Cats are mammals, which means that they are warm blooded. Warm blooded creatures keep their bodies at a constant temperature by generating their own heat when they are in a cooler environment, and by cooling themselves when they are in a hotter environment. Warm blooded creatures like cats generate heat by converting the majority of the food that they eat into energy to maintain a constant body temperature, while only a small amount of the food that they eat is actually needed to convert into body mass.
To stay cool, cats and other warm blooded animals sweat or pant which allows them to lose heat by water evaporation. These creatures are also able to cool off by moving into a shaded area or by getting wet. Only mammals are able to sweat. Primates such as the ape or monkey, or us humans are equipped with sweat glands located all over our bodies. Dogs and cats on the other hand have sweat glands on their feet only. Whales are one of the few mammals that do not have sweat glands, however they do not really require them since they live in water. Mammals also have hair, fur, blubber, or feathers to help keep themselves warm. Much of this fur or hair is shed in the summer to help the animals cool off and maintain their body temperature, and grows thicker in the winter to keep them warm. Warm blooded animals