General characteristics of cats and their unique adaptations
The typical domestic cat weighs between 6 and 10 pounds (2.7 to 4.5 kg), while nonpedigreed cats may go as heavy as 28 pounds (more than 12 kg).
Males average 71.1 cm (28 inches) in height, while girls average 50.8 cm (20 inches). The cat's small intestine is only roughly three times the length of the body, which is consistent with its carnivorous diet.
Cat skin, which consists of the dermis and the epidermis, heals fast and has a high resistance to infection. Cats are able to bristle all over because to the tiny erector muscles that are linked to their hair follicles.
Cats have one of the highest levels of specialization of any animal that eats meat. The size and complexity of their brains are remarkable. Digitigrade refers to a gait pattern in which the animal walks.
Cats are the only animals outside camels and giraffes that walk or sprint by moving the front and back legs on one side, then the front and back legs on the other side.
The feline frame is quite stretchy. Cats are able to perform a wide range of back flexions and extensions because their spinal vertebrae are not connected to one another by ligaments as in humans.
The cat's teeth have three distinct purposes: cutting (molars), anchoring (canines), and stabbing (canines). Cats are unable to fully chew their food because they lack the flat-crowned crushing teeth necessary to do so.
The cat's claws have an amazing mechanism that allows them to retract when they are not in use. To retract or extend the claw, the bone at the end of the toe that carries the claw is pivoted over the tip of the bone that comes next.