Toe beans do so much more than make your cat look extra cute. Paws help cats walk, play, hunt, regulate temperate, and communicate. Here are just a few fun facts about cat paws.
Paw pads help cats land on their feet.
The thickness of a paw pad provides extra cushioning for a cat’s sensitive paws. The tough yet squishy skin helps wildcats safely navigate rough terrain in temperatures both hot and cold. It also helps all cats, both domestic and wild, safely land on their feet when jumping or falling from great heights. Paw pads essentially act as shock absorbers upon landing, lessening the impact.
They also absorb sound.
Paw pads absorb sound as a cat walks, helping them stalk and hunt their prey in silence.
Most cats have 18 toes.
Cat paws typically have four toes and one dewclaw on the front paws and four toes on the back paws for a total of 18 toes. The dewclaw is essentially a thumb. The desclaw helps cats to grab, grip, and climb.
But some cats have many more.
Some cats, known as polydactyls, have a harmless genetic abnormality that causes them to have more toes. They typically have one or two extra toes, usually on the front feet, but some polydactyl cats have up to six or eight toes per paw. Polydactyl cats are perfectly healthy; they just have some extra toes. It is even thought that the bonus toes improve their balance and dexterity, helping them jump and climb even better than the average cat!
Cats can retract their claws.
Cats can flex and relax the tendons in their toes, exposing or retracting their claws as they see fit. When they flex their tendons, their claws are exposed - perfect for hunting, fighting, scratching, gripping, or climbing. When their tendons are relaxed and their claws are tucked away inside their paws, cats can walk silently. This, along with their paw pads, helps them stalk, hunt, and pounce in silence. The ability to retract their claws helps keep them sharp for when they’re most needed.
Cats walk on their tiptoes.
Cats bear their weight on the tips of their toes and their central paw pad. This is called digitigrade walking. Walking on their tiptoes allows cats to walk more delicately and quietly. survival. This adaptability also aids in stalking and hunting because their unsuspecting prey doesn’t hear them coming.
Cats use their paws to mark their territory.
You may be familiar with your cat having scent glands around their face and cheeks - that’s why they love getting cheek scritches. Cats also have specialized scent glands in between their toes that secrete their pheromones and unique scent when they scratch something. This is one of many reasons why cats love stretching out and scratching vertical surfaces. Scratching not only helps them to expel energy, relieve stress, and sharpen their claws, but it also allows them to mark these areas with their scent, a message to other cats that this is their property and to keep away. Cats like to surround themselves with their familiar scent. It helps to reassure them that they are still in charge.
Paws contain thermoreceptors that help to perceive temperature.
Paw pads are equipped with thermoreceptors that detect both warm and cold surfaces. This helps cats to sense the temperature of their environment, quickly determine the temperature of a surface before they even step on it, and even evaluate the temperature of their prey.
Cats sweat through their paws.
Cats do not sweat the same way people do. Instead, cats have sweat glands in their paws that help them to regulate their body temperature. These glands also release sweat when a cat is feeling nervous, afraid, or stressed - like when they’re at the vet or in a new environment.
Paws are as unique as fingerprints.
Like human fingerprints, the patterns on a cat's paw pads are unique. No two cats are the same.
Paw color usually matches coat color.
Solid-colored cats have solid-colored paw pads, while cats with multi-colored coats have spotted paw pads. Tabbies, tuxedos, calicos, and torties can have multi-colored paw pads ranging from pink to black or a few pink beans and a few black beans. White and orange cats typically have pink paw pads, gray cats have gray paw pads, and black cats have black paw pads. Sometimes, though, the paw pad color will match the nose color instead.
Cats knead with their paws.
Making biscuits, also known as kneading, is when cats move their front paws up and down, usually on a soft blanket or human. It’s a comforting action they do typically when they are happy and it is reminiscent of kittens nursing on their mama cat. However, kneading can also be a coping mechanism that cats use to comfort themselves when they’re stressed, lonely, or feeling unwell. Like purring, it is a way to self-soothe. Since they have scent glands in between their toes, as your cat kneads on you, they’re also marking you with their scent. The ultimate compliment.
Paws are highly sensitive to touch.
Cat paws are highly sensitive to touch because they contain large concentrations of nerve receptors and blood vessels. (The many nerve endings are also why most cats don’t appreciate having their paws touched - they’re very sensitive to pressure and pain.) The many nerve receptors help cats to navigate the world by providing information about their environment. They can sense vibrations, textures, temperatures, and pressure, which aids in hunting and evaluating the proximity of both predators and prey.
Cats have a dominant paw.
Just as people can be left-handed or right-handed, cats have paw preferences. One study showed that male cats are typically left-pawed while female cats are typically right-pawed.
To keep your cat’s paws healthy, examine their paws often to ensure they are clean. Make sure to check in between the toes to ensure no debris, like litter or dirt, is stuck and causing discomfort. Give your cat regular nail trims, once a month is usually sufficient. To determine if it’s time for a nail trim, hold your cat’s paw and gently push on each toe to reveal the claw. If the claw is long and sharp, it should be cut. Use a pet nail trimmer to remove just the tip of each nail, cutting below the quick. And, most importantly, offer your cat plenty of vertical scratching posts. Cats keep their claws healthy, expel energy, and mark their territory by scratching.
Cats use their paws for so much more than walking. They use their paws to hunt, balance, communicate, scratch, play, show affection, and navigate the world. Healthy paws are essential to a cat’s health, happiness, and overall well-being.
Love, Nala
