TIL - Cats have 32 muscles in each ear!

the-future (68)in #til • 7 years ago (edited)

Did you know that cats have been with people over 9,500 years and currently are the most popular domestic animals in the world ?

The cat skeleton is formed from 250 bones. At the head level, dentition include incisors, canines, premolars meat, but no "flat'' tooth to crush food. The cat is crushing the food with the help of powerful jaw muscles, then swallows without chewing it.

Neck vertebrae are short and the spine is very flexible. The tail has an important role in balance. Features which give the animal flexibility, and a broad expansion in jumping, are the back muscles, that are very flexible, and the fact that the hind paws muscles are very strong.

The ears muscles:

Due to the 32 muscles, each ear can pivot independently to locate the origin of noise and distance from which it originated. Because of this mobility, a cat can move its body in one direction and point its ears in another direction. When a cat is angry or frightened, it will lay back its ears to accompany the growling. Cats also turn their ears back when they are playing or are listening to a sound.

How do cats survive falls from great heights?

Image source

The body surface of a cat is very high compared to mass, which means that when a cat falls , it reaches a lower speed than other animals. The speed which touches a cat in freefall, is 97 kilometers per hour. ( for a human the speed would be 193 km per hour).

When a cat is in the air, it feels much faster where "down" is and twists the body instinctively to land on his feet. Another advantage is that cats instinctively spread their limbs falling, which slows them plunge. What makes the difference between life and death, is how cats dissipate energy as they hit the ground. When it touches the ground, the impact dissipates through the muscles, not through the bones (otherwise it would break).