Fun Facts About Those Squishy Toe Beans

• 01

  Cat's toe beans are actually shock absorbers and mufflers

  
  via quera

  All those tales of cats jumping from high-story buildings, landing on their feet, and walking away never the wiser? Well, part of this death-defying stunt can be attributed to cat toe beans. Paw pads are squishy because they contain a lot of fatty tissue, allowing cats to absorb the shock of a hard fall. For this same reason, toe beans also help cats prowl silently while stalking their prey.

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• 02

  Cats sweat through their paws

  
  via facts.zone

  This will typically go unnoticed except in times of high heat and high stress. For instance, you may notice your cat leaving little wet pawprints on the exam table at the vet. (Aww…)

• 03

  Fur color and paw pad color tends to be related

  
  via Catster

  According to Catster, just like fur, cat toe beans are uniquely colored! For instance:

  Black cats have black pads

  White cats usually have light-pink pads

  Orange cats have orange pads

  Tabbies may have brick red or grey pads

  Multi-colored cats have multi-colored pads

  Solid-colored cats and some purebreds have paw pads that match the color of their noses

• 04

  Cats have scent glands tucked between their toe beans

  
  via Catster

  Not only do your cat's paws sweat, but they also contain scent glands. Some animal behaviorists say that cats knead and scratch on things as a way to mark their territory: The motion activates the scent glands tucked between their toe beans, which they use to signal to other cats that this is their spot.

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• 05

  Cat's paws act like sensors

  
  via catster

  Turns out, there is a reason why most cats don't like their paws touched: their paws are extremely sensitive. Cat paws contain large concentrations of nerve receptors, turning your cat's cute paws into finely tuned sensory organs. Because of these receptors, cats can feel changes in texture, pressure, and possibly vibrations through their paw pads. But this also means their paw pads are especially sensitive to temperature, pressure, and pain.

• 06

  Cats Can Be Left-Pawed or Right-Pawed

  
  via catster

  Recent studies have shown that cats, like humans, display "lateral bias" - meaning they prefer one paw over the other when performing tasks. Researchers at the Animal Behaviour Centre at Queen's University in Belfast performed the recent study which revealed that 75 percent of the cats tested had an obvious paw preference. The study showed, interestingly enough, that male cats were significantly more likely to use their left paws while females preferred their right.

• 07

  Cats walk on their tiptoes

  
  via ourfriends4ever

  Cats are digitigrade walkers, which means that instead of walking on the heels and the balls of the feet like we do, they walk on the balls of the feet and the fingertips.

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• 08

  There's a representation of cat's toe bean even in the cosmos!

  
  via flickr

  You'll find the most out-of-this-world set of toe beans some 5500 light-years away from earth! The Cat's Paw Nebula (also known as NGC 6334) lies near the heart of the Milky Way galaxy in the constellation Scorpius. This vast cloud of dust and gas has birthed numerous massive stars. We're glad to see our furry friends represented even among the cosmos!

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