🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

The purr has a characteristic low fundamental frequency, and this overview reviews its acoustic structure and the claims made about specific frequencies. Measured purrs typically centre on low frequen…

Cats are exquisitely sensitive to a lack of dietary arginine, and this overview reviews why. Arginine is essential to the urea cycle that disposes of nitrogen waste from protein breakdown, and because…

How much energy a cat needs at rest and in daily life is fundamental to its biology, and this overview reviews feline basal metabolic rate and energy expenditure. Like other mammals, cat metabolic rat…

Much of feline temperature regulation is behavioural, and this overview reviews how posture and microhabitat choice keep cats comfortable. Cats curl up tightly to conserve heat and reduce exposed surf…

Mammals can generate heat without shivering, and this overview reviews the role of brown adipose tissue in feline heat production. Brown fat produces heat directly through specialised metabolism rathe…

Scratching serves several functions at once, and this overview untangles them. Dragging the claws strips worn sheaths to maintain sharpness, stretches the limbs and back, and deposits both visual mark…

Coat colour can affect heat balance, and this overview reviews how dark and light fur interact with thermal load in cats. Darker coats absorb more solar radiation and may warm faster in sun, while lig…

A cat coat is layered for function, and this overview reviews its structure. Many cats have coarse outer guard hairs that shed water and resist wear over a softer, denser undercoat that traps air for…

Cats and dogs differ in how they handle water, and this overview reviews the comparison and its roots in feline biology. Cats, descended from desert-adapted ancestors, tend to have a lower thirst driv…

Before springing, a cat crouches and gathers itself, and this overview reviews the role of this countermovement in jump performance. The preparatory crouch loads the hindlimb muscles and tendons and a…

Declawing, or onychectomy, removes not just the claw but the terminal toe bone, and this overview surveys its biomechanical and welfare consequences. Because the claw grows from that bone, eliminating…

The domestic cat traces to a desert-adapted wild ancestor, and this overview reviews how that heritage shapes its water physiology today. Descended from the African wildcat of arid regions, domestic c…

A cat digestive tract reflects its meat diet, and this overview reviews how carnivore gut anatomy suits processing animal tissue. Cats have a relatively short, simple intestine compared with herbivore…

How cats drink became a notable physics question, and this overview reviews the mechanics of feline lapping and its place in water balance. Research showed that cats lap by darting the tongue tip onto…

Body temperature is actively defended around a set point, and this overview reviews how cats regulate temperature during illness and fever. When fighting infection, the body can raise its thermoregula…

A cat keeps its coat functional through maintenance, and this overview reviews waterproofing and coat care. Sebaceous glands coat the hairs with oils that help repel water and keep the fur in conditio…

Grooming serves a thermoregulatory function, and this overview reviews how spreading saliva helps cats shed heat. When warm, cats may groom more, depositing saliva on the fur that then evaporates and…

Even strict carnivores host gut microbes, and this overview reviews what is known about the feline gut microbiome and its role in a meat diet. The cat intestinal microbial community is adapted to a hi…

Many white cats, especially blue-eyed ones, are deaf, and this overview reviews the link between coat colour genetics and hearing. The dominant white gene can disrupt the development of pigment cells…

Cats need more dietary protein than many mammals, and this overview reviews the metabolic basis. Feline liver enzymes that break down amino acids for energy operate at a relatively high, less adjustab…

Cats can cover impressive horizontal distances in a single bound, and this overview reviews the biomechanics of the broad jump. Achieving distance requires a takeoff that balances upward and forward v…

Purring is a distinctive feline vocalisation produced continuously through inhalation and exhalation, and this overview reviews how it is generated. The leading view holds that rapid, rhythmic contrac…

Kittens are not born able to leap accurately, and this overview reviews how jumping ability develops through growth and play. As kittens grow, their muscles strengthen, limb proportions change, and ne…

Coming down safely is as important as getting up, and this overview reviews how cats absorb the impact of landing. On touchdown the limbs flex to lengthen the deceleration and spread the force over ti…

Beyond purrs and roars, cats produce a rich variety of calls, and this overview reviews the laryngeal anatomy and mechanics behind them. The larynx, with its vocal folds, muscles, and cartilages, shap…

Cats handle dietary carbohydrate differently from omnivores, and this overview reviews their specialised glucose metabolism. Adapted to a low-carbohydrate, meat-based diet, cats have reduced activity…

The prominent whiskers on a cat muzzle, the mystacial vibrissae, form a precise tactile array, and this overview reviews their structure and arrangement. Thicker and more deeply rooted than ordinary h…

Newborn kittens cannot regulate their own temperature well, and this overview reviews how they stay warm. With limited ability to generate and conserve heat, neonatal kittens depend on the warmth of t…

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 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…