paws?Answer: Every one to two seconds. Source: Wikipedia: Kneading (cats)
Which chemical in catnip draws cats to the plant?Answer: Nepetalactone. Source: Wikipedia: Catnip
Which sound do cats rarely use with other cats?Answer: The meow. Source: Wikipedia: Cat communication
Cats in history 16
The first American cat show, in 1895, was put on in which town?Answer: New York City. Source: Wikipedia: Cat show
From which wild species does the pet cat descend?Answer: The African wildcat. Source: Wikipedia: African wildcat
In ancient Egypt, cats were praised for killing rodents, crop-eating birds and which other animals?Answer: Venomous snakes. Source: Wikipedia: Cats in ancient Egypt
In which decade did breeders begin developing the hairless Sphynx?Answer: The 1960s. Source: Wikipedia: Sphynx cat
In which region did the domestication of the cat start, around 7500 BCE?Answer: The Near East. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
Many-toed cats are nicknamed after which writer, who kept a collection of them?Answer: Ernest Hemingway. Source: Wikipedia: Polydactyl cat
On which island did the tailless Manx cat originate?Answer: The Isle of Man. Source: Wikipedia: Manx cat
Trim, a ship's cat, sailed with Matthew Flinders around which land from 1801 to 1803?Answer: Australia. Source: Wikipedia: Trim (cat)
What color are Siamese kittens at birth?Answer: Cream to white. Source: Wikipedia: Siamese cat
What was Félicette, in October 1963?Answer: The first cat launched into space. Source: Wikipedia: Félicette
Where did the first cat show take place, in 1871?Answer: At the Crystal Palace in London. Source: Wikipedia: Cat show
Where was it long thought that the domestication of the cat began?Answer: Ancient Egypt. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
Which breed is the official state cat of Maine?Answer: The Maine Coon. Source: Wikipedia: Maine Coon
Which British artist, called the Father of the Cat Fancy, organized that first show?Answer: Harrison Weir. Source: Wikipedia: Harrison Weir
Which Egyptian goddess, shown with a cat-like head, had cats pictured with her name?Answer: Bastet. Source: Wikipedia: Cats in ancient Egypt
Why were cats taken aboard ships?Answer: To control rodents. Source: Wikipedia: Ship's cat
Wild cats, from lion to sand cat 16
A lion pride is built around which animals?Answer: Related females. Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo: Lion
A lion's roar carries about how far?Answer: Up to five miles. Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo: Lion
The clouded leopard is one of only two cats that can do what?Answer: Climb down trees headfirst. Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo: Clouded leopard
For how long can a sand cat go without drinking water?Answer: Weeks at a time. Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo: Sand cat
Unlike many cats, what does the fishing cat readily do?Answer: Swim. Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo: Fishing cat
What is the most common call of the cheetah?Answer: A chirp. Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo: Cheetah
What kind of claws does a cheetah have?Answer: Blunt and semi-retractable. Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo: Cheetah
What protects a sand cat's feet from hot and cold ground?Answer: Dense hair and pads on the soles. Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo: Sand cat
Which big cat is a powerful swimmer that crosses rivers five miles wide?Answer: The tiger. Source: Wikipedia: Tiger
Which cat can leap higher than three meters and catch birds in midair?Answer: The caracal. Source: Wikipedia: Caracal
Which cat has the longest canine teeth for the size of its skull?Answer: The clouded leopard. Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo: Clouded leopard
Which cat has the longest legs for its body size?Answer: The serval. Source: Wikipedia: Serval
Which cat holds a record for having the most names, over 40 in English alone?Answer: The cougar. Source: Wikipedia: Cougar
Which is the only living big cat of the genus Panthera native to the Americas?Answer: The jaguar. Source: Wikipedia: Jaguar
Which mountain cat cannot roar?Answer: The snow leopard. Source: Wikipedia: Snow leopard
Which wild cat of North America has ear tufts, a facial ruff and a bobbed tail?Answer: The bobcat. Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo: Bobcat
Cat words, coats and breeds 16
A tabby cat has a marking on its forehead in the shape of which letter?Answer: M. Source: Wikipedia: Tabby cat
Calico cats are almost always what?Answer: Female. Source: Wikipedia: Calico cat
Manul is another name for Pallas's cat. From which language does it come?Answer: Mongolian. Source: Wikipedia: Pallas's cat
On the Isle of Man, what is a rumpy?Answer: A Manx cat with no tail. Source: Wikipedia: Manx cat
To caterwaul is to do what?Answer: Cry like a cat. Source: Wiktionary: caterwaul
What is a female cat called?Answer: A queen. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
What is a grimalkin?Answer: A cat, especially an old female. Source: Wiktionary: grimalkin
What is a group of cats called?Answer: A clowder. Source: Wiktionary: clowder
What is a moggy?Answer: A cat that was not bred on purpose. Source: Wikipedia: Moggy
What is a neutered male cat called?Answer: A gib. Source: Wikipedia: Cat
What is a road cat's eye?Answer: A reflector set into the road. Source: Wikipedia: Cat's eye (road)
What is a tigon?Answer: The cub of a male tiger and a lioness. Source: Wikipedia: Liger
What is an ailurophile?Answer: A cat lover. Source: Wiktionary: ailurophile
What kind of game is cat's cradle?Answer: A string game. Source: Wikipedia: Cat's cradle
What was the original form of the proverb 'curiosity killed the cat'?Answer: Care killed the cat. Source: Wikipedia: Curiosity killed the cat
The word catkin, a fluffy flower spike, comes from Middle Dutch for what?Answer: Little cat. Source: Wiktionary: catkin
How this list was compiled
Written for this site; nothing was copied from another list. Questions and wrong choices are our own. Each explanation restates, in our own sentences, facts from the page named and linked beside it. Each answer was checked on 2026-10-02 against that page, fetched that day: six animal pages of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (https://nationalzoo.si.edu: sand cat, cheetah, lion, clouded leopard, fishing cat and bobcat) for 10 of the 80 questions; the English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org, text under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license) for most of the rest, and Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org) for five word questions. Left out on purpose: feeding, health and care advice of any kind, the claims of breed registries, and counts that change, such as how many pet cats a country has. A story that has no firm evidence behind it is not asked as fact. Levels are our estimate: easy is fair for any table, medium suits people who live with a cat, hard will stump most of them. Each round is stored easiest first, and each question carries the date its page was read. Licence: own work