Movements and Special Senses of Cats

Movements and special senses of cats are jumping and leaping, climbing, running, pouncing, righting reflex, sharp vision, acute hearing, sensitive whiskers (vibrissae), strong sense of smell, excellent equilibrium, etc.

Cats possess remarkable agility and flexibility, allowing them to perform a wide range of movements with precision.

Their skeletal structure is highly flexible spine and powerful muscles, enables them to leap great distances, twist mid-air, and land on their feet with the help of the righting reflex.

Their retractable claws aid in climbing and gripping surfaces securely. Special senses further enhance their movements, as their keen eyesight allows them to detect motion even in low light, while their highly sensitive whiskers (vibrissae) help them navigate tight spaces and sense vibrations in the environment.

Paws and Claws

The cat‘s feet are digitigrade, that it walks on its toes. The cat has five claws on the front paws and four claws on the back paws.

Although these claws are referred to as “retractile”, they are actually “protractile” meaning that the claws are sheathed in the resting state like the nail of dogs.

Each claw is attached to the final portion on its associated phalange and is controlled by a ligament that connects the middle and distal phalanxes. The cat‘s claws are sheathed when the ligament is tightened.

Movement

In addition to the walk, trot, gallop, cat also excel at stalking, jumping, pouncing and climbing. They can jump up to 5 feet and are adept climber.

Another aspect of the cat‘s sense of balance is its well known ability to right itself when falling.

Vision

The cat‘s eyes are specialized to detect movement and for maximum efficiency under conditions of dim light.

Anatomically, the cat has a very large eye relative to body size, and the eyes are set well forward on the head. This provides a very wide field of binocular vision of approximately 120°

The cat has a much lower density of cones in the retina, tat react to light waves within the green and blue regions of the light spectrum.

Olfactory

Cat has about 200 million scent receptors in the nose, slightly higher than dogs (human posses 5 million)

Cat posses vomeronasal organ (Jacobson‘s organ) fond in the roof of the mouth and is comprises of pair of small fluid filled sacs.

This organ involved in feline courtship and sexual behaviour and in the ability of an individual to identify and recognize other cats and people.

The characteristic behaviour “Flehmen” response is also exhibited by cats during courtship.

Auditory

Cat can detect sounds within a very wide range and very high frequencies.

Human can hear up to 20000 cycles per second, cats can detect sounds as high as 60000 to 80000 cycles per second.

Vibrissae

Other sensory organs fond o the surface of the cat‘s body are the vibrissae (whiskers), which are very thick, long, stiff hair fond on the muzzle and above the eyes.

Another set of sensitive hairs, called carpal hairs are found on the back of the front wrist.

Both the vibrissae and the carpal hairs are sensitive to air currents and provide sensory information about the precise position of the head and legs.

This aids in movement in the dim light. The whiskers also function to protect the face and eyes by conveying information about objects close to the face.