Felines are carnivorous feline mammals. Felines have a muscular body, a long tail to help balance, and strong and powerful limbs that are good at running, as well as sharp teeth and claws; when running, cats Their claws are extended outside the sheath, and they usually walk with their claws retracted inside the sheath, except for cheetahs; they have a pair of light-sensitive eyes, and their pupils will change when they feel different lights.
body fur
Most cats have spots, stripes, or rosettes, but some, like cougars and lions, have fur that is a single, uniform color. Individuals of some species are black or almost black.
Every time the elegant feline walks, powerful muscles flow beneath the soft, wonderful fur of her long, lithe body. And when they stop, every curve of their body bends into a graceful arc. They can therefore sometimes come across as lazy. But this impression was instantly dispelled when they flattened their ears and leapt up, baring their fangs and claws to attack.
If compared to the rest of the body, the feline head appears slightly larger. Due to its short nose and lower jaw, its face looks flatter compared to other animals, making its ears appear large and noticeable. The ears gradually decrease from the base upward, and the tips of the ears are either round or pointed, and stand upright.
Felines lack sweat glands on their body surface, and there are well-developed sweat glands between the toe pads, between the palm pads, lips, throat, nipple area and anus area. The fat glands are small and found only in the roof of the mouth. In males, it is more obvious on the foreskin of the penis and the upper part of the tail. Females have fat and sweat glands surrounding the anus. Males also have anal glands, which are mainly used to mark territory and attract the opposite sex.
Among cats, those that live in the coldest places have the longest fur (such as snow leopards). Tigers have fur that ranges in color from black to orange to white, and many species have dull fur with rosettes inside. Knots, spots and stripes serve as camouflage when searching for prey. While some morphs (pure black) are common among many species, completely white individuals are rare. Substantial color variation can occur within a single species, and newborn pups are often a different color than adults. For example, adult cougars rarely have spots, while cubs almost always have spots. Typically, a cat's ventral surface tends to be pale, while the face, tail, and back of the ears often have black or white markings.
head senses
The feline skull is characterized by a short snout and wide cheekbones, which exceeds more than half of the total length of the skull. The skull is approximately round in outline. The nasal bone is short and slope-shaped, the premaxilla is narrow, and the maxilla is high and short. The mandible is also short and the coronal process is high. The frontal bone is high, the zygomatic arch is thick, and it expands strongly to both sides to attach and accommodate the thick masticatory muscles. The short muzzle also strengthens and adapts to bite movements. Most species have large eye sockets, and the frontal and parietal bones are wider. The cranium is approximately round, with well-developed lambdoid ridges and obvious amorphous ridges. There is no sphenoid groove on the skull. The auditory bubble is high and enlarged. The tympanic bone only forms the outer edge of the auditory bubble. There is a bony septum inside, and the auditory bubble is divided into two parts: the inner and outer parts. The clavicle is small, underdeveloped, and not connected to the shoulder girdle and sternum. Male penis bone is degraded or has only traces. Females have 2-4 pairs of nipples.
Hearing: Felines have keen hearing and can hear many sounds that humans cannot hear. When a sound is heard, they usually turn their heads in the direction of the source of the sound, which aids hearing and vision. Like humans, cats' inner ears are composed of bony, lymph-filled semicircular channels that maintain body balance through a complex mechanism, and allow them to land safely when they fall through this mechanism rather than their tails.
Eyes: Feline eyes are large and protruding, located directly in front of the head, and face forward like human eyes. With the exception of owls and apes, cats have a binocular vision closer to humans than any other animal. Felines have a wide viewing angle and also have color vision. The pupils of their eyes can quickly change size under different lights, but they still cannot see objects in a completely dark environment. But in dim light, they can see better than most animals. When the light is bright, the pupils of feline eyes can shrink into narrow vertical slits or very small pupils, but when the light dims, these slits or small pupils expand to allow the maximum amount of light to enter.
Their eyes seem to glow in the dark (which also misunderstands many people). In fact, they are just reflecting light from external light sources. Therefore, it is conceivable that when there is no light, this "light" will not exists again. The serval cat's eyes look red in the dark because its retina lacks pigment, and those red colors are actually blood vessels.
