Chuwy's answers are his own
Cats have poor colour vision. Their eyes have more rod receptors (which detect only black, white and shades of grey) than they do cones (which distinguishes colours). By the way Chuwy, the Baywatch swimsuits are red.
Red? Really??
Cats can see in rooms with very little light but not in total darkness. Their eyes are well adapted to seeing in low light levels, so they can hunt in the evenings and early mornings.
Yup, very useful for waking Lynn up at 5 a.m.
If they do, they usually choose to ignore it... Scientists say that cats can respond to individual words. They are also sensitive to our body language and can respond to what we feel... but like I said...
Cats can quickly change its body position for landing during a fall. But that doesn't mean they won't get injured. One of my cats fell from the fourth floor and broke one of her legs.
Sure, not with words but they have a lot of sounds and body language that they can use. Studies show that they use a different language from the one they use among themselves.
That's because humans are too stupid to understand the cat language!
Those whiskers are very sensitive to touch. When a cat catches its prey, it wraps its whiskers around it to sense any movement as well as detect the exact spot to kill it.
Tail wagging can mean a number of things... If the cat is angry it will flick its tail with quick jerks, if a cat is content it will slowly wag the tip... And when it hunts it hardly moves its tail at all because if it does the prey might hear/see it so it only moves it ever so lightly. (Our thanks to Barb Caza for the info)
Cats usually use it to show their contentment when they are relaxed and to indicate their friendly mood. They also use it as a plea for help in times of stress. For example, vets often hear badly injured cats, obviously in pain, purring on the examination table.
Some people think cats do that to make themselves throw up when they have a bad stomach. But most probably it's a natural instinct to ingest folic acid which they need but not found in their normal diet. Wild cats may ingest enough folic acid by eating the stomach contents of their prey.
It's mainly to keep their coat trim by removing dead hair, skin cells etc. Also as cats don't sweat like most other animals, the evaporation of the saliva helps to keep the body cool, especially when the weather is warm.
In the wild, the dominant cats use their feces to mark their territories and to signal to other cats who is the boss. The subordinate cats bury theirs to mask the smell as well as to avoid challenging the status of the dominant cat.
Cats need to sharpen their claws by stripping off the old shell to reveal the new one. Scratching furniture is one way for a cat to renew its claws. All indoor cats will do this if they have not been trained on how to use a scratching post from an early age. It is also a way for the cat to exercise its claws and paws, and for scent-marking (there are scent glands under its front paws).
There are many theories as to why cats do this, two that seem to make sense are: One, cats find the pieces of food too large and put them outside the bowl so that it will be easier to chew them into smaller pieces; two, if the whiskers touch the side of the bowl, cats may find it uncomfortable to eat.
This behaviour comes from kittenhood. Kittens knead their mother while suckling to make the milk flow more freely. Adult cats will do this when they feel safe and contented -- they see their owners as surrogate mothers, and as pampered pets, they'll retain some kitten characteristics through their adult life. If it suckles the owner�s clothes whilst kneading, then the cat was probably taken from its mother too early and never had a chance to grow out of the behaviour naturally. These behaviours are usually for life.
An injured cat can't defend itself against other predators, so it finds a sheltered place until it has recovered and can defent itself again. Cats have a resilient body which can recover from serious injuries with the minimum of assistance.
The belly is vulnerable to attack when a cat is lying on its back. So by rolling on its back, it is signalling its trust in you. Also, some cats are just too lazy to get up and rub itself against you, which is their normal way of saying hello.
This behaviour is seen mostly in indoor cats, who, not able to burn off energy will dash around jumping off furniture with a wild look in their eyes. This usually occurs late at night with cats younger than five years old, but can be seen in older cats as well.
People who don't like cats avoid looking at them, which is interpreted by cats as a reassuring gesture, since eye-to-eye contact is seen as threatening.
Some people feel that a cat should be allowed outdoors to roam as it pleases; while others feel that it is safer to keep them indoors, keeping them away from hazards. I guess it depends on the type of cat you have. For example, Chuwy spent most of his early life in a cage, so an apartment is plenty big to him.
I still wish you'd let me out more often, Lynn.
Cat Roll On Back photo (C) Vhantoms Turkish Van
Text in light blue based on The Cat Owners' Q & A Book by Bradley Viner
Text (C) Chulalongkat & LionessLynn