Cats are small carnivorous animals that have been domesticated over the years. Whether a cat is a house cat, feral cat, or freely roaming, they are an intriguing species. If you work in veterinary medicine, you will become familiarized with the anatomy of the cat, and how their body systems work as a whole.
Organ Functions
- Esophagus- Conducts food by peristalsis to the stomach.
- Trachea- Passage providing air flow to and from the lungs.
- Heart- Pumps blood throughout the body.
- Lungs- Removes carbon dioxide, and provides oxygen to the blood.
- Liver- Produces bile and regulates nutrients level and metabolism.
- Stomach- Stores, mixes, and churns food. Responsible for the chemical breakdown of food.
- Spleen- Removes old red blood cells from the blood, and produces white blood cells.
- Kidneys- Maintains proper water and electrolyte balance, regulates acid base concentration, and filters the blood of wastes.
- Bladder- Stores urine.
- Intestines- Participates in the passing of food, absorbs excess water from food.
- Spinal Cord- Connects the nervous system to the brain, and transmits nerve impulses to the brain.
Interesting Cat Facts
- One hypothesis on why cats purr is that the frequency of purring can improve bone density and promote healing.
- Cats spend 70% of their lives sleeping.
- House cats share 95.6% of their genetic makeup with tigers.
- Cats have over 20 muscles that control their ears.
- Cats cant taste sweets.
- It’s shown that adult cats only meow to communicate with humans.
- Cats make more than 100 different sounds.
- Cats use their whiskers to test if they can fit into a space.
- Cats only sweat through their paw pads.
- A cats nose has a rigid and distinct pattern, much like human finger prints.
- Cats have free floating clavicle bones that attach their shoulders to their forelimbs, which allows them to squeeze through small places.
If you enjoyed this info-graphic, take a look at Pyometra in Cats on our blog, that discusses a condition of the intact female cat.
