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Comment by agloe_dreams | Hacker News Reader

This. Domestic cats are some of the most specialized killing machines in nature. Everything is raw murder machine. Massive muscle to weight ratio, optimized for extreme agility. 30mph top speed blows the doors off nearly anything it may encounter in nature. Tail allows for balance while running. Able to jump multiple times its own height. Able to fall a multiple of it's jump height. 20 built-in claws also act as tools to assist in movement and extreme climbing ability. Bite force enables additional attack vectors. Night vision. Ability to track small objects. Insane paw-eye coordination. Cats (big and small) are best predator.

All to sleep on your lap.

Edit: Also did I mention their incredible sense of smell and their built-in instinct to hide their tracks? Every. Single. Detail. Murder.

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Direct registering walking, too (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8riT_b8xbxg). Whiskers to feel air currents, sense prey close to their face, and estimate the dimension of holes. Swiveling ears to precisely locate faint scurrying sounds. Raspy tongues to hold prey. 200-degree visual fields with crazy-good motion detection.

I love my cats, but I often think about how utterly terrifying they'd be if I were prey-sized. (I.e., Adjusting for scales, I'd probably rather take my chances with a Xenomorph than a good mouser domestic cat.)

They also evolved in the wild as prey. This helps explain why they like bunkers like cardboard boxes.

But think about it. If you were constantly on the alert as both predator and prey, you'd be pretty nutso too.

> Able to fall a multiple of its jump height

My understanding is that it's higher than their terminal velocity, which makes any height fairly low risk. They can be expected to survive falling out of an airplane, for example.

The ultra-high upper frequency limit of their hearing also allows them to detect the hypersonic communications of mice, which is why they always seem to know where one is. Dogs cannot hear this high.

Edit 2: Did I mention absolute stealth and, in some breeds, camouflage?

Also absurdly fast reaction time means even a snake is not a threat.

I’ve read that they also attack reptiles in a way that exploits a reptilian weakness, which is their greatly reduced (relative to mammals) capacity for dealing with lactic acid buildup. They goad snakes, etc into repeated dramatic movements which causes their muscles to quickly saturate with lactic acid, greatly reducing their mobility.

Except the chonky ones, who would only stares back at you.

I think the fact that they are generally well fed and well cared for compared to wild animals makes a big difference as well

The fact that we feed them breaks their equilibrium with their prey. Normally a predator starts running out of food as it wipes out its prey, but not domestic cats. And not just pets, we also feed the ferals.

You made the sale.

>Cats (big and small) are best predator.

And yet it is illegal for humans to hunt lions, but not for lions to hunt human (though unwise in the extreme).

You're welcome to explain the concept of a legal system to a lion, if you think it would work.

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