A Michael Broad Blog
All cats are digitigrade; that is, they walk on their toes. You probably know this. Incidentally, they walk with a direct register gait which means that the paw prints made by the forelegs are occupied by the paw prints made by the hind legs as the cat walks forwards. The distal phalange (phalanx) of …
The above product cost £11.99 on Amazon in the UK. My research indicates multiple benefits to cats in taking fish oil supplements but I can’t find a scientific study supporting the suggestion that is helps to stop fur shedding. However, veterinarians would probably agree that fish oil does improve the skin and helps to …
The domestic cat’s wildcat ancestor has evolved over about 2 million years. The domestic cat is almost identical to their wildcat ancestor, the North African wildcat. Two million years of evolution has created a near perfect predatory machine with beautiful anatomy, fabulous senses and hunting and jumping skills. The domestic cat is nature’s finely …
This is a cross-post with another website which happens to be dedicated to Maine Coon cats. As far as I’m concerned, it is a crying shame that this magnificent domestic cat – probably the largest domestic cat breed – is so blighted by a genetic inheritance which in 25% of adults cripples them. It …
This is super-cute Little Roo Russ. She was brought to a shelter in late April 2016. Shelter staff knew immediately that something was wrong. She was walking in a strange way and was much smaller than her siblings. They x-rayed her and found that she did not have any elbow joints. This must have …
This is an X-ray image that might interest some cat caretakers. It comes from a tweet. The owner says that his cat gets into mischief and he believes that he may have broken all four metacarpal bones of the forepaw when chasing a squirrel. He may have got his foot trapped and then pulled …
What is the sagittal crest in cats? It is a ridge running down the midline of the skull. You should be able to feel it when you stroke your cat’s head. Many carnivores have it. Its presence indicates that the jaw muscles are strong. Humans don’t have it but some individuals have a ‘sagittal …
Do cats have more bones than humans? Yes, cats have more bones than humans. In fact about 40 more bones. It is the presence of the cat’s tail which makes some of the difference (19 to 23 vertebrae). “The cat’s skeleton is made up of about 244 individual bones – approximately 40 more than …
