h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I class myself as being pretty clued up on natural history.

However there is something that confuses me.

Cats are, inherently spotty. Certainly big cats, as opposed to domesticated cats, including lions, black panthers or leopards etc.


Does this apply to all cats at some point in their life cycle?

And where do Tigers fit into this?

Are cougars/Pumas, Caraxals etc also spotty at sim point, maybe as a kitten or in close up scrutiny?

Any ideas?

MMF

Some cat's spots are the same colour as their coat. Tigers have lines of spots.

Or just possibly some cats are smaller than their spots.

Single-color cats [black or white, for sure] don't seem to go through any periods when there are spots on their coats. I've known a few such cats throughout their life cycles, and no spots ever appeared.

Paulh, I've noticed that, if the light is right, you can detect the rosettes on black Panthers/Jaguars, and lion cubs and female lions have spots. There are few cats that appear spot free, such as puma and Caraxals, but uncertain re: Cubs/kits.

MMF

"if the light is right, you can detect the rosettes on black Panthers/Jaguars, and lion cubs and female lions have spots." [MMF]

I live in a panther-free neighborhood, so the opportunity to see them at any age is nonexistent. There are jaguars here occasionally, but they have wheels and chrome and seat belts. A general rule capable of being applicable to all cats sounds like a massive undertaking. I can imagine that certain big jungle cats and their relatives might have spots at an early age even if they lose them as adults. Perhaps the domestic cats that we have as pets broke away from the main branch of feline development before spots became part of the genome. Or perhaps not. Domestic cats rarely have spots, from what I've observed. If I'm wrong, then there should be lots of cats [in your neighborhood, perhaps?} with numerous spots.

I knew a woman, many years ago, who was a sign painter. She worked out of her garage, and I used to assist her from time to time.

She adopted a pure white kitten. She wanted to call her 'Whitey', while her daughter preferred 'Pinky' as she had a pink nose and foot pads. I insisted she should be called 'Spot' because her colour was pure and I thought it would be funny.

I was there one day when the 'Avon Lady' came by selling cosmetics. Grace decided she wanted to purchase a few items and asked me to take her into the house and make her a cup of coffee while she cleaned up.

Our visitor sat at the table while I fixed her cup and the kitten began to rub against her leg, as they do.

'What a cute kitten' she said 'what is her name?'

'Spot', I said.

She spent several minutes turning the poor thing around in her hands. At last she said, 'I give up, where is her spot?'

I said 'I'm sorry, that is just her name - not a description.'



F S

"She spent several minutes turning the poor thing around in her hands. At last she said, 'I give up, where is her spot?'"



Data's cat in Star Trek: The Next Generation is called Spot

White cats are very easy to "spot"

All big cats are spotty, but lion saliva contains Vanish.

Cats are difficult to spot in long grass at zoos...

Incidentally, if anyone feels like doing a Flea Market Rescue, why not look at: A4006063 The eight big cats

<BB<

I like striped cats -- usually gray or orange. I like calico cats and tortoise shell cats. The black ones sometimes have a bit of white on the head or stomach. If spots aren't in the DNA, I don't see any reason to think of them as lesser cats.

Well... this is just my own theory so I may be wrong ut:

Spots exist for a reason. Young deer and wild boar for instance also have spots. It's good camouflage and that's good to have if you are a cat. So I guess in most cases mutations without camouflage would die in the wild.
I mean, spots are not there for spots sake, they come for a reason. For tigers stripes obviously worked better.

The ancestors of our domesticated cat also have spots and stripes, but I guess you don't need that much camouflage for living with people and hunting the occassional mouse. And they would take care that your non-spotted children survive, too. But many still have the same colours (geyish brown with black stripes/spots).

and yes, it seems cougar cubs are also spotted.
And it's no surbrise that black panthers are spotted because they are in fact black jaguars.

I hope that helps.

living with people and hunting the occassional mouse!!!

Over the last 2 days one of my little monsters has a tally of 2 birds, 4 mice, 1 mole and 1 red squirrel, and that's just the ones he dragged back. He gets 2 big meals a day

Catmageddon

Oh, that's dedication.
mine was never that busy and very often when she brought mice our birds they were still alife and in good health so we could set them free again. When she was still young she hunted more.

My local troop of feral cats deserted the place when they ran out of birds.

The kangaroo rats have since been having a population explosion, while birds have been drifting in from around the neighborhood.

On cat colors and camouflage, I've noticed stripes on tabbies breaking up into bands of spots near the underbelly.

Cats are most comfortable against backgrounds that closely match their own colors and actively prefer such backgrounds for their favorite haunts.

Spots simulate dappled shadow, stripes tend to disappear against a backdrop of rippled water or vertical stems.

That's a really good analysis, ITIWBS.

Hong Kong Phooey's cat was called Spot but was Stripey.

Mua ha!

Are stripes considered to be spots, albeit elongated ones?

How about patches of tabby markings against a white background as with a calico?

http://pictures-of-cats.org/calico-cats.html

http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/more-on-cat-genetics/