Below are some interesting cat facts!
Did you know?
All
cats are born blind. The ability to see comes during the first couple
of weeks after birth! Cats have rudimentary nonfunctional collar bones
that allow them to squeeze themselves through tight spaces and helps
them in their balance and stride! Cats often have a third eyelid that
is not normally visible to us. If you are seeing it more often - the
cat may be ill!
Cat
vision is similar to humans in daylight, but they can see six times
better than us in dim light - owing to larger pupils and the ability to
gather light at the back of the eye owing to a reflective retinal
surface! Field of vision in cats is slightly compromised for a more
binocular vision, that grants them greater depth perception and ability
to judge their prey's position more precisely for pouncing upon them in
high speed pursuits!
Cats'
sense of smell is fourteen times stronger than ours - this means they
can smell the odour in the litter box much earlier than us! Cats'
hearing is also very good. They are able to hear sounds of higher pitch
than us and dogs. Thirty two individual muscles in their ears allow
them to pinpoint the exact location of a source of sound!
The
individual positioning of whiskers is unique to all cats - they are
like finger prints. Whiskers also allow cats to feel their way in
extreme dark and since their span, when fully erect, is nearly equal to
cats' body width - it allows cats to judge whether a space or passage
is too narrow for them! Whiskers also are usually indicative of cat
behavior. Erect, forward pointing whiskers indicate that the cat is
excited, animated. Whereas laid back whiskers are often seen in
resting, defensive conditions!
Cats have sharp pointed teeth that
are built for killing prey by suffocation/severing of spine. A cat's
teeth are its greatest asset in the wild. In proportion to body size,
the elusive Clouded Leopard has the longest canines in the family
felidae, whereas the Jaguar has the strongest jaws - I have seen it
bite through the shell of turtles in documentaries! Cats have more
spines than us since they also have spines in their tail. Next time you
see a kid pulling a cat's tail - stop him - since it hurts. Their
vertebrae are also more loosely connected to each other than ours,
allowing them great flexibility!
Flexibility
of the spine is highlighted in the Cheetah - the fastest land mammals.
With big adrenals, flexible spine and a rudder-like tail, Cheetah can
outpace everything on African savanna! Tiger is the largest feline on
earth. An adult Siberian tiger may weigh up to eight hundred pounds and
is one of the top predators on earth. Tigers are excellent swimmers and
are in fact the only cat who seem to enjoy stepping in water (the
Jaguar in Americas frequently go into water to hunt baby alligators and
anacondas)!
Lion
is the only cat that lives in groups, called prides. The only social
cat, family life gives lions edge over other felids by virtue of their
cooperative hunting! Leopards are highly secretive and are perhaps the
best tree climbers and individual hunters amongst big cats. Black
leopards are called panthers!
The author is a blogger about cats and an expert on interesting cat facts.
