If you're as nuts about cats as I am, you've probably found the cat to be a fascinating study in contradictions. They're immaculate creatures who groom themselves incessantly, yet they will spray your drapes with strong-smelling urine, and feel pride, rather than shame, with the result. Tiger will turn his back on you in a snit, and a few minutes later will be wrapping himself around your leg, purring and rubbing his face on your ankle. He'll daintily eat his food with his tail wrapped demurely around his body, then trot into the bathroom to drink out of the toilet.
Let's take a look at some of the cleverly designed parts that make up a cat, and how these parts collectively work together in making the cat such a superior animal. If you have any doubts about his superiority after reading this article, just ask him. He'll tell you.
The Flehman Response
All felines have a special organ at the top of their mouth called the vomeronasal or Jacobson's Organ. That "James Cagney" look you sometimes see on your cat when his upper lip lifts and his nostrils twitch is called the Flehman Response, or just plain Flehman and he's using his Jacobson's Organ to sniff out something: a potential mate (a female in oestrus), a strange cat in his territory, or an unusual odor. (Cats aren't the only animals with a Jacobson's Organ. They're also found in snakes and some bats, as well as other mammals.)
You'll notice cats working their nostrils continually. Ever watch a cat covering his poop in the litter box? He will dig, cover, sniff, dig and cover some more until he's satisfied it is covered completely. This is an instinctive need cats have to cover their trail from predators. The first thing a cat will do upon meeting another cat is to sniff out his identity - usually the butt-end first, because that's the end that does the trail marking.
Those Magical Whiskers
If you thought cats only had whiskers on their upper lip, look again. Those extra strong hairs are called vibrissae, or tactile hairs, and you'll see them above the eyebrows, way back on the cheeks, and shorter ones on the backs of the front legs. They are at least twice as thick as the cat's ordinary hair, with roots that go three times deeper, surrounded by nerves and blood vessels. Vibrissae should never be trimmed. A cat's whiskers are so sensitive that they can feel the slightest whisper of a breeze.
Whiskers are used by cats as locators, by judging how wide an opening is before entering. A cat's whiskers are roughly as wide as his body, so they're a useful measuring tool. They are also used in keeping track of prey, such as a mouse kitty has just caught. You can also learn a lot about two cats' interaction by observing their whisker signals. If they are pushed forward, they usually indicate friendliness or inquisitiveness. Pulled back, they signal defensive hostility or aggression.
Chitter-Chatter. What's the Matter?
Ever see a cat zeroing in on a bird he sees through the window? Suddenly there's a great deal of clicking of teeth, sometimes combined with an ack-ack gutteral noise that you've never before heard your cat make. This behavior is called "chattering" and it even has the experts stumped. Perhaps it's nothing but frustration, as the cat obviously would like to make a meal of the bird. Sometimes they actually salivate while carrying on, so this explanation could be a good guess.
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