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Hide and seek pic from
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So, what do you know about your cat’s paws other than they
are cute and adorable when the razor-sharp claws are not extended and shredding
your furniture?
Chances are you never really studied how your cat walks
across the room; perhaps mistakenly thought your cat walks the same way you do? Unlike humans, our cat’s
paws were created to help her be the best carnivore predator that she can be. Cute or not, chances are you may not really
know that much about your cat’s paws; so, let's paws for a moment and talk
about these remarkable bits of cat anatomy!
The Walk
Humans tend to walk, heal to toe. Our cats are considered to be digitigrade
walkers—this means cats stands and walks on their digits, or toes. The small size of her
paws of her paw pads makes it easy for her silently stalk her
prey through all types of terrains.
Show Me Your Paws
A cat's paw pads are composed of thick skin, connective
tissue and fat. Countless nerves within the pads detect variations in the
texture and temperature of surfaces and objects. When encountering a strange
object, a cat usually touches it with a paw before deciding on a course of
action. I know you've seen yours do this many times. The skin is rough and
thick, generally about 1/20 inch, and provides a tough surface for protection
when walking and a firm grip on slippery surfaces. It creates a noiseless tread
when a cat is stalking prey.
You can test to see how sensitive your cat is to touch by
gently ticking your cat’s paw pad while she sleeps—guaranteed you’ll get some sort of response
from of your sleeping kitty if you tickle her pads! Remember, to move fast if she's irritate by your "test."
Leave Cat Card On The Table
Cats are able to announce their presence without even being
in the room. How? Well, cats have small glands that are tucked
between their paw pads that secretes an oil scent that only another cat can
smell—kind of like a cat only “calling card.”
So when your cat is scratching your furniture or window curtains, just
think, she is not only filing her nails, but she is also leaving some of her
scent behind! Oh yea!
Tiny Little Paw
Prints
Have you ever noticed that when you and your kitty are
waiting to see the vet, the bottom of your cat’s paws become a little
moist? That is because your cat has tiny
sweat glands on her paw pad. Needless to
say, those paws get real moist when the vet walks into the room with a
vaccination needle in hand—those little anxious paw glands go into overdrive as
they help keep the cat’s body temperature balanced!
A Rainbow of Paw
Colors!
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Paw Picture from Way of Cats Blog
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Look carefully at the pigment of your cat’s fur and skin—are
they the same color of your cat’s paw pads?
For the most part, they should be the same color—black cats have black
pads, grey cats have a sort of grayish colored pads, orange cats have orange
pads, and for the multi-colored cats—well, heck anything goes plus all four pads may
not be the same color!
Right? Left?
Or Both?
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| Fabulous Pet House Blog |
Is your cat a south paw or a righty paw? Cats tend to have “paw
dominance” somewhat akin to the right- and left- handedness found in humans. In
one study, researchers observed right front paw usage was observed in 20
percent of the cats while another 40 percent favored the left side. The
remaining 40 percent were ambidextrous (adept in the use of both left and right paw).
Reminder: Tootsie
Care!
The ASPCA recommends examining your cat's feet regularly for
debris and injury. In hot and cold weather, your cat's paws may need to be
moisturized, as the skin can dry out and crack, which can lead to pain and
infection. I n some long-haired cats, hair growing between the toes can be
irritating, so you may want to keep this hair trimmed for your cat’s comfort!
We hope you learned something new about your cat’s paw. If you are an expert in your cat’s paw, then
perhaps you can answer the following question (silently and to yourself
please):
What is a toe tuft? And
how many toes does your cat have? Hmmm….Thinking…. Thinking….
The answers are at the bottom of this posting!
We now paws for a commercial announcement...
Pumpkins Bash Fun!
In just 4 days we will be hosting our Fall Festive & Pumpkin Bash--and you are invited! Our Fall Festival will be held on October 28th from 11:00am - 4:00pm at In-Sync Exotics. This is another fabulous In-Sync Exotics special event as our cats just LOVE to play with their pumpkins; your kids (the human kind) will enjoy great games & prizes, get lost in a maze; have their faces painted; bounce around in the bounce house; participate in our raffle; and much, much more!
To share this information with your friends, family, and co-workers, we have created a printable flier; all you have to do is click
HERE to see and print our beautiful flier!
Okay, commercial over! Here are the answers to our two questions! According to Wikipedia:
Toe tufts are commonly found on cats with medium to long
coats. Clumps of fur that stick out at least 1-2cm beyond the paw pad can be
considered tufts. In addition to soft paw pads, toe tufts help a cat to
silently stalk its prey by muffling excess noise. However, outdoor cats tend to
lose their toe tufts due to excessive abrasion on the rougher outdoor surfaces.
This is in stark contrast to indoor cats who spend most of their time walking
on carpet or smooth floors.
Although toe tufts do not cause additional hairballs in
cats, it does make some aspects of hygiene a bit more difficult. For example,
cat litter, dirt and other particulates may stick to toe tufts and cause the
cat some discomfort. Therefore, a cat with extra-long toe tufts should be
checked regularly for tangles and taken in for grooming.
Cats have five
toes on their forefeet and four on their hind feet, reflecting their reliance
on gripping and holding down their prey with their claws. Whew! We learned a lot about cat paws today!
We hope you enjoyed today's blog posting! Be sure to check back tomorrow for more fun and informative information about our exotic cats and their friends of In-Sync Exotics! Don't forget to let us know your reaction to this posting by clicking on one of the reaction buttons below--and share this blog posting with others please ~ Thank you!
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