24
votes
Accepted
Do cats walk on their tiptoes?
Cats and dogs do walk on their toes, in what is called digitigrade stance. This is opposed to the plantigrade stance of humans.
This is shown nicely on this Wikipedia diagram, where the dog (or cat) ...
- 6,256
10
votes
Accepted
Is whisker layout in a dog a constant?
I've looked around in scientific publications and found no indication that whisker patterns are used anywhere to identify canines (neither lost dogs nor wild animals or those living in zoos).
There ...
Elmy♦
- 33.3k
7
votes
Accepted
My vet told me my cat's heart has an abnormal sound--will this affect how long she might live?
General Information
An abnormal heart sound may affect your cat's lifespan, but from this information it's impossible to know what type of problem is causing the abnormal sound or if it can affect ...
- 20.2k
7
votes
Gourami breathing at water's surface
Don't panic!
This is entirely normal behaviour for Gouramis (within moderation). Gouramis are part of a group of fish called 'Labyrinth Fish' (Sometimes also known as 'Anabantoids'). These fish have a ...
- 5,125
7
votes
Accepted
Can big cats retract their claws?
Yes, all cats have retractable claws, though a Cheetah's claws are only semi-retractable. The claws on the front legs of a cat are fully retractable as they need to be sharp for holding onto prey, for ...
- 19.6k
6
votes
Accepted
Has anyone touched a male lion? Is the lion's mane just like stringy human hair?
According to Jacob Markow, a supposed "zookeeper who specializes in the care of tigers and other big cats", and an "animal handler and trainer", who answered the Quora question: ...
- 1,538
6
votes
At what age do ginger cats start having black whiskers?
Color of whiskers isn't set in stone, nor is their transition.
Some cats start black, other cats start white (one of our current cats has black whiskers at age 1, the others have white whiskers at age ...
- 5,626
5
votes
Reverse a debeaked hen?
A chicken's beak will grow back over time. Presumably, the beak was trimmed by someone who knew what they were doing. Any attempts on your part to correct by trimming the lower part are likely to ...
- 29.3k
5
votes
What are these odd bumps on my Dachshund's cheeks?
They're called "vibrissae"-- they're not defects, they serve an important function. They're sensitive receptors, like a cat's whiskers. They pick up air currents and alert a dog to any movement or ...
4
votes
Do cats walk on their tiptoes?
Not sure how many bones are past them, but those toe-beans look like they're exactly where I develop callouses on my hands. So they're kinda walking on their palms.
(Reddit)
(tinkercad.com)
Put your ...
- 550
4
votes
Difference of CAE, SAE, and OTTO fish
Fish in the pictures attached to your question looks like Gyrinocheilus aymonieri (Chinese algae eater, CAE for short).
Chinese algae eater (Gyrinocheilus aymonieri)
Image source: Wikipedia.
Image ...
- 210
4
votes
Is my guppy healthy? Its colour is weird
I assume you mean the weird color of the torso of the guppy.
It looks so weird because it's actually transparent and you can see the organs and the spine inside the body. Here's an example of 2 ...
Elmy♦
- 33.3k
4
votes
Accepted
Rescued European sparrow has a weird pimple
The „pimple“ is a normal part of the bird’s anatomy, it’s the uropygial or oil gland and it produces the oils necessary to waterproof and care for his plumage - think of it as nature’s conditioner.
...
- 3,099
4
votes
My vet told me my cat's heart has an abnormal sound--will this affect how long she might live?
Sounds like a heart murmur. There are different types of murmurs, so there's no way to say in general how it will affect your cat.
Our cat has one, and when we asked the vet the question you're ...
- 141
4
votes
Accepted
Do non neutered cats shed more hair?
In my experience, cats shed the same amount of fur after they are spayed/neutered.
I have had cats that have been unneutered and unspayed and I have not seen any difference in the amount of shedding ...
- 19.6k
3
votes
My dog has very reflective eyes but no night vision!
The light reflecting cells in the dog's eye do send light to the light sensitive cells one extra time, giving the dog better night vision than we humans have.
But just as in humans, dogs can have eye ...
- 19.6k
3
votes
Betta with black dots on fins
This is a little bit of a mystery and my answer is a collection of possibilities that I've looked at. As you noted in your comment, he is still healthy and active.
Peppering
In Discus and some Angel ...
- 5,125
3
votes
What is my male apple mystery snail doing?
Two possible things I can think of judging by the pic:
Just grabbing some air. Apple snails have a kind of snorkel they use to breath air from the surface. You can see it in the right of your picture....
- 5,403
3
votes
Accepted
Any idea what this growth is on my dog's belly?
As mentioned in the comment, this is your dog's nipple; if you look close you will find more.
It is totally normal; all mammals have them (both genders). We have had this question here before for ...
- 19.6k
3
votes
Cat’s tail only goes to the right after fall
So the bones in the hip and tail do not have any fractures.
This means there must be an injury to the soft tissue, most likely to a muscle. If this is the case, it will heal up nicely.
It might be an ...
- 19.6k
3
votes
My Amelanistic Corn Snake is turning yellow?
If nothing has changed, and he's still eating and acting normal, there's probably nothing to worry about. Snakes often change color as they age, some very dramatically (e.g. green tree pythons, cotton ...
- 277
3
votes
Accepted
What is the purpose of a cat's heel (halfway up the leg)?
From @Krupip's comment in a related post:
It's a pivot point where muscles attach to.
Muscles contract, causing the bone to act like a lever, pushing the
whole foot down, allowing more force to be ...
- 549
2
votes
What is the near point (punctum proximum) of cats?
According to this research seems to be 12cm.
Determined the near point of accommodation in 4 cats by measuring visual acuity at viewing distances varying from 125 to 12 cm. The near point of ...
- 131
2
votes
Do dogs close off their noses in the water?
As far as I know dogs cannot physically close their nostrils, among mammals only the aquatic ones possess such mechanisms.
But completely sealed nostrils are not actually that necessary because water ...
- 210
2
votes
What is my male apple mystery snail doing?
Lots of water living snails have both a lung and gills, and the lung takes up oxygen if there is too little oxygen in the water to fully supply the snail with oxygen from the gills.
If you look from ...
- 19.6k
2
votes
Leopard gecko tail injury question (harsh pictures)
I can see right away this is most likely infected. If this is the case, you should consider getting your leopard gecko checked out by a local vet, whether a herp vet or just your veterinarian.
It ...
- 51
2
votes
Accepted
How can I tell if my cats are related?
I think they are siblings, but to be 100% sure you need a DNA test; for me, they look like they are from the same litter (same age and same color patterns).
They most likely have the same mother and ...
- 19.6k
2
votes
Is my guppy pregnant? How could I tell whether a guppy is pregnant?
Here you can see 4 signs of guppies during pregnancy until birth (source).
The gravid spot does not need to be completely black, in lighter colored fish it could also be a kind of gray.
Fish in ...
- 6,006
2
votes
Why did my dog's ears start to flop?
This answer is part of Pet's Spring Cleaning Campaign. This question is old, but this answer will still help people with the same problem.
It depends on your dog. For example, one (or both) ears ...
- 1,538
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