Cats can do so thanks to the unique anatomy of their shoulders. In humans, the individual components of the shoulder girdle are all connected tightly together for support. In cats, the only thing connecting their shoulder blades and collarbone to the rest of the body is muscle and they have an extremely flexible spine.
The ratio between the size of their collarbones compared to the rest of the body is also much smaller compared to the differences compared to humans and they use their whiskers to interact with their surroundings. Whiskers are much thicker than other hairs and fit in much deeper in their skin, and are packed with nerve endings to convey information about their surroundings.
A new study, published by Elsevier Inc. in the Journal Cell, investigated what techniques cats use when they come across small spaces. Body size awareness is key, and in this study, the cats demonstrated this, particularly of their height. When looking at several cats interacting with a range of differently sized holes, they found that cats hesitated more so at short openings. This hesitation upon short but passable gaps suggests that cats have a “reliance on body size representation” as lowering themselves to fit shorter gaps makes them feel more vulnerable,
whereas for tall but narrow openings they rely on a “trial and error” method instead and are more confident doing so. For other creatures such as dogs, collisions can be extremely detrimental, so they typically slow down and find an alternative passage, making a priori decisions using their representation of their body shape before reaching the opening. Cats seemingly only do this for shorter gaps, but not extremely narrow ones.
Cats interact with their environment using slow, careful movements and have a unique ability to navigate narrow gaps to avoid predators, ambush prey and assess their surroundings, all thanks to their biological advantages. Cats use all their combined physical traits to manipulate their body and move through their environment - how else do you become king of the jungle and your household?
