Cat Idiosyncrasies
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The cat's clavicle, or collarbone, does not connect with other bones but
is buried in the muscles of the shoulder region. This lack of a
functioning collarbone allows them to fit through any opening the size
of their head.
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A cat has more bones than a human; humans have 206, but the cat has 230
(some cites list 245 bones, and state that bones may fuse together as
the cat ages).
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Cats have 30 vertebrae (humans have 33 vertebrae during early
development; 26 after the sacral and coccygeal regions fuse)
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The cat has 500 skeletal muscles (humans have 650).
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Cats have 32 muscles that control the outer ear (compared to human's 6
muscles each). A cat can rotate its ears independently
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Cats' hearing is much more sensitive than humans and dogs.
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Cats' hearing stops at 65 kHz (kilohertz); humans' hearing stops at 20
kHz.
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A cat sees about 6 times better than a human at night, and needs 1/6 the
amount of light that a human does - it has a layer of extra reflecting
cells which absorb light.
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Recent studies have shown that cats can see blue and green. There is
disagreement as to whether they can see red.
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A cat's field of vision is about 200 degrees.
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Unlike humans, cats do not need to blink their eyes on a regular basis
to keep their eyes lubricated.
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Blue-eyed, pure white cats are frequently deaf.
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It may take as long as 2 weeks for a kitten to be able to hear well.
Their eyes usually open between 7 and 10 days, but sometimes it happens
in as little as 2 days.
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Cats can judge within 3 inches the precise location of a sound being
made 1 yard away.
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Cats can be right-pawed or left-pawed.
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A cat cannot see directly under its nose. A cat has two vocal chords,
and can make over 100 sounds.
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Both humans and cats have identical regions in the brain responsible for
emotion.
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A cat's brain is more similar to a man's brain than that of a dog.
Almost 10% of a cat's bones are in its tail, and the tail is used to
maintain balance.
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The domestic cat is the only species able to hold its tail vertically
while walking. You can also learn about your cat's present state of mind
by observing the posture of his tail.
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If a cat is frightened, the hair stands up fairly evenly all over the
body; when the cat is threatened or is ready to attack, the hair stands
up only in a narrow band along the spine and tail.
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A cat has approximately 60 to 80 million olfactory cells (a human has
between 5 and 20 million).
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Cats have a special scent organ located in the roof of their mouth,
called the Jacobson's organ. It analyzes smells - and is the reason why
you will sometimes see your cat "sneer" (called the flehmen response or
flehming) when they encounter a strong odor.
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Cats dislike citrus scent.
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A cat has a total of 24 whiskers, 4 rows of whiskers on each side. The
upper two rows can move independently of the bottom two rows.
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Cats have 30 teeth (12 incisors, 10 premolars, 4 canines, and 4 molars),
while dogs have 42. Kittens have baby teeth, which are replaced by
permanent teeth around the age of 7 months.
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A cat's jaw has only up and down motion; it does not have any lateral,
side to side motion, like dogs and humans.
v A cat's tongue has tiny barbs on it
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Cats lap liquid from the underside of their tongue, not from the top.
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Cats purr at the same frequency as an idling diesel engine, about 26
cycles per second.
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Domestic cats purr both when inhaling and when exhaling.
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A cat has two vocal chords, and can make over 100 sounds
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The cat's front paw has 5 toes, but the back paws have 4.
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Cats walk on their toes.
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A domestic cat can sprint at about 31 miles per hour.
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A kitten will typically weigh about 3 ounces at birth.
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The typical housecat will weigh between 6 and 9 pounds.
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Cats take between 20-40 breaths per minute.
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Normal body temperature for a cat is 102 degrees F.
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A cat's normal pulse is 140-240 beats per minute, with an average of
195.
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Cat's urine glows under a black light.
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Cats lose almost as much fluid in the saliva while grooming themselves
as they do through urination.