6 Important Questions About Cats, Answered
ats have strange habits that defy easy explanation. No matter how much water you put out for your kitty in his own fancy bowl, he’ll insist on drinking from a faucet. Despite buying Princess ( or Luna , or Bella) a steady supply of expensive toys, she still prefers the shipping boxes they came in. Scientists have tried to get to the bottom of some of these bewildering behaviors. Let’s take a look at what they’ve found. Why Do Cats Purr? Purring is a specialty among cats in the subfamily Felinae, which includes domestic cats ( Felis catus ) as well as lynxes, bobcats, and other small wild cats. In these species, a bone in the throat called the hyoid is fixed in position; in non-purring cats like lions and jaguars, the hyoid is somewhat flexible. This difference suggests the bone has something to do with purring, but scientists are still debating the mechanism behind it. One theory holds that laryngeal muscles can rapidly open and close around the vocal cord...