🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

Beyond taurine and arginine, cats depend on several other nutrients in preformed, animal-derived forms, and this overview reviews them. Cats have a limited ability to synthesise niacin from tryptophan…

Cats have whiskers beyond the muzzle, and this overview reviews these often-overlooked vibrissae and their roles. Carpal whiskers on the back of the forelegs may help detect and orient struggling prey…

Cats are strict, or obligate, carnivores, and this overview reviews what that means metabolically and why it sets cats apart. Through evolutionary specialisation on a meat diet, cats have lost or redu…

Cats cool themselves differently from humans, and this overview reviews their reliance on panting and limited sweating. Lacking extensive sweat glands over the body, cats have sweat glands mainly on t…

Blood flow to the skin and extremities is a key thermoregulatory tool, and this overview reviews its role in cats. By adjusting circulation to the paws, ears, and other peripheral areas, cats can shed…

A cat external ears, or pinnae, swivel independently, and this overview reviews how this mobility sharpens sound localisation. Each pinna can rotate widely, funnelling sound and helping pinpoint a sou…

Cats fuel themselves chiefly with protein and fat, and this overview reviews how they use these substrates in feeding and fasting. With limited reliance on carbohydrate, cats draw energy from dietary…

Cat eyes adjust to enormous changes in light, and this overview reviews the dynamics of pupil constriction and dilation and the optics of a large aperture. A widely dilating pupil gathers abundant lig…

Producing concentrated urine conserves water, and this overview reviews the kidney function that supports desert cats. Like other arid-adapted mammals, desert cats are thought to produce highly concen…

Cat retinas are rich in rod photoreceptors, the cells specialised for dim-light vision, and this overview reviews how this composition shapes feline sight. A high rod-to-cone ratio, combined with conv…

Small cats seem to out-jump big cats relative to their size, and this overview reviews how jumping ability scales across the felid family. Physical principles predict that absolute jump height does no…

Felids span from sub-kilogram wildcats to lions and tigers of well over a hundred kilograms, and body size profoundly shapes how they move. This overview reviews how speed, acceleration, jumping abili…

Cat coats change with the seasons, and this overview reviews moulting and seasonal adjustment of the coat. Many cats grow a denser coat for cold months and shed it for a lighter summer coat, with moul…

In several big cats, males have larger, more robust skulls and stouter canines than females, and this overview reviews the patterns and their likely drivers. Such dimorphism is often linked to male-ma…

The coat and skin together form a protective barrier, and this overview reviews their defensive functions. Fur shields the skin from sun, abrasion, and minor injury, while the skin itself guards again…

Cat skulls vary in robustness and proportion, and this overview surveys how that variation tracks the size of prey a species typically takes. Cats that tackle relatively large prey tend to have more r…

The vertical slit pupil of small cats is a striking feature, and this overview reviews why such pupils evolved. Comparative work links vertical slit pupils to small ambush predators active across a wi…

The felid spine is notably flexible, and this overview surveys how that flexibility serves functions from grooming and squeezing through gaps to extending stride during a gallop. Dorsoventral flexion…

A stalking cat moves with a deliberate, low, near-silent gait that minimises noise and visibility. This overview examines the biomechanics of this slow, controlled locomotion: careful weight transfer,…

Fur is not only insulation but also a sensory surface, and this overview reviews the tactile roles of body hair beyond the specialised whiskers. Ordinary hairs are associated with nerve endings that d…

A successful jump requires aiming as much as power, and this overview reviews how cats control takeoff angle and trajectory to land accurately. By adjusting the direction and force of push-off, a cat…

Cats require dietary taurine, and this overview reviews this classic example of feline nutritional specialisation. Unlike many mammals, cats cannot make enough taurine themselves and must get it from…

Cats hear across an exceptionally wide frequency range, and this overview reviews its extent and predatory value. Feline hearing extends well into ultrasonic frequencies, higher than humans and even m…

Sabertoothed cats are thought to have killed very differently from living felids, and this overview reviews the leading canine-shear hypothesis in that comparative light. Where modern big cats use a p…

Claw deployment is powered by the deep digital flexor muscle, whose tendons run down each toe to the claw-bearing bone. This overview reviews the tendon-and-pulley arrangement that protracts the claws…

The cat first digit, carried high on the inner foreleg as the dewclaw, does not touch the ground in walking but plays a role in grasping. This overview reviews its anatomy and function: a mobile, claw…

Cats purr not only when content but sometimes when injured, frightened, or near death, and this overview reviews the puzzle of purring varied contexts. Because purring occurs in both positive and stre…

Cats are indifferent to sweetness, and this overview reviews the genetic basis. A defect in a gene encoding part of the sweet taste receptor leaves cats unable to taste sugars, consistent with a carni…

The familiar tabby and the wild rosette share developmental roots, and this overview reviews the genetics behind cat coat patterns. Research has identified genes and developmental processes that estab…

The classic division between cats that roar and cats that purr was long tied to the hyoid apparatus, and this overview reviews this anatomy and the nuance behind it. The roaring big cats of the genus…