Logan Steele
Cats have an impressive muscular system that enables them to move swiftly and agilely, catch prey, and escape from potential threats. This system is composed of contracting tissue units that produce movement and provide stability. Cats have several skeletal muscles in common with humans, such as the triceps, biceps, gluteal muscles, deltoids, and trapezius. These muscles are attached to bones, other muscles, and skin, contributing to about half of a cat's body weight. Additionally, cats possess smooth muscles found within internal organs like the intestines, stomach, and bladder, which are controlled involuntarily by the autonomic nervous system. Cats also have an impressive 32 ear muscles, enabling them to rotate their ears 180 degrees individually and move them in various directions. This allows cats to direct sound into their ear canals and facilitates their exceptional hearing abilities.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of ear muscles | 32 |
| Number of cervical vertebrae | 7 |
| Number of thoracic vertebrae | 13 |
| Number of lumbar vertebrae | 7 |
| Number of sacral vertebrae | 3 |
| Number of caudal vertebrae | 22 or 23 |
| Types of eyelids | 3 |
| Main integumental muscles | Platysma and cutaneous maximus |
| Types of deltoid muscles | 2 or 3 |
| Types of papillae | 5 |
| Types of skeletal muscles | Biceps, triceps, gluteal muscles, deltoids, trapezius |
| Types of smooth muscles | Cardiac, diaphragm, intestinal |
| Types of known muscle diseases | Congenital myotonia, feline polymyositis, myositis ossificans, myositis caused by infections |
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What You'll Learn
- Ear muscles: Cats have 32 ear muscles, which allow them to rotate their ears 180 degrees
- Skeletal muscles: These muscles are attached to bones and skin, and are responsible for movements like walking and eating
- Smooth muscles: Found in internal organs, these muscles are involuntary and controlled by the nervous system
- Voluntary muscles: Found in the arms and legs, these muscles can be controlled by thought and work in pairs to flex and extend
- Involuntary muscles: Examples include the diaphragm and muscles in the heart and intestines, which are controlled by the nervous system
Ear muscles: Cats have 32 ear muscles, which allow them to rotate their ears 180 degrees
Cats have an impressive 32 muscles in each of their outer ears, allowing them to rotate their ears up to 180 degrees. This gives cats an incredible range of motion, enabling them to move their ears independently of each other and in any direction. This mobility is thanks to the 15 muscles in the rostral, caudal, dorsal, and ventral auricular muscle groups of each ear.
The cat's ability to move its ears independently is a result of the flexibility of its spine, which is due to the extra lumbar and thoracic vertebrae it possesses. Cats have 13 thoracic vertebrae, compared to 12 in humans, and seven lumbar vertebrae, while humans have just five. This gives cats enhanced spinal mobility and flexibility, contributing to their speed and grace.
The cat's elastic spine is further aided by the cushioning provided by the discs between their vertebrae, which also help to cushion jump landings. Additionally, a cat's vertebrae are held by muscles, unlike humans, whose vertebrae are held by ligaments. This unique feature contributes to the cat's elasticity and ability to elongate and contract its back through curvature and oscillation along its vertebral line.
The cat's powerful ear muscles are a testament to its evolutionary adaptations, allowing it to be agile, aware, and responsive to its surroundings. With such precise control over its ears, cats can focus on sounds and move their bodies in one direction while pointing their ears in another. This gives them an advantage when hunting or navigating their environment.
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Skeletal muscles: These muscles are attached to bones and skin, and are responsible for movements like walking and eating
Cats have a highly evolved muscle system that enables them to move swiftly and agilely, helping them catch prey and escape potential threats. This system is made up of skeletal and smooth muscles.
Skeletal muscles are attached to bones, other muscles, and skin. They are responsible for posture and movement, including walking and eating. They make up about half the weight of a cat. When these muscles contract, they pull on the tendons, which then pull on the bones and cause the limbs to move. Each muscle fibre receives its own nerve impulses, which trigger various motions. Once a signal or an impulse travels down the nerve to the muscle, the muscle fibre changes chemical energy into mechanical energy, resulting in muscle contraction.
Voluntary muscles, such as those found in the arms and legs, can be controlled by thought. They can contract and pull, but they cannot push, so they must work in pairs that flex and extend. Extensor muscles straighten the limbs and attach to the bones, so the bones act as levers. The flexor muscles, which bend the joints, then pick up the limb. Their partner extensor muscles contract to bring the limb back down. The abductor muscles move the limbs away from the midline, and the adductor muscles move the limbs towards the midline.
In addition to the above, skeletal muscles are also responsible for tail motion and eye movement. The intercostal muscles, found between the ribs, aid in breathing. The temporalis muscle assists in closing the jaw, while the masseter elevates the jaw for chewing. The sternomastoid helps in tilting and rotating the head. The biceps brachii flexes the elbow, while the triceps brachii extends it. The deltoid covers the shoulder joint, assisting in lifting and rotating the forelimb. The supraspinatus and infraspinatus aid in shoulder movement and stability. The pectoralis major is located on the chest and helps in forelimb movement.