Nose: The skin on the tip of a feline's nose is usually black, red, or pink, and it is usually cool and moist. All cats have a keen sense of smell and can sniff out prey or their favorite food at surprising distances.
Whiskers: Feline whiskers, or vibrissars, are sophisticated tactile organs found on either side of their noses, above their eyes, on their cheeks, and on the backs of their forelegs. If they are shaved, it will not only affect their appearance, but also impair their ability to feel.
Teeth: Feline teeth are not only used for attacking, but also for tearing food. They have 30 teeth, of which four large and sharp curved canines are the sharpest. Cats rely on these teeth to grip and tear apart their food or enemies. The smaller incisors (upper incisors) are mainly used to assist in biting, and they have fewer lateral teeth (premolars and molars) than most mammals. The lateral teeth of most mammals are used for grinding food. Felines, on the other hand, only use them to cut off food. Felines have short muzzles and tooth rows, which increases bite force. The loss or reduction of incisor teeth is especially obvious in cats. The typical tooth sequence of cats is 3/3, 1/1, 3/2, 1/1 =30. In most species, the upper premolars are significantly reduced, and in the lynx, they are completely lost.
Tongue: Feline tongues are rough. A domestic cat's tongue is like rough sandpaper. Larger wild cats, such as tigers and lions, are rougher. Their tongues are lined with barbed protrusions that allow them to strip flesh from the bones of their prey. Of course, all cats also use their tongues as their primary cleaning tool to groom their beautiful coats.
Jaws: Felines have short but very powerful jaws, capable of gripping prey with enough force to crush its bones. However, because the upper and lower jaws are connected by joints, the jaws can only move up and down but not left and right, so cats cannot grind their teeth. When cats close their jaws, their teeth fit together like interlocking gears. So cats can only tear or crush their food, but cannot chew it. As a result, much food is swallowed whole and eventually digested by gastric juices.
reproductive organs
Mating brings pain to all cats, not because of the biting but because of the penis of the male cat. The reproductive organs of the male cat are covered with densely packed small hooks (for example, the penis of a male tiger has more than a hundred hooks. Small hooks, each about one millimeter long). These little hooks are made of keratin, the tough, fibrous protein typically found in fingernails and claws. The small hook has two functions. First, the small hook can scrape off the sperm left by other males during previous matings. Second, it can also urge female cats to ovulate. The pain caused by the small hook scratching the vagina can stimulate the brain of female cats such as lionesses or female cats. The brain will secrete a special substance to promote the maturity of eggs in the ovaries. They must mate at least four times. This kind of Only when the concentration of hormones is high enough can the egg be fully matured, giving it a better chance of giving birth to a new life. Despite the painful process of mating, most cats still have active sex lives.
limbs toes and claws
Strong muscles in the legs allow cats to quickly generate power to pounce on prey, or generate huge explosive power as they chase prey. When they suddenly run, climb or jump, the knees and heels of their hind legs bend, providing tremendous strength. Their front legs are equally powerful and extremely flexible. They can extend their front legs when they are at a certain distance from the prey during the pursuit, grab the prey's body and hold it firmly.
The cat with the largest paws is the tiger, which has five toes on its front paws and four on its back paws. Their front claws are also powerful weapons for defense and hunting, making them perfect tools for climbing or standing on rickety tree trunks. Each of their toes has a claw, which grows from the last bone of the toe and is shaped like a hook. In order to ensure that these claws remain sharp and not broken during travel, and to make their steps silent, their claws are tucked under the soles of their feet most of the time. Felines also often keep these claws sharp by scratching or biting on rough surfaces. However, cheetahs are cats that cannot fully retract their sharp claws. Its claws are similar to those of canines. Because the claws are blunt and have a small curvature, they are always exposed. Under the paws of cats are plum blossom-shaped flesh pads, usually flesh-colored or black, which prevent them from making noise when walking, but they cannot walk on sharp roads, otherwise they may be punctured.
