A Higher Sense

senses are well-known for being a little out of the ordinary. How many times have we watched him apparently staring at nothing, or alerted by an apperently invisible sound Quite clearly, he can hear and see on different levels to us. Levels that ensure he can defend himself and hunt if he was not domesticated. Does he really have a stong enough taste palette to decide between Whiskers and Felix? And what is the cats strongest sense?

My Owners foot-steps

The world of sound to a feline is totally different to the one we experience. They can both hear tiny noises that are too faint for the human ear, and at the other end of the scale they are tuned into ultra-sonic sounds higher in pitch than we can detect. This amazing range of sound compliments there sight when they are hunting.Hence they are more likely to respond to a human who speaks in a high voice (high pitch) or hear a mouse (who hasnt reached puberty!) As a cat gets older he is likely to become deaf as the ear becomes less mobile and the inner nerves degenerate. But cats are great adapters. To compensate for this smell and vision become sharpened and they will become extra-sensitive to vibrations. Hearing plays a large part in behaviour during courting. And it is certainly true that cats recognise you by the sound of your footfalls.

A Cats Eye

Sight is highly developed in a cat. The image projected in the feline eye is 5 times brighter than a humans. thus it can be estimated he can see in light six times dimmer than a man. It is however a fallacy to say a cat can see in the dark. All mamalls need at least some shred of light to see something. The third eyelid is the thin slip of membrane that helps to lubricate the eye. For a long time it has been believed that cats cannot see colours. This was following experiments where there was an attempt them to respond to different colours. However since then it is clear that felines can see red, green, blue, yellow and white. They probably didnt respond to the experiments because colours are not a necessity in theoir everyday life. Kittens are blind when they are born. It ill take them three months to see as well as their parents.

Next Month: Nice to Smell you!

In next months article we will be looking at Taste, Smell and Touch.

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