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Smooth muscles: Found in internal organs, these muscles are involuntary and controlled by the nervous system
Smooth muscles are involuntary muscles found within a cat's internal organs, such as the intestines, stomach, and bladder. They are controlled by the autonomic nervous system. Smooth muscles maintain continence of the bladder and propel food through the bowel.
The nervous system plays a crucial role in producing spatiotemporal patterns of muscle activity that are modified in phase and magnitude to generate limb trajectories. This allows cats to adapt their movements to the size and shape of obstacles they encounter.
In the context of micturition (urination), the central nervous system plays a vital role in both cats and humans. In cats, three specific areas in the brainstem and diencephalon are involved in controlling micturition: Barrington's nucleus, the periaqueductal grey, and the pre-optic area of the hypothalamus. Barrington's nucleus directly stimulates bladder motoneurons, while the periaqueductal grey receives information about bladder filling. The pre-optic area of the hypothalamus is believed to be involved in initiating the micturition process.
Additionally, the L-region, located in the ventrolateral pontine tegmentum, controls the motoneurons of the pelvic floor, including the external urethral sphincter, and is considered the pontine storage center. These complex interactions between different areas of the nervous system and the smooth muscles ensure the proper functioning of the cat's internal organs and enable them to adapt their movements to their environment.
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Voluntary muscles: Found in the arms and legs, these muscles can be controlled by thought and work in pairs to flex and extend
Voluntary muscles are skeletal muscles that are controlled by conscious thought. They are attached to bones and work in pairs to bend or straighten joints, with one muscle contracting and the other relaxing. These are called flexors and extensors, respectively. For example, bending the elbow involves the contraction of the biceps (a flexor) and the relaxation of the triceps (an extensor).
In the arms, the biceps brachii is a flexor that flexes the elbow, while the triceps brachii is an extensor that extends the elbow. The deltoid muscle covers the shoulder joint and assists in lifting and rotating the forelimb. The pectoralis major is located on the chest and helps in forelimb movement.
In the legs, the hamstrings are located on the back of the thigh and act as flexors to flex the knee and extend the hip. The quadriceps femoris, on the other hand, are extensors located on the front of the thigh that extend the knee. The gluteal muscles, located in the buttocks, aid in extending the hip.
The movement of these voluntary muscles is controlled by the central nervous system, specifically the brain and spinal cord. Each muscle fibre is controlled by a single alpha motor neuron originating in the spinal cord or brain. These alpha motor neurons can control multiple muscle fibres, forming a functional unit known as a motor unit.
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Involuntary muscles: Examples include the diaphragm and muscles in the heart and intestines, which are controlled by the nervous system
Involuntary muscles, also known as "white muscles" or "smooth muscles", are muscles in the human body whose contraction and relaxation are controlled by the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system controls the activity of organs and blood vessels needed for essential daily functions, such as digestion and breathing. Involuntary muscles are found in the heart, respiratory system, and digestive system. They are involved in automatic internal processes needed for survival, such as controlling blood vessels and organs.
The heart muscle, or myocardium, is an example of an involuntary muscle. Cardiac muscles are striated and branched and are found only in the heart. They are responsible for pumping blood throughout the body and maintaining proper blood circulation by maintaining the heartbeat. The contraction of cardiac muscles is stimulated by the autonomic nervous system through the release of hormones or other chemical signals, such as acetylcholine and norepinephrine.
Smooth muscles are another type of involuntary muscle. They lack the striated structure of skeletal muscles and instead consist of sheets or layers of smooth muscle cells. Smooth muscles are found in the internal walls of the intestines, stomach, uterus, blood vessels, bronchi, and bladder. They help in pushing food molecules along the alimentary canal, controlling the internal diameter of the blood vessels, and contracting the uterus during labour and childbirth. Smooth muscles contract and relax more slowly than striated muscles.
Diseases that affect involuntary muscles include atherosclerosis, which is a disease that damages and blocks blood vessels. Problems with involuntary muscles can lead to a heart attack, depending on the part of the myocardium that is injured and the severity of the condition. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is another condition that can affect involuntary muscles by causing degeneration of the myelin sheath surrounding nerves, resulting in reduced impulses sent to the muscles and potential muscle weakness.
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Frequently asked questions
Some examples of skeletal muscles in cats include the triceps, biceps, gluteal muscles, deltoids, trapezius, and sternomastoid.
Muscles enable cats to catch prey and escape from potential threats. They also help stabilize joints, generate heat by shivering, and maintain bladder control.
Cats are believed to have 32 ear muscles, which allow for a 180-degree individual rotation of the ear.
Voluntary muscles in cats include those found in the arms and legs, such as the biceps and triceps.
Involuntary muscles in cats include those in the heart, diaphragm, intestines, and bladder.
