The American Ringtail is a new and unique breed of cat (this page was written around 2010 and has been updated Sept 2022). Founded in 1998 in the San Francisco Bay Area after a cat rescuer Susan Manley hand raised … continue reading…
I’m referring to the domestic cat. A good source on the Researchgate website, a study entitled Immune System Development in the Dog and Cat by M. J. Day published August 2007 on the Journal of Comparative Pathology, tells me that, … continue reading…
Although there isn’t a complete agreement on the percentage of left-handed (left-pawed) cats, one source states, ‘when it comes to using their paws to catch or manoeuvre something, cat are usually left-pawed or ambidextrous; only 20 per cent are right-pawed’ … continue reading…
The cat skeleton is both strong and light having evolved for speed and agility, which is demonstrated in the cat’s wonderfully graceful movements including its jumping and climbing skills. The back is highly flexible, which is geared for speed. And … continue reading…
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 … continue reading…
Domestic cats (and all wild cats bar the cheetah, flat-headed cat and serval – but see last paragraph) are known for their ‘retractable’ claws. All the experts say it online but I disagree with them. To describe the claws as … continue reading…
The feline tongue is a wonderous element of their anatomy. It can achieve a lot, thanks in part to the backward facing papillae made of keratin attached to the upper surface. These spines do a lot. Here is a list … continue reading…
A fully illustrated page on the self, tipped, shaded, smoke and ticked (tabby) cat coat hair strands and the positioning of pigmentation which is called melanin (eumelanin). Melanin is created in pigment producing cells called melanocytes in the skin. Their … continue reading…
This tabby cat sitting outside minding his own business with a nice collar and bell to help protect the birds has very interesting eyes because the pupils are triangular-shaped due to a congenital condition called coloboma. This is particularly noticeable … continue reading…
People ask “Why do domestic cats have slitted eyes?” The reasons are (a) they can use the closing of the eyelid to reduce even further the light entering the eye beyond simply closing the aperture of the pupil and (b) … continue reading…
I am proud to say that my cat has a beautiful saggy belly which gyrates from side to side when he walks as it makes contact with his hind legs. For me, it makes him look like a true wild … continue reading…
I received an email from Heather about her cat’s short, quadruple-kinked tail and as there is interesting domestic cat history about kinked and shortened tails, I thought it would be nice to discuss it! Here is Heather’s email. She lives … continue reading…
The hearing range of the domestic cat is one of the broadest among all the mammals. A study published in 1985 concluded that “the hearing range of the cat for sounds of 70 dB extends from 48 Hz to 85 … continue reading…
This is a question thrown up by the Google search engine. Cats’ whiskers do not normally break. They fall out and a replacement is grown but they don’t break unless, in an otherwise healthy cat, there are perhaps dietary problems … continue reading…
The question is inherently incorrect! Evolution dictates the length of cats’ tails and evolution is always correct in the very long-term. Tails are functional and they have to be at a certain length in order to carry out the function … continue reading…
