Cat Whiskers

Those thick hairy things that stick out of your cat’s cheek. Yes, whiskers! What are they for? Let’s find out! Whiskers Cats use their whiskers for many reasons: they give important information about their environment. They also use them to communicate their emotions, and it’s an addition to their navigation system. It’s important to never … Continue reading »

How Cats Always Land On Their Feet

We’ve seen it all before. A cat falls down from something high, turns it body and lands on its feet. But how is it possible that the cat is able to turn its body in the middle of the air when it’s falling down? How does it work? Righting Reflex That  cats are able to … Continue reading »

A Flat Iris?

Have you ever taken a closer look at your cats eyes? The front of their eyes are flat! You can especially see this if you look at your cat’s eyes from the side. The eyes are round just like us, but the iris doesn’t follow the shape, behind the transparent layer the iris is flat! … Continue reading »

Can Cats See Color?

Some say cats see only the color purple, some say they only see red. Do they see color or not, and why not? Rods Cats (and dogs too) have cells in their eyes that respond very well in bright and dim light. As you know, cats can see very well at night. Cats use cells … Continue reading »

The Brains

All senses and hormone-producing glands send signals to the brains, where they interpret the signals, before the body is controlled by the nervous system. The brains also send signals to the most important hormone-producer; the pituitary gland. Brain activity needs a big dose of energy, and even though the brains are less than one percent … Continue reading »

Eye colors & Shapes – part 3

Don’t worry, this is the last part about color variations. You can find part 1 here, and part 2 here. Color variations The eye color is genetically determined. Pigment-cells in the iris contain brown, black or yellow particles. Blue and green eyes are caused by reflection of light by different colored pigment. Blue eyes Because … Continue reading »

Eye Colors & Shapes – Part 2

You can read part 1 here. Last time I talked about eye colors, but today it will be about eye-shapes. Eye Shapes The eyes of a wild cat are oval and a bit slanted. Even though the preference of North American breeders are round, big eyes. The breeds that look the most like a wild … Continue reading »

Eye Colors & Shapes – Part 1

One of the most beautiful things of a cats are their eyes. Those intense big eyes are attractive, and a lot of breeders want specific eye colors. Eye colors Because of all the breeding a lot of eye colors are created. From blue to green and orange. The wild cat has brown to copper colored … Continue reading »

Cats & Genetics

I saw this article in one of my books, and I wanted to write about it. I left all the DNA-stuff behind because even that was confusing me. So I decided to only use the stuff that was about the genes, recessive and dominant. I’m sure you ever had this in biology-class. I admit that … Continue reading »