🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

Genetic studies of feral cat colonies have revealed promiscuous mating systems in which a single litter is frequently sired by several males. This overview surveys research using paternity analysis to…

A kitten's visual acuity is poor when the eyes first open and improves substantially over the following weeks as the visual system matures. This overview surveys the development of feline acuity, whic…

When a whisker touches an object, the contact bends the shaft and concentrates mechanical stress at its base, where the follicle receptors sit. This overview surveys the biomechanics of whisker deflec…

Methimazole, and its prodrug carbimazole, block thyroid hormone synthesis and remain the most common medical treatment for feline hyperthyroidism, available in oral and transdermal forms. Medical ther…

The composition of cat milk supports the rapid early growth of altricial young and changes over the course of lactation. This overview surveys what is known about the fat, protein, and energy content…

The cat's hunting behaviour is organised as a sequence of partly independent modules: searching, stalking, chasing, pouncing, grabbing, killing, and consuming. This overview surveys research on how th…

Molnupiravir, a nucleoside analog that induces lethal mutagenesis in RNA viruses, emerged as an oral option for FIP, particularly as a rescue therapy for cats that relapse or respond poorly to GS-4415…

A vertical-slit pupil interacts with the lens in ways that may help correct for chromatic aberration, the tendency of a lens to focus different colors at slightly different distances. This overview su…

Cat-human communication combines vocal, visual, and tactile channels, and research increasingly examines how these integrate. This overview surveys work on how cats coordinate meows, purrs, body postu…

Because female cats may mate with several males during a single estrus, individual litters can contain offspring sired by more than one father. This overview surveys evidence for multiple paternity ac…

Feline predation draws on vision, hearing, smell, and touch in a coordinated sequence, and the brain integrates these channels to guide the hunt. This overview surveys multisensory integration in hunt…

The interior of the cat's nose contains intricate scrolled bones called turbinates that are covered with olfactory and respiratory tissue. This overview surveys how the feline turbinates increase the…

Cats navigate complex home ranges and occasionally return home over surprising distances, prompting interest in their spatial abilities. This overview surveys research and historical experiments on fe…

Kittens are born altricial, with eyes and ears closed and limited mobility, and undergo rapid sensory and motor development over the first weeks of life. This overview surveys the milestones of neonat…

Newborn kittens are blind and deaf, so smell and touch guide their earliest survival behaviors, especially locating the mother's nipple to nurse. This overview surveys how neonatal kittens rely on olf…

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…

The classic catnip reaction is driven by nepetalactone, a volatile iridoid compound in the catnip plant that cats detect through smell. This overview surveys how nepetalactone is thought to act, bindi…

Mother cats choose concealed, defensible nest sites and may relocate kittens repeatedly during the early weeks, carrying them by the scruff. This overview surveys research on maternal care, including…

Cats require dietary niacin because, although many animals can synthesize niacin from the amino acid tryptophan, cats divert tryptophan down a competing metabolic pathway so efficiently that little is…

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…

Most mammals, including cats, have less elaborate color vision than birds, reptiles, or many fish, a pattern often traced to a nocturnal phase early in mammalian evolution. This overview surveys the h…

Noninvasive measurement of reproductive and stress hormones from feces and urine has transformed the study and management of felid reproduction. This overview surveys the development and application o…

Cats lose interest in a toy quickly but renew play when the object changes, a pattern that has been studied experimentally. This overview surveys research showing that habituation to a toy is reduced…

Indoor lifestyles, while safer, are associated with reduced activity and elevated obesity risk in cats, a major welfare and health concern. This overview surveys research linking confinement, free fee…

Object play in kittens, batting, grasping, and biting at small movable items, closely resembles components of the predatory sequence, prompting long debate over whether play functions as practice for…

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…

Classic experiments established that kittens learn instrumental tasks faster by watching their mother than an unfamiliar adult or by trial and error alone. This overview surveys this body of work on m…

FIP frequently involves the eyes and central nervous system, especially in the non-effusive form, producing uveitis, retinal changes, ataxia, seizures, behavioral changes, and other neurologic signs.…

Chemical signals among individuals can influence reproductive physiology and behavior in cats, including potential suppressive or stimulatory effects in social settings. This overview surveys how olfa…

Cats rely heavily on smell and on the vomeronasal system for detecting pheromones in social and reproductive communication, including the flehmen response. This overview surveys the genetics of feline…