years. the cat is a skilled predator, and is known to
hunt over 1,000 species for food. The cat is intelligent
and can be trained to obey simple commands. Individual
cats have also been known to learn to manipulate simple
mechanisms. Cats use a variety of vocalizations and
types of body language for communication, including
mewing ("meow" or "miaow"), purring, hissing, growling,
squeaking, chirping, clicking, and grunting.Blinking
Blinking is common in cats and may well be a sign of trust or affection. Cats will respond to a human who purposefully closes and opens their eyes by reciprocating the action. This perhaps demonstrates a remarkable characteristic of cat intelligence that is rare in non-human animals. They are able to identify and associate part of their own anatomy to the same structure on another species.
Opening doors and windows
Cats who are used to being let outside, or who want to get into their home, may learn to open windows and doors. They are capable of learning different routes for entry and exit; for instance a cat might find the window in its owner's bathroom easier to open to exit the house, but to get in, they might have to use the door. They may also learn to open cupboard doors to get to food.
Turning on water
Cats occasionally prefer the taste of
fresh water to the water in their cat
dishes. They might find it useful to
learn to operate the faucet. By coming
into the kitchen or bathroom at the time
a human is using the water, they might
pick up on how to operate the faucet
mechanisms. Eventually, they may figure
out the right temperature and how to
drink out of it without making a mess of
themselves.
Cat Senses
Cat are attuned for hunting. Cats have highly advanced hearing system, eyesight, taste, and touch receptors, making the cat one of the most extremely sensitive among all mammals. Although a cat's senses of smell may not be as keen as, say, that of mice, it is far superior in many ways to those of humans. Evaluating the senses of any animal can be a very difficult task because there is usually no explicit communication.
Sight
Tests have indicated that a cat's vision is superior at night in comparison to humans, and inferior in daylight. Cats, like dogs and many other animals, have a tapetum lucidum that reflects extra light to the retina. While this enhances the ability to see in low light, it appears to reduce overall visual acuity, thus detracting when light is abundant. In very bright light, the slit-like iris closes very narrowly over the eye, reducing the amount of light on the sensitive retina, and improving depth of field.
Cats have a third
eyelid, the nictitating
membrane, which is a
thin cover that closes
from the side and
appears when the cat's
eyelid opens. This
membrane partially
closes if the cat is
sick; although in a
sleepy, content cat this
membrane is often
visible. If your cat
chronically shows the
third eyelid, he or she
should be taken to Klima
Small Animal Clinic for
evaluation.
Hearing
Humans and cats have a similar range of hearing (on the low end of the scale,) however, cats hear much higher-pitched sounds, up to 64 kHz, which is 1.6 octaves above the range of a human, and even 1 octave above the range of a dog.
Smell
Touch
Cats has about 24 flexible vibrissae ("whiskers"), in four rows on each upper lip on each side of its nose (some breeds of cats may have more or less additionally, they also have a few on each cheek, tufts over the eyes, bristles on the chin, the cat's inner "wrists", and at the back of the legs. A cat's whiskers may detect very small shifts in air currents, which would enable a cat to know it is near obstructions without actually seeing them. Cats use messages in these vibrations to sense the presence, size, and shape of obstacles without seeing or touching them, making whiskers
good
hunting tools.
