Unusual sense of temperature in a cat

Who doesn’t know that cats love to sleep on warm brickwork, on the windowsill above the radiators, because cats are lovers of warmth. But there is a difference between warm and very hot, and, logically, a cat should react instantly to a hot object. But this doesn't happen. We once had a cat at home who loved to lie on the ceramic surface of the electric stove. Since our stove has touch control buttons, this habit seemed very dangerous - a person, being at home alone, could accidentally turn it on at full power, and let’s see how it ends. We decided to ask the cat to make sure that the stove was not a good place to walk or sleep. When he tried to let go again and sat up straight in the big circle, we turned it on. I realized with horror that the cat did not move away at all, but crouched down. When it seemed that the reprimand had completely failed and the cat had to be pulled away so that the poor thing would not get burned, he began to carefully observe the surface around him and bring his nose closer to it. Finally the cat decided that it was getting too hot in here and jumped down to the ground. A cat feels cold well with its feet, but they are less sensitive to heat.

Only later did I find out that with such a cruel method we were able to harm the cat, because the sensitivity of a cat when it comes into contact with a hot object turns out to be completely different from that of a person - most of its skin surface does not recognize temperature at all.

A cat's real environmental temperature sensor is located in its upper lip and nose, which, in turn, are particularly sensitive places (with them it can sense temperature changes even within 0.4-0.5 degrees). Fortunately, our cat’s skin was not damaged, but the harsh upbringing still had its results - the cat is now kicking the electric stove. I do not recommend others to use this method of training, it can end much worse.

Thermoreceptors - throughout the body

Like other warm-blooded mammals, cats also have heat and cold receptors that report the temperature of the environment and objects. However, in a cat they are not concentrated only on the surface of the skin; some of them are located in completely different parts of the body - in the subcutaneous blood vessels, upper respiratory tract, digestive tract and even in some areas of the abdomen. brain and spinal cord. Consequently, the feeling and reaction of this animal to heat or cold are formulated in the brain somewhat more slowly, receiving impulses from these different parts of the body. There are many more cold receptors and they are located closer to the surface of the skin, so the cat reacts faster to cold than to heat.

Memories from the desert?

A cat can be on a surface heated to +52 ºC (a surface temperature of +44 ºC already causes a feeling of discomfort in a person). It is not known why cats tolerate high temperatures so well. It is believed that this ability was inherited from the ancient ancestors of cats who lived in Asia and Africa. This is also suggested by studies showing that our mink DNA is similar to that of Middle Eastern wild cats. The homeland of the ancestors of the domestic cat is the territory of modern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Israel, where the desert soil warms up to a temperature close to the cat’s body temperature (+38-40 ºC).

This also explains why cats, even those with thick, long fur, can survive hot summer days when humans seek cool shelter.

Of course, if the mink is not left in a heated car or in the open sun and without water.

By the way, the ability of a cat’s body to form more concentrated urine and generally get by with a relatively small amount of liquid also indicates its origin in desert areas.

Tools to Regulate Your Cat's Temperature

A cat does not have many opportunities to balance its own temperature and the temperature of the external environment, but they help maintain that important sense of comfort.

• The coat, which does not become particularly thin in summer, protects the cat both from heat and sun, and from cold.
• Metabolism, which slows down in the summer and gradually speeds up as the days get shorter and the outside temperature is cooler, also helps adapt to seasonal temperature changes.
• A cat has very few sweat glands, and they are located in the few places that are not covered with hair. But in hot weather they work at full capacity, thereby helping to cool down. You can verify this when a cat walks on the floor - wet footprints remain on it.
• Posture also helps your cat get rid of excess heat or retain it in cold weather. When it’s hot, he always sleeps prostrate, with his legs stretched out and his belly exposed, and often changes his resting place - from insulated to another. On the other hand, in the cold he gathers his paws very compactly under him - in this position the cat can stay outside for a long time if the temperature is near zero and he does not have to squat on a concrete or metal surface. .
• When a cat finds itself in really critical hot conditions, in order to cool its body, it begins to breathe rapidly and with an open mouth, lick itself, and drool. This is the last way that nature gave the cat to save itself.