Cat facts the latest science on our feline companions

Originally published on Dec. 2, 2023

Quirks and Quarks54:01Cat facts the latest science on our feline companions

This week, a special edition of Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald: Cat facts the latest science on our feline companions:

Catfaces are more expressive than you think

Quirks and Quarks7:26Cat faces are more expressive than you think

A new study suggests that cats can make more than 250 different facial expressions to each other, using unique positions of their eyes, ears and facial muscles to communicate subtle changes in mood. Researchers recorded videos at a Los Angeles cat cafe to study the facial expressions the animals make while interacting among themselves. Brittany Florkiewicz, assistant professor of psychology at Lyon College in Arkansas and a co-author of the new study, said the majority of those expressions could be categorized as either friendly or unfriendly. This research was published in Behavioral Processes.

Cats can get sick with coronaviruses and get better with COVID-19 antivirals

Quirks and Quarks6:43Cats can get sick with coronaviruses and get better with COVID-19 antivirals

A lethal cat coronavirus that causes feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), which has previously been considered incurable, could be controlled by some of the antivirals that have proven effective in the SarS-Cov-2 pandemic. Feline infectious disease specialist Danielle Gunn-Moore tested antiviral drugs in a population of over 300 cats, and found that treatment was effective in 85 per cent of the animals. This study was published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery.

Cats are built to purr

Quirks and Quarks9:07Cats are built to purr

The cat'spurr is an unusually low sound for such a small animal. University of Vienna professor Tecumseh W. Fitch studied the physiology of cat larynges the organ in the back of the throat involved in breathing and sound production, also known as the voice box to figure out how cats can produce this sound. In his research, which was published in Current Biology, he identified a pair of fatty pads that help slow down the vibration of the vocal folds to make the low-frequency rumbling.

Cats can make it harder to get away with murder

Quirks and Quarks8:20Cats can make it harder to get away with murder

Scientists in the UK have developed a new DNA test that can more precisely identify cat hair, which they think can be used to identify criminals who pick up, or leave behind, shed hairs at a crime scene. Mark Jobling and his colleagues at the University of Leicester developed a sensitive test for mitochondrial DNA that can be extracted from cat hair. This study was published in the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics.

Even when they're curled up in your lap, cats have "one paw in the wild"

Quirks and Quarks18:29Even when they're curled up in your lap, cats have "one paw in the wild"

Evolutionary biologist Jonathan B. Losos, author of the new book The Cat's Meow: How the Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa, shares more new research on how cats came to command our lives, how humans have created over 73 breeds of Felis catus, and why, after all this time, cats are only semi-domesticated, with one paw still in the wild.

WATCH: Cats inspire poetry in the future.