Cat Family

C

Coloration and Fur

Male and female cats of the same species typically have the same coloring and fur pattern. A striking exception is the male lion, which develops a mane of long dark hair around its face and neck in adulthood. Cats that live in cold environments typically have longer and thicker fur. The longest fur is found in snow leopards. Some species such as the lynx grow longer fur in winter.

Spotted patterns can provide camouflage in many environments, allowing a predator to blend in with leafy plants, dappled shadows, and thick stands of grass. Many cats have coats that are mainly brown, yellow, or gray, often with white underbellies. The cubs of many species of cats have spotted coats, which helps hide them in grass and underbrush from predators.

Adult cats that have mainly spotted patterns in their fur include cheetahs, leopards, clouded leopards, jaguars, ocelots, margays, Geoffroy’s cat, and servals. Single color coats are found in lions, pumas, and jaguarundis. Some individuals among leopards and jaguars, and more rarely in other species, may have all black fur, a trait known as melanism. Tigers are the only cats with striped fur, a pattern their cubs show at birth. As a result of selective breeding by humans, the domestic cat has the widest range of fur colors of all cats.

D

Senses

D

1

Eyesight

Members of the cat family have very large eyes that face forward to provide overlapping fields of vision. This arrangement gives cats the best binocular vision of any mammal carnivore, with excellent depth perception and ability to judge distances when leaping. Cats also have a wide field of peripheral vision, allowing them to see to the side as they stare forward. In smaller cats, the pupil of the eye is a slit, permitting rapid adjustments to many light conditions. Larger members of the cat family such as lions, leopards, and tigers have round pupils.

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All cats have excellent night vision, estimated to be six times more sensitive than in humans. Their eyes contain millions of rods (rod-shaped cells), which can detect shapes and details of objects—but not color—in low-light conditions. Cats also have a special light-reflecting structure beneath the retina called the tapetum lucidum, which makes objects appear brighter at night. This feature makes their eyes appear to glow when caught in a direct beam of light. Cats can also see colors in daylight with a patch of cone cells at the center of the retina. However, most cats are thought to see fewer colors than humans do, limited mainly to green and blue. Cats also have a special transparent “third eyelid” called a nictitating membrane to protect the eye from damage.

D

2

Hearing

Members of the cat family have acute hearing that ranges into ultrasonic frequencies well beyond the human threshold. A number of cat species that mainly live in open rather than forest environments also have special middle-ear structures to help detect low frequency sounds. The outer ears of cats can move independently to pinpoint the direction of faint sounds. Servals have the largest ears of all cats in proportion to body size.

D

3

Whiskers

Cats have special sense-organ hairs called whiskers or vibrissae. These long, thick, somewhat stiff hairs are extremely sensitive to touch and can even detect tiny air currents. They are found mainly on the muzzle, but are also present on the chin, the cheeks, around the eyes, and on the wrists of the forelegs. Members of the cat family use their whiskers to hunt at night and to help position captured prey for a death bite on the throat.

D

4

Smell

Members of the cat family are thought to have a less acute sense of smell than do members of the dog family. Smell probably takes a minor role in hunting compared to hearing and vision. Nonetheless, smell plays a crucial role in social behavior among cats. Cats have scent glands on their cheeks, paws, and tails. They also have anal sacs and use their urine and feces to carry their personal scents as well. Cats mark claims to particular territories using their urine or feces, and by rubbing with their scent glands on trees, plants, or rocks.

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