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French
researchers claim that the domestic cat has a vocal
range of as many as sixty notes, from a gentle purr
to growls of varying intensity to the howl that sometimes
annoys the neighbors. |
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The
cats skeleton is quite close to that of the human, but
its lack of a shoulder blade allows freedom of movement
of the foreleg, which can be turned in almost any direction
and a cat also has around 290 bones and 517 separate muscles. |
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Cats
are the only four-footed animal, with the exception of
camels and giraffes, that walk by moving their front and
hind legs first on one side and then the other. Only four
cats really roar: lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars. |
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A
cats teeth, from newborn kitten to the largest lion,
are the most awesome weapons in the mammal kingdom They
are very sharp, and finely serrated like a knife. The
curved, pointed canines are set in the cats jaw so that
the molars fit together with their sides intact, like
a pair of scissors, rather than tooth to tooth, as is
the case with humans and most other mammals. |
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With
powerful leg muscles, especially in their hind legs, the
domestic cat has been known to reach running speeds of
up to twenty-five miles an hour. A frightened cat can
run up to 30 mph -- while the fastest human can only run
up to 27.89 mph. |
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Both
female and male cats reach puberty at approximately six
months of age,. Males will act more territorial, disappear
for days and spray their scent. Females will lower themselves
close to the ground and meow as if in pain when they go
into heat. |
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Domestic
cats spend about 70% of their day sleeping and 15% of
the day grooming. Non-pedigree cats generally liver longer
than pedigree cats. Cats were domesticated about 3,000
B.C. in Egypt. |
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Cats
were brought to the Americas by colonists to protect their
granaries and as pets. As settlers moved inland, cats
accompanied them. |
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"Polydactyl"
means "many toes." Perhaps the most famous polydactyl
cats were those raised by Ernest Hemingway, who had over
60 of these big-pawed charmers at his home in Key West,
descendants of a 6-toed cat given him by a sea-faring
captain. |
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It
is a common belief that cats are color blind. However,
studies have shown that cats can distinguish between red
and green; red and blue; red and gray; green and blue;
green and gray; blue and gray; yellow and blue, and yellow
and gray. |
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The
top two rows of a cat's whiskers can move independently
of the lower two rows. This allows maximum perception
of the cat's immediate surroundings. |
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The
lightness of a feline's tread can be attributed to the
fact that they walk on their toes--the soles of their
feet rarely touch the ground. The pillow-like balls of
their paws allow them to prowl noiselessly in the wild. |
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