9/87Percentage of cat owners who say they confide in their cats about important matters: 57

Compendium on Continuing Education for the Practicing Veterinarian (Lawrenceville, N.J.)

8/88Chances that an adult will die after a fall from six stories: 9 in 10

Robert Dernling and Kenneth Warner, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston)

    Chances that a cat will: 1 in 10

C.J. Mehlhoff and W.O. Whitney, Animal Medical Center (N.Y.C.)

7/89Rank of dog, cat, snake, and U.S. president, among World Book Encyclopedia entries consulted most often: 1,2,3,4

World Book Encyclopedia (Chicago)

8/89Ratio of American children to American cats and dogs: 1:2

U.S. Bureau of the Census/Pet Food Institute (Washington)

3/90Estimated number of pounces it takes a cat to catch a rodent: 3

Dennis Turner, Zoology Institute, University of Zurich

9/90Federal housing funds spent by New Jersey’s Passaic Housing Authority in 1988 and 1989 to feed stray cats: $14,865

Pat Gilbert, The Record (Hackensack, N.J.)

4/91Number of cats the U.S. Army has shot in the head since 1983 in order to research battlefield injuries: 648

U.S. General Accounting Office

5/92Price of Video Catnip, a 25-minute video of birds, squirrels, and chipmunks, from Pet Avision: $19.95

Pet Avision (Morgantown, W. Va.)

1/93Number of the four cats who have lived in the White House since 1933 that were owned by Republicans: 1

Presidential Pets, by Niall Kelly (Abbeville Press, N.Y.C.)/Harper’s research

8/93Number of American cats fitted with pacemakers last year: 800

American Animal Hospital Association (Denver)

10/94Number of stories a New York City cat fell last June without sustaining serious injury: 46

Erin McGrath, Animal Medical Center (N.Y.C.)

    Average number of stories a cat must fall before reaching its maximum falling velocity of 60 miles per hour: 5

Erin McGrath, Animal Medical Center (N.Y.C.)

6/97Portion of Tanzania’s lion population lost to canine distemper since 1994: 1/3

National Cancer Institute (Frederick, Md.)

12/01Minimum number of cats fitted with high-tech listening equipment in a 1967 CIA project: 1

Victor Marchetti (Vienna, Va.)

    Estimated number of minutes after the cat was released on its first test run that it was killed by a taxi: 10

Victor Marchetti (Vienna, Va.)

1/05Total number of cats that entered the Cat Fanciers’ Association 2004 “Best Cat in Championship” competition: 31,899

Cat Fanciers’ Association (Manasquan, N.J.)

    Points by which a cat named Colin Powell defeated the runner-up: 114.35

Cat Fanciers’ Association (Manasquan, N.J.)