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 …
NO, not NORMALLY is the answer to the question in the title but there are exceptions. The paws of the hind legs are almost always out of bounds in my experience. More so than the forepaws. But after living with my cat for around 8 years and developing an ever-closer relationship, he likes me …
This is a hugely debated topic on the internet and has been for years so nothing new here except this is a free-to-use infographic covering the main points. For me the last point in the infographic is the most important. When the family cat destroys a favorite armchair, I understand the consternation. It is …
Well, I love cats’ paws. As I say in the infographic they are deadly and delightful. They are soft and gentle when at rest but deadly when the cat wants to use their claws because it happens so fast and the claws are so damned sharp as they are sharpened all the time by …
Here are 12 facts about the digitigrade foot posture of cats. Yes, most cat owners realise that their cats walk on their toes but if you were unsure, now you know 😃. There are three categories of foot posture (item 8 below). When cats walk, they have a direct register cat gait – the …
A search for cat paw prints can mean one of two things: a search for clip art of paw prints and/or a cat’s tracks left in sand, earth or snow and sometimes rock! Consequently, I cover both topics on this page. Clip art Below I present a piece a clip art that I have …
The answer is in the illustration: polydactyl cat. As you see it is quite a popular search term on Google. So what is the origin of the word ‘polydactyl’? Well, you probably know that ‘poly’ means many and ‘dactyl’ means digit or finger, or in the case of cats ‘toes’. The record-holding cat for …
This picture of a paw print in snow from the forepaw of a domestic cat tells a story but what is the story? A picture is worth a thousand words, they say but what are those words? Pictures can mislead and they can tell the truth. They can get at the truth or they …
Note: Some older videos on this page were hosted on Vimeo. That account has now been retired, so a few video blocks may appear blank. Thanks for understanding — there’s still plenty of cat content to enjoy!