Many townspeople keep cats at home, and there is no need to talk about village houses: affectionate and silent animals not only give pleasure to the owners, but also perfectly hunt small rodents. The secret of the hunters' success lies in the special structure of the legs.
The paws of cats are considered the softest among the limbs of animals, they help cats to run quickly, jump, play, but exactly until the cat's claws appear from the pads.
Joint secret
The feline's four limbs serve more than just walking and running. Their unique structure allows the animal to overcome rough terrain with surprising ease, climb slopes and jump perfectly, while almost silently.
The joints of the cat's paws have a unique feature: when walking, they rotate absolutely freely and turn in different directions, which allows the animal to move so easily on different surfaces, be it a tree or a flat floor.
The front legs move inward when walking, forming a straight line of tracks from the front to the hind legs.
It's all about pads and fingers
Five toes are located on each of the cat's forelegs, but one of the toes is shorter than the other and lacks ground. But on the hind legs there are only four fingers - the thumb is missing.
The thick sole of the paws allows the cat's weight to be distributed evenly over the entire foot. At the same time, cats walk on their fingers, because of this method of movement, there is no noise.
Sweat glands are located on the paw pads, which is why cats practically do not sweat and do not emit a smell. The pads themselves have a huge number of nerve endings, the front paws help the cat to navigate and learn the necessary information. Thus, the forepaws, like the cat's whiskers, serve as a guide, and the cats watch them very carefully. Note that it is the front paws that they lick so carefully and are afraid of damaging them.
The pads also carefully protect the claws of the animal: when the veins are strained or relaxed, the cat can quickly both release and remove the claws into the located leather bags. In most cat breeds, the claws are sickle-shaped and only in some, for example, in Persian cats, the claws resemble hooks.
Many pet owners remove their pet's claws. This is a cruel operation that is performed under anesthesia and entails the excision of not only the claw, but also the phalanx of the cat's toe. Onychectomy is prohibited by the Convention for the Protection of Animals, but veterinarians, although they disagree with the decision of the owners, still amputate the claws.
