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Cat senses are adaptations that allow cats to be highly efficient predators. Cats are good at detecting movement in low light, have an acute sense of hearing and smell, and their sense of touch is enhanced by long whiskers that protrude from their heads and bodies. These senses evolved to allow cats to hunt effectively at dawn and dusk.
A cat's nose is highly adapted. Cats are highly territorial, and secretion of odors plays a major role in cat communication. The nose helps cats to identify territories, other cats and mates, to locate food, and has various other uses. [7] A cat's sense of smell is believed to be about fourteen times more sensitive than that of humans.
A chromatic adaptation transform (CAT) function emulates this important aspect of color perception in color appearance models. An object may be viewed under various conditions. For example, it may be illuminated by sunlight, the light of a fire, or a harsh electric light.
Cat intelligence is the capacity of the domesticated cat to solve problems and adapt to its environment. Research has shown that feline intelligence includes the ability to acquire new behavior that applies knowledge to new situations, communicating needs and desires within a social group, and responding to training.
Life in proximity to humans and other domestic animals has led to a symbiotic social adaptation in cats, and cats may express great affection toward humans or other animals. Ethologically, a cat's human keeper functions as a mother surrogate. [100] Adult cats live their lives in a type of extended kittenhood, a form of behavioral neoteny.
Mother cat nursing her 1-month-old kittens. Cat behavior encompasses the actions and reactions displayed by a cat in response to various stimuli and events. Cat behavior includes body language, elimination habits, aggression, play, communication, hunting, grooming, urine marking, and face rubbing. It varies among individuals, colonies, and breeds.
Evolution captures both the history of an organism via its phylogeny, and the history of natural selection working on function to produce adaptations. [6] There are several reasons why natural selection may fail to achieve optimal design (Mayr 2001:140–143; Buss et al. 1998).
Wild cats occur in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. Some wild cat species are adapted to forest and savanna habitats, some to arid environments, and a few also to wetlands and mountainous terrain. Their activity patterns range from nocturnal and crepuscular to diurnal, depending on their preferred prey species. (Full article...