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[C278]Cat Facts For Kids
by Omer Ashraf, Ome
All cats are born blind. The ability to see comes during the first couple of weeks after birth! Cats have rudimentary nonfunctional collar bones that allow them to squeeze themselves through tight spaces and helps them in their balance and stride! Cats often have a third eyelid that is not normally visible to us. If you are seeing it more often - the cat may be ill!

Cat vision is similar to humans in daylight, but they can see six times better than us in dim light - owing to larger pupils and the ability to gather light at the back of the eye owing to a reflective retinal surface!
Field of vision in cats is slightly compromised for a more binocular vision, that grants them greater depth perception and ability to judge their prey's position more precisely for pouncing upon them in high speed pursuits!

Cats' sense of smell is fourteen times stronger than ours - this means they can smell the odour in the litter box much earlier than us!
Cats' hearing is also very good. They are able to hear sounds of higher pitch than us and dogs. Thirty two individual muscles in their ears allow them to pinpoint the exact location of a source of sound!

The individual positioning of whiskers is unique to all cats - they are like finger prints. Whiskers also allow cats to feel their way in extreme dark and since their span, when fully erect, is nearly equal to cats' body width - it allows cats to judge whether a space or passage is too narrow for them! Whiskers also are usually indicative of cat behavior. Erect, forward pointing whiskers indicate that the cat is excited, animated. Whereas laid back whiskers are often seen in resting, defensive conditions!

Cats have sharp pointed teeth that are built for killing prey by suffocation/severing of spine. A cat's teeth are its greatest asset in the wild. In proportion to body size, the elusive Clouded Leopard has the longest canines in the family felidae, whereas the Jaguar has the strongest jaws - I have seen it bite through the shell of turtles in documentaries!
Cats have more spines than us since they also have spines in their tail. Next time you see a kid pulling a cat's tail - stop him - since it hurts. Their vertebrae are also more loosely connected to each other than ours, allowing them great flexibility!

Flexibility of the spine is highlighted in the Cheetah - the fastest land mammals. With big adrenals, flexible spine and a rudder-like tail, Cheetah can outpace everything on African savanna! Tiger is the largest feline on earth. An adult Siberian tiger may weigh up to eight hundred pounds and is one of the top predators on earth. Tigers are excellent swimmers and are in fact the only cat who seem to enjoy stepping in water (the Jaguar in Americas frequently go into water to hunt baby alligators and anacondas)!

Lion is the only cat that lives in groups, called prides. The only social cat, family life gives lions edge over other felids by virtue of their cooperative hunting! Leopards are highly secretive and are perhaps the best tree climbers and individual hunters amongst big cats.


The name 'Oriental' does not refer to a specific breed of cat, but a group of cats originating from Southeast Asia. Siamese is the most familiar (specifically, a Siamese without points), but Oriental can also refer to Japanese Bobtail, Burmese, and Balinese to name a few. Oriental cats are either longhaired or shorthaired and come in nearly 300 varieties of colors and markings. Longhairs do not require much brushing of the coat and it does not tend to mat making it one of the lower maintenance longhaired breeds. However, longhair varies are known to have problems with fleas so it is important to introduce baths early on in case a flea bath becomes necessary. Shorthairs have a coat that lies close to the skin and is described as silky.

Other than occasional brushings, it is a low maintenance coat. Orientals are small and lean cats (some can be three feet long), living approximately fifteen years. Mature males will weigh between nine and twelve pounds and females, four to eight pounds. They are described as loud and talkative, as well as curious and intelligent.

Orientals are playful, and have been known to use almost anything include breakables and valuables as toys. They enjoy heights and jumping so they would enjoy a cat condo, but do not enjoy the outdoors. They make an excellent family pet and are good with children, provided the children play gently. Orientals are 'people cats' and need lots of love and attention from them. Failure to provide adequate attention will result in boredom, which will result in trouble.

Because Orientals have a large gene pool, they are less likely to suffer from genetic problems, but since many of them have Siamese in them, Orientals are more likely to have issues with nystagmus (crossed eyes) which is not serious and will not medically affect the cat. Some Orientals are also prone to heart defects and some have issues with obesity if they do not get adequate exercise.

There is a website that has great information on Oriental Cats and most other breeds of cats. It has details that pertain to a cat breeds health, grooming, living conditions, best food choices and more, the website is called: Dog And Cat Facts, and can be found at this url:

http://www.dogandcatfacts.com

By Robert W. Benjamin

Copyright © 2006

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter on your web site as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and without modification except for formatting needs or grammar corrections.

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Both Omer Ashraf & Robert Benjamin are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Omer Ashraf has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fishing, Diabetes Treatment and Pets. The author is a blogger about and an expert on
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