Читать книгу Animal Behavior for Shelter Veterinarians and Staff - Группа авторов - Страница 53

Balance is due to an integration of information from the visual, vestibular, central, and peripheral nervous systems. Cats are famous for the ability to right themselves during a fall by reflexively twisting the head and spine to land on their feet. This righting reflex relies primarily on the fluid in the bony labyrinth and semicircular canals of the vestibular system (Cremieux et al. 1984).

Whiskers, or vibrissae, are richly innervated specialized hairs with follicles originating from deep in the subcutaneous skin layer on the face, head, and carpi of a cat (Dyce et al. 2010). Mechanical stimulation of the whiskers transmits information to the sensory cortex of the brain and allows the cat to gain information about environmental conditions and objects within close range. Most notably, whiskers provide important information about the movement of prey, kittens, and other social partners immediately adjacent to the cat. Touch becomes the primary sense at close range due to poor visual acuity at this distance (Bradshaw et al. 2012). The cat’s canine teeth and claws also have pressure receptors to aid in preventing the escape of prey once captured (Byers and Dong 1989).

At rest cat facial whiskers are positioned slightly backward, but when moving or aroused, whiskers move forward and away from the head to prepare for gathering information (Beaver 2003). Therefore, whisker position can be a form of conspecific visual communication as well.