Cats | Felidae

Katachtigen | Félidos

The strictest meat-eaters of the order. The row of cheekteeth is reduced to a pair of shears: the carnassials close past one another like blades and the grinding rear molars have all but gone. The canines are long and set so that they slide between the neck vertebrae of the prey, and the short jaw brings the bite close to the hinge, where it is strongest. At rest the claws are drawn up into a sheath of skin by elastic ligaments and are only thrown out by muscle at the moment of seizing, so that they do not wear and stay sharp. The foot is digitigrade and set on pads: the walk is silent. The eyes face forward, with a mirroring layer behind the retina and, in the smaller species, a slit pupil. There is no long chase but an ambush: a stalk to within a few metres and then one short, fast rush. Apart from the lion, every species lives alone on a territory of its own, marked out.