Hey! About six months ago, NOVA released this complete 2020 special on house cats!
Puuuuurrrrrrr….
https://youtu.be/8ImtbHTX9gc&rel=0
Some lagniappe:
Remember the African wildcats Sid and Louise, from a few years ago?
I can’t help thinking that this is what ALL domestic cats might have looked like early on:
https://youtu.be/PabxtD5GMFk&rel=0
They eat with the side of their mouth because that’s where the “slicing-blade” teeth — a/k/a carnassials — are. If you’ve got carnassials, you’re in Order Carnivora, even if you’re a panda bear and prefer veggies.
Easy Street! — compared to life in the wild:
https://youtu.be/E_Eb1Czcm3w&rel=0
The sharp canines are used in the killing bite: ideally, slipping through neck vertebrae to cut the spinal cord. This instinctive behavior is why you never turn your back on a cat big enough to harm you, i.e., most of them.
Featured image: Image by Luis Wilker WilkerNet from Pixabay
Flight To Wonder 