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Hide and seek pic from
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So, what do you know about your cat’s paws other than they
are cute and adorable when the razor-sharp claws are not extended and shredding
your furniture?
Chances are you never really studied how your cat walks
across the room; perhaps mistakenly thought your cat walks the same way you do? Unlike humans, our cat’s
paws were created to help her be the best carnivore predator that she can be. Cute or not, chances are you may not really
know that much about your cat’s paws; so, let's paws for a moment and talk
about these remarkable bits of cat anatomy!
The Walk
Humans tend to walk, heal to toe. Our cats are considered to be digitigrade
walkers—this means cats stands and walks on their digits, or toes. The small size of her
paws of her paw pads makes it easy for her silently stalk her
prey through all types of terrains.
Show Me Your Paws
A cat's paw pads are composed of thick skin, connective
tissue and fat. Countless nerves within the pads detect variations in the
texture and temperature of surfaces and objects. When encountering a strange
object, a cat usually touches it with a paw before deciding on a course of
action. I know you've seen yours do this many times. The skin is rough and
thick, generally about 1/20 inch, and provides a tough surface for protection
when walking and a firm grip on slippery surfaces. It creates a noiseless tread
when a cat is stalking prey.
You can test to see how sensitive your cat is to touch by
gently ticking your cat’s paw pad while she sleeps—guaranteed you’ll get some sort of response
from of your sleeping kitty if you tickle her pads! Remember, to move fast if she's irritate by your "test."
Leave Cat Card On The Table
Tiny Little Paw
Prints
Have you ever noticed that when you and your kitty are
waiting to see the vet, the bottom of your cat’s paws become a little
moist? That is because your cat has tiny
sweat glands on her paw pad. Needless to
say, those paws get real moist when the vet walks into the room with a
vaccination needle in hand—those little anxious paw glands go into overdrive as
they help keep the cat’s body temperature balanced!
A Rainbow of Paw
Colors!
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Paw Picture from Way of Cats Blog
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Look carefully at the pigment of your cat’s fur and skin—are
they the same color of your cat’s paw pads?
For the most part, they should be the same color—black cats have black
pads, grey cats have a sort of grayish colored pads, orange cats have orange
pads, and for the multi-colored cats—well, heck anything goes plus all four pads may
not be the same color!
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| Fabulous Pet House Blog |
Is your cat a south paw or a righty paw? Cats tend to have “paw
dominance” somewhat akin to the right- and left- handedness found in humans. In
one study, researchers observed right front paw usage was observed in 20
percent of the cats while another 40 percent favored the left side. The
remaining 40 percent were ambidextrous (adept in the use of both left and right paw).
The ASPCA recommends examining your cat's feet regularly for
debris and injury. In hot and cold weather, your cat's paws may need to be
moisturized, as the skin can dry out and crack, which can lead to pain and
infection. I n some long-haired cats, hair growing between the toes can be
irritating, so you may want to keep this hair trimmed for your cat’s comfort!
We hope you learned something new about your cat’s paw. If you are an expert in your cat’s paw, then
perhaps you can answer the following question (silently and to yourself
please):
What is a toe tuft? And
how many toes does your cat have? Hmmm….Thinking…. Thinking….
The answers are at the bottom of this posting!
We now paws for a commercial announcement...
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To share this information with your friends, family, and co-workers, we have created a printable flier; all you have to do is click HERE to see and print our beautiful flier!
Okay, commercial over! Here are the answers to our two questions! According to Wikipedia:
Toe tufts are commonly found on cats with medium to long
coats. Clumps of fur that stick out at least 1-2cm beyond the paw pad can be
considered tufts. In addition to soft paw pads, toe tufts help a cat to
silently stalk its prey by muffling excess noise. However, outdoor cats tend to
lose their toe tufts due to excessive abrasion on the rougher outdoor surfaces.
This is in stark contrast to indoor cats who spend most of their time walking
on carpet or smooth floors.
Although toe tufts do not cause additional hairballs in
cats, it does make some aspects of hygiene a bit more difficult. For example,
cat litter, dirt and other particulates may stick to toe tufts and cause the
cat some discomfort. Therefore, a cat with extra-long toe tufts should be
checked regularly for tangles and taken in for grooming.
Cats have five
toes on their forefeet and four on their hind feet, reflecting their reliance
on gripping and holding down their prey with their claws. Whew! We learned a lot about cat paws today!
We hope you enjoyed today's blog posting! Be sure to check back tomorrow for more fun and informative information about our exotic cats and their friends of In-Sync Exotics! Don't forget to let us know your reaction to this posting by clicking on one of the reaction buttons below--and share this blog posting with others please ~ Thank you!
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I want to point a couple of things out:
ReplyDeleteCats scratch at things in part to shed their old claws, which sit like a sheath over the new (and sharper!) claw. This also helps them stretch their shoulders and legs.
Declawing a cat is not done by simply removing the nail bed as commonly thought. It's done by amputation of part of the toe. Not only is this painful to the cat, it can cause some muscle atrophy because they can't stretch as well as before (see above).
If your pet is clawing you (and I have a kitten who comfort nurses on my neck, so I understand!), your carpet, or your furniture, you can buy plastic sheaths to put over your cats claws. Trim the claws (carefully! Do not cut the quick as it will both be unnecessarily painful to the cat, and will also bleed), gently extend the claw, put some superglue in the cap, and slip it over the nail. I've had them stay on 2 to 6 weeks. I've seen them marketed as Kitty Caps (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_pet-supplies?_encoding=UTF8&field-brandtextbin=Kitty%20Caps&node=2619533011) which I've bought from PetSmart and Soft Claws (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=19945) . They come in multiple sizes and multiple colors (or clear, if that's what you prefer). I have successfully put them on a cooperative cat by myself, although for aforementioned kitten, I need help because she's squirmy. They will fall off naturally as the claw grows. This is also good for a cat who compulsively scratches him/herself (but it's probably prudent to have the cat checked for fleas, allergies or some kind of skin condition). I would not put them on a cat who goes outside, though (but *generally* speaking I don't particularly approve of cats being outside).
I have, (one time in over twenty years of cat ownership), seen ONE cat whose claw grew all the way around and into her paw pad (once). I felt dreadful, and I know it was sore, but I cut the side of the nail one day (and then she wouldn't let me touch her foot the rest of the day) and the other side of the nail the other day, and by the third day it had fallen off and her pad was healing. If such a condition is really severe, it may require surgery (hers was a comparatively superficial wound, but I'm sure it hurt).
I thought toe tufts were to act like snowshoes! :P Shows what I know.