How cats use anatomy to resolve their needs    






    Wild cats, such as the snow leopard, are some of the most graceful and elegant
    animals.  Our little pets take after their ancestors.  Cats are mammals and their
    bodies, therefore, have similarities with other mammals.  Their organs work in a
    similar way as those in humans.  
    Differing, however, are the special adaptations made for hunting mice, birds and
    small reptiles.    

    Hunting skills
    Cats are carnivores.  They can't survive without meat, regardless of their keeper's
    preferences.  They may also munch on grasses.  When they are hunting, their
    whole body is focused on the prey, with eyes fixed and ears pointed forward.  They
    crouch, creep to about six feet, freeze and hold that position for an extended
    period, while waiting for the prey to move.  Their hind legs are very muscular and
    so they can leap up from a standing position with amazing accuracy, landing
    exactly where they intended to, with no waste of energy.  
    They hunt on instinct, whether they're hungry or not.  You may get a present laid
    at your door.  
    When cats hunt, they sometimes play with their prey before eating it.  They’ll paw
    at it or toss it into the air.  They may eat one leg before they play some more.  It
    looks cruel and we don’t understand why cats do it.    
    Jumping or falling down, cats automatically turn their bodies to land on all four
    feet.  However, if a cat falls several stories from a window or tree limb, it can be
    killed.  

    Muscles and bones
    Cats can also use their strong leg muscles to run fast for short periods of time.  
    They aren’t built for endurance, but for stalking and pouncing.  They have more
    bones than a human, mostly in their extra-flexible spine and tail.  This is what
    makes it easy for the cat to walk on a narrow beam.  Their tails add balance and
    act as a counterweight.  The flexible backbone and shoulder bones let them slip
    through extraordinarily small cracks and holes.
    They run as a series of jumps, lengthening their body with each bound.  Their
    flexible shoulders swing along with their legs, giving them an extra long stride.  
    They have additional skin in front of the rear legs that enables the body to stretch.  
    In snow, their rear footprints are almost in a straight line with the front
    footprints.    

    Foot pads and claws
    Cats can hear vibrations through the pads in their feet.  This is useful for telling if
    prey are moving around in the area.  They can extend and retract their claws.  
    When walking, cats hide their claws so they can move silently.  They use their
    claws to climb up trees, but the claws are useless for getting down since they point
    in the wrong direction.  So, if it’s not too far a distance, the cat aims downward,
    stretches out and jumps away from the tree or other object.  When it jumps, he
    launches from his pads and claws.  When cats are on your lap, you will certainly
    feel their claws clamp onto you when they jump off.  
    Cats sharpen their front claws and remove the dead parts of the nail by scratching
    on scratching posts or tree bark.  They clean and refresh their hind claws with their
    teeth.
    Cats sweat only on their foot pads and use the aroma to mark their territory.  























    Mouth and teeth
    A cat's jaw muscles are particularly strong, so they can kill their prey.  Cats also
    have four long fangs for this purpose.  They pick up food with their incisors, tip their
    head to one side to grind their food with one set of molars and then tip their head
    to the other side to use the other set of molars.  

    Coat and whiskers
    Many breeds of cats have a top coat and an additional undercoat.  The tabby
    pattern on some cats is useful as camouflage outdoors.  They lick their fur to clean
    it and also to renew the insulating effect.  This also helps waterproof the fur.  Their
    rough tongue removes old hair from their fur coat.  Sometimes, cats swallow this
    and it causes a short-term obstruction in their guts.  Then the cats throw up a hair
    ball along with whatever food couldn’t pass through their stomach.  
    Even indoor cats grow more hair at the fall equinox, when days grow shorter, and
    shed more hair at the spring equinox, when days grow longer.  
    Whisker hair is thicker than the hair on their coat.  They use their whiskers to give
    them information when they maneuver in the dark.  With whiskers, even a blind cat
    can get around reasonably well.        

    Cats take cat naps frequently.  They stretch and arch their back upon waking up.  

    Pure breeds
    Various breeds have developed specific problems due to inbreeding.  For instance,
    Persians have fore-shortened noses and thus tend to develop breathing and
    dental problems.  The Rex’s coat provides less protection form heat and cold.  The
    Sphynx, which appears to have no coat, suffers even more greatly from
    temperature extremes and from sunburn.    
How Cats Use Their Anatomy