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Cats are at a crucial point in their evolutionary journey as they transform from solitary hunters to domestic pets, a study by the BBC and the Royal Veterinary College has revealed. Our felines are adapting quickly to life in densely-packed cities, changing their behaviour to fit in with our 21st Century lives. They are time-sharing territory with other cats, killing less prey and learning to communicate with each other and people, research for BBC Two's Cat Watch 2014 found. In the first of a three-part series on the lives of modern domestic cats, we look at how our pets experience the world.
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3 10 2014 BBC News - Cat Watch 2014: What’s it like being a cat?
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28795300?print=true 1/5
MAGAZINE
2 October 2014 Last updated at 16:32 GMT
Cat Watch 2014: What’s it like being a cat?
Cats are at a crucial point in their evolutionary journey as they transform from solitary hunters to domestic pets, a study by
the BBC and the Royal Veterinary College has revealed.
Our felines are adapting quickly to life in densely-packed cities, changing their behaviour to fit in with our 21st Century lives. They are
time-sharing territory with other cats, killing less prey and learning to communicate with each other and people, research for BBC
Two's Cat Watch 2014 found.
In the first of a three-part series on the lives of modern domestic cats, we look at how our pets experience the world.
Cats' highly-developed senses, honed through millions of years of evolution, make
them highly efficient predators. In fact, our pets interact with the world in a very
different way to us.
Seeing like a cat
Cats see the world in muted colours, making it easier for them to see movement
without distractions. They also have large eyes for their size, allowing them to see well
in low-level light.
However, they can't focus on anything less than a foot away, so use their whiskers for
detecting objects closer to their bodies.
3 10 2014 BBC News - Cat Watch 2014: What’s it like being a cat?
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Moving like a cat
Cats are the gymnasts of the animal world. They can scale vertical walls, negotiate the
tops of fences and, if they stumble and fall, are able to land on their feet.
The reason for their athletic abilities is their unique skeletal structure. Their crouched
posture enables them to move stealthily and silently as well as to absorb the shock of
falling from a height.
In addition, their spring-like back legs can propel them forward and upwards at speed.
How a cat leapsHearing like a cat
Watch humans and cats attempt to locate the origin of ultrasonic sounds.
3 10 2014 BBC News - Cat Watch 2014: What’s it like being a cat?
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Cats have huge ears which can rotate independently of each other - moving up to 180
degrees. They also have a huge number of neurons between the ear and the brain
helping to decipher information quickly.
Their inner ear is constructed slightly differently from ours, meaning they can hear a
larger range of sounds than many other mammals. They can detect 11 octaves in total
- two octaves more than a human being - helping them track small creatures
communicating in ultrasonic squeaks.
Smelling like a cat
A cat's sense of smell is at least 100 times times better than ours and it is able to
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distinguish between thousands of odours.
A feline nose contains small scrolled bones covered in hundreds of millions of
receptors which quickly pick up all the scent information and take it to a highly-
developed part of the brain for processing.
Cats also have a secondary, hidden scent organ above the roof of their mouths -
exposed when they "sneer" - to detect odours in the air they breathe in.
Watch the first episode of Cat Watch 2014: The New Horizon Experiment on
Tuesday 7 October on BBC Two at 8pm or afterwards on the BBC iPlayer.
Subsequent episodes will be shown on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 October.
You can download a free interactive ebook Guide to Your Cat featuring analysis,
advice and case studies from the series and follow the series @BBCcats
You can also try out three interactive videos, featuring footage of newborn kittens, a
cat on a hunting expedition and city cats competing for territory.
The BBC is working with the Mammal Society to map the distribution and density of cat populations across the UK. To take part in the
survey, visit the Mammal Society website and fill in the online form.
With thanks to Professor Alan Wilson of the Royal Veterinary College, Dr John Bradshaw and Dr Rachel Casey of the University of
Bristol, Dr Sarah Ellis of the University of Lincoln, the residents of Hanover Street, Brighton, the villagers of Rottingdean, Sussex and
farmer David Hicks.
Written and produced by Lucy Rodgers. Design by Laura Cantadori. Development by Christopher Ashton and Nzar Tofiq.
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