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Fun Cat Facts Cats truly are im-purr-essive creatures and loving companions! Expand your feline knowledge with these fun facts. Every cat has a unique nose print, just like a human fingerprint. Keeping company with a cat can improve physical and mental health by decreasing stress. A cat’s whiskers have up to 200,000 sensory receptors linked to the same part of the brain as touch. Most cats can jump more than 7 times their own height! Cats make over 90 different sounds and recognise the voices of different people in their lives. Cats have 230 to 250 bones, more than humans do! On average, cats spend 2 to 3 hours a day grooming themselves; that’s 25 to 30 per cent of their waking hours. Studies show that cat guardians have a lower risk of heart disease and stroke due to stress reduction. When cats want something, they chirrup in a similar frequency to human infant cries. A group of kittens with different mothers is called a kindle. For more information, advice and assistance on cat care and everything feline, visit www.catprotection.org.au or call us on (02) 9557 4818 readersdigest.com.au     17 Smart Animals BUBBA THE BUDGIE CLARE ELLIS Bubba, a handsome blue-and- turquoise budgie, was the best little companion I could have hoped for. At 88 years of age, I don’t plan to have any more pets, but for 12 years, Bubba and I kept each other company throughout the day. I bought him frommy local pet shop, when he was a baby; the bigger budgies were pushing him away from the seed dish and off the end of the perch – so I had to save him. I asked him his name, and he replied, “Bibbi”. I changed it to “Bubba”. He must have liked it because he learned to say it pretty quickly. I would always tell himwhat I was doing and always asked him if he liked the music I played. He would make me laugh by practising new words, and if he didn’t pronounce them correctly, he would mutter loudly, which I took to mean he was cursing himself. I left Bubba’s cage open unless he did something naughty, when I would shut him in till he behaved. It didn’t take long and he soon learned to say, “Bubba’s a good boy.” When he came out, I got lots of kisses! At bedtime I had to sing ‘Unchained Melody’ to him. He would kiss me a lot, particularly in the mornings when he would sit on my head watching the birds outside eat the food I had put out. My favourite memory is of his last Christmas in 2014. He asked, “What doing?” I told him that the following day was Christmas Day and that the decorations would cheer us up. Next morning, he was out early kissing me, and it continued all day. That night, as I put him to bed he had a very satisfied look on his face. On his last day, he clung tome and lay inmy hand for hours. I placed him on a feather duster in a small box so that he could be onmy walker tray while I cooked dinner. At bedtime, he protested when I put him in his cage, so I asked him if he wanted to stay in my bedroom – lots of kissing noises followed. So I placed him back into the box with some water and seed. After the usual songs, I told him to lie down and get comfy. In the morning he was lying down, one wing over his head. I’m sure he still visits me.