All About Cats - Part 2 (Metabolism)

As with dogs, cats look very different from people, but share many of our body’s characteristics. For example, they have a circulatory system to carry blood and a heart to move it, lungs to breath, and a digestive system to absorb nutrients and get rid of waste, etc.

Like dogs and people, cats come in many sizes and shapes and about 40 different breeds (ex., Siamese, Himalayan, Persian). Most of the cats we have in our homes are either domestic shorthair or longhair varieties and are generally mixtures of different breeds.

Cats have a rapid metabolism when compared to humans. They have a higher normal body temperature (101.5 degrees F, 38.6C), faster heart rate (120 to 140 beats per minute), breath faster (16 to 40 breaths per minute), and mature faster (average life span 12 to 20 years, depending on breed, diet, health care, etc.).

Cats have a great ability to conserve heat, but are not good at cooling themselves. However, their small size relative to their large surface area allows them to cool themselves more efficiently than dogs. Unlike dogs, cats do have some sweat glands that allow them to cool themselves through evaporation. Licking their fur assists in the evaporative process. Cats also pant, but this is not as effective a method for cooling them as it is for dogs. Cats also look for dark, cool shelters during the hot part of the day.

As with dogs (and all animals), cats confined in hot places can die of heat stroke. This most often happens when they are shut in a parked car because, even with the windows rolled down, the inside of a car can reach 150 degrees F or more in the summer, which can lead to heat stroke and death in a matter of minutes.

And, when it’s time to eat, be sure to give them Life’s Abundance natural cat food, the best cat food money can buy.