Coat and Skin
Scattered among the regular hairs of a cat's coat are larger single hairs, called tylotrichs, that pick up sensory information in the same way that whiskers do. Feline skin is covered by millions of touch receptors that are hypersensitive to pressure, air currents and temperature. Considering the sensitivity of these receptors, cats have a surprising tolerance to heat. They even revel in it. The cat's African ancestry is often used to explain its penchant for warm firesides and hot car hoods — provided the temperature does not exceed 125 degrees Fahrenheit, or 52 degrees Centigrade. (Humans generally cannot withstand heat over 112 degrees Fahrenheit, or 44 degrees Centigrade.)
- The feline's nose and paw pads are very sensitive to temperature. Adapted for the hunt, the paw pads are loaded with touch receptors, but have little insulation against temperature extremes. Felines wield their sensitive paws to evaluate the texture and density of potential prey. After dispatching a victim, both wild and domestic cats are often observed pawing it to check for remaining signs of life before picking it up in their mouth.
- The extreme sensitivity of the cat's paw has led to some speculation about the feline's ability to feel vibrations or tremors in the ground preceding phenomena such as earthquakes. Animals have been known to exhibit strange behavior before such events, possibly because their highly refined sensitivity enables them to sense minute vibrations in their limbs.
A cat's reaction to physical contact depends on where it is touched. As any cat owner soon learns, cats enjoy being rubbed under the chin, behind the ears, and down the back to the base of the tail. Even in the wild, these are the same places cats nuzzle or groom each other. Touching tails, bellies or feet, however, may provoke an unwelcome response. Contact with these areas is believed to produce discomfort, and no cat worth
its salt puts up with human-induced discomfort for more than an instant before responding with a scratch or nip.
