We love our cats. They warm our laps and purr in contentment when we pet them or scratch under their chin. Did you know they have some amazing attributes?
1. Super Sight – Cats have excellent night vision. On the back of each retina are mirror-like cells which catch and reflect back light. They have a third, opaque eyelid that can moisten and clean dust from the eyes.
2. Excellent Ears – The ears on a cat can rotate almost 180 degrees in either direction like two mini satellite dishes to listen to the world around them. They can hear approximately five times farther than a human. Inside the ear is the vestibular apparatus. By equalizing the shift in the liquid-filled canals, a cat can tell which direction is up or down. This is a big factor for why cats almost always land on their feet.
3. Wonderful Whiskers - A cat’s whiskers help with navigation and judging the distance between two objects. They also register changes in air currents. A cat has full control of its whiskers and can move them independently to touch an object or fold them back to keep them out of the food dish.
4. Fantastic Flexibility – Cats have five more vertebrae than humans do. Between each vertebrae is a thick, flexible disc of fibrocartilage. Rather than a stationary collarbone, the shoulder bones of a cat are held to the body by muscle only. This, along with a “floating” clavicle, is one of the reasons that cats can squeeze themselves through impossibly small spaces.
Gypsy on her favorite perch
5. Terrific Tails – The tail acts as a counterbalance, allowing the cat to perform great acrobatic feats such as running along the top of a chair back and split-second turns.
Cats aren’t ordinary pets at all. I think of them more like creatures with super powers or ninja-like abilities. No wonder there are jokes about cats taking over the world! Good thing humans are still ahead with the whole opposable thumbs thing.
Related Posts:
{ 1 trackback }
{ 0 comments… add one now }