Cat

Cats are small, furry, carnivorous mammals. Their appearance varies based on variables such as breed and environment. Feral cats, such as those seen in Warriors, are cats born in the wild (as opposed to cats that are lost or released, which are referred to as stray cats). These cats are much more aggressive than their domesticated counterparts, and can be found living in clowders in the wild, using a common food source. There are close to 100 breeds of cats in the world.

Description

 * Cats are small, furry quadrupeds. They possess flexible bodies, quick reflexes, sharp teeth, retractable front claws, and non-retractable hind claws. Built for hunting small prey,  felines have an innate sense of balance aided by their long tails. In Warriors, cats are divided into six known groups:


 * Kittypets, cats owned by Twolegs
 * Clan cats, felines residing in one of the five Clans.
 * Rogues and loners, non-Clan cats living without Twolegs
 * Tribe cats, who live in the Tribe of Rushing Water, and
 * The Ancients, cats that belonged to a group that once resided by the lake.

Size

 * Usually, a domesticated cat weights about 8 to 10 lbs (3.6 to 4.5 kg), and have a body length of about 20 in (50.8 cm). However, cats can get much bigger or smaller, with breeds such as the Maine Coon reaching 25 lbs (11.3 kg).

Circulatory System

 * Like all mammals, cats have a four-chambered heart to pump blood and various veins, arteries, and capillaries branching throughout their bodies. The heart, located in the cats chest between its lungs, spans from around the third to the fourth rib and weighing around 2.5 to 3.0 grams (around the size of a still-shelled walnut). The four chambers of the heart allow oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor to remain separate as the heart pumps blood to the lungs, back from the lungs and to the rest of the body, and then back to the heart and to the lungs again. This provides the cat's body with oxygen for various functions.


 * Like humans, cats have blood types. Cat blood has three types, A, B, and AB, which are defined by the antigens attached to the cat's red blood cells. A and B are the most common, depending on the cat's breed and location, and AB is the least. Cats with an A blood type can give and only receive blood transfusion to other cats with an A blood type, and the same for cats with a B blood type. The AB blood type can receive blood from both A and B blood types, but can only give blood to itself.

Skeletal and Muscular Systems

 * Cats have a skeletal system comparable to other creatures of the Felis genus. They have extra vertebrae in their lower back and chest regions, which helps to explain the spinal flexibility and mobility that cats and other species of Felis have. Cat forelimbs are attached by free-floating clavicle bones, which along them to slide into any area their head can fit into.


 * The skull of a cat is very different from most mammals, as it features large eye sockets and a powerful, specialized jaw, with narrowly-spaced canine teeth — an adaption to help tear the meat of their preferred prey, small rodents.

Genetics

 * Cat genetics are the study of inheritance in cats.


 * Cats have 20,000 genes and 38 chromosomes. 250 inheritable disorders are known in cats, many similar to that of humans.The high amount of similarity among the metabolisms of mammals allows many cat diseases to be diagnosed using genetic tests that were originally developed for humans.


 * In some cat breeds, deafness is prone. Cats with white fur and blue eyes are more likely to be born deaf then other cats of different fur and eye color. The genes responsible for this disorder are unknown, but it is being studied in the hope that scientists may come closer to curing deafness in humans.


 * As there is a large variety of coloration in cats, they are an excellent creature to study coat genetics of fur length and color. Several types of genes interact to produce fur color and length, and different combinations give different phenotypes. Albino cats lack all pigments, explaining their pelt and eye colors. Hair length is determined by the genes, such as fibroblast growth factor 5.