Aug 14
A cat climbs like a monkey, walks as gracefully as a ballerina and balances with the effortless ease of a champion tightrope-walker. As we have seen, when a cat is hunting, its powerful back legs provide the momentum that launches it into a leap or pounce, while its front legs stretch out to grasp its prey. This pattern is repeated when a cat climbs a vertical object like a tree or fence, its hindquarters propelling it upwards — sometimes up to five times the cat’s height — and the hooked claws of its front paws sinking into the surface to act as grappling irons, thereby enabling the cat to get a firm enough hold to pull itself upwards with its strong front legs. (more…)
