Graceful and flexible, magnificent hunters, gentle pets - all these are cats, the very perfection created by nature. Their physical abilities are amazing - cats have no equal in jumping, in the ability to balance and the ability to crawl into narrow holes. This mobility is explained by the structure of the cat's body, its anatomical features. The skeleton of cats has 40 bones more than the human. Most of the cat's bones are connected to each other with the help of cartilage, which ensures their mobility.
The structure of the skeleton of a cat
Cats have a very flexible and mobile spine. The skeleton of cats has 7 cervical vertebrae, 13 thoracic, 7 lumbar, 3 sacral and caudal vertebrae, the number of which varies depending on the breed. The cervical vertebrae have a specific structure, allowing the cat to turn its head 180 degrees. Nine pairs of ribs connect to the sternum with cartilage, and four pairs of ribs are free. The front legs of cats do not have a strong connection with the skeleton, since their collarbones are very small bones, unable to bear the load. Connective tissue and muscles covering the bones of the forelimbs take over this function. Due to this structure of the forelimbs, cats are able to compress the body to crawl into a narrow hole. It also helps to group the body during landing from a great height, as if “springing” with the front paws and not injuring the bones of the limbs.
Since the skeleton of cats has a narrow chest, when walking cats put their paws in almost the same line. This gives them a huge advantage - few animals are able to be tightrope walkers, and cats can easily walk along narrow surfaces. The pelvic bones of a cat are more developed than the sternum, since they have more stress. This explains the ability to jump high from a standstill and gain explosive speed. After all, a cat can jump to a height exceeding 5 times its height. On the hind limbs they have 4 fingers, on the front - 5 fingers. Animals have the ability to retract their claws, which no mammal can do.
The skeleton of cats differs from the skeletons of other animals in the shape of a skull. It has equally developed facial and brain parts. The front is not as elongated as in dogs. And the main difference is the huge eye sockets. Big eyes indicate that cats are night hunters, they can see perfectly in the dark.
Cat jointsYou can understand the nature of their flexibility and mobility by studying the skeleton of a cat. A photo of the spine allows you to see its elasticity and flexibility, achieved due to the structural features of the joints, which serve to connect one bone to another. The ends of the bones entering the joint are coated to reduce cartilage friction. If the joint is simple, the bones in it move in one plane, and if it is multiaxial, spherical, then the bones move in a circle. Together they are held by ligaments and tendons. When the ligaments break, the bones depart from each other and a joint dislocation is formed .