Senses and Anatomy of the Cat
Evolution has made cats a very well-developed hunting machine which is based on a 24 bone skeleton that contrasts with human's 206. The difference is set in the high number of bones that form the animals spine and that extend up to the tip of their tails in almost all cat breeds.
Uniformed corporal structure
Opposite to dogs in which determined physical characteristics have been modified or eliminated in some breeds to respond to their specific needs of endurance, like the shepherd dogs, or the hounds speed, cat's skeleton keep the same basic peculiarities in all the breeds, except in counted exceptions such as the Manx cat or the Japanese Bobtail.
When comparing cats and dogs, the former developed physically within very strict margins: between 3.5 and 7 k in the case of not sterilized males, and 2.5 to 4.5 k in female cases. Cats medium size is about 30 cms. from ground to shoulder, and 80 cms. from head to tail. In other words all domestic cats are more or less the same size, while dogs come in different shapes and sizes, depending on the breed.
Though morphology of cats don't show great variety you can observe certain differences on the body. Feline classification defines three types. First, the cobby, compact and solid with a small round head, flat face, wide shoulders and hindquarters and short legs, like the European short hair and Persian cat. Second, the muscular type, like the Cornish or the Devon Rex of a less rounded head, medium shoulders and hindquarters and slightly short legs. Finally, the third type, the agile type like the Siamese which stands out for having a sort of long wedge-shaped head, slender long legs and narrow shoulders.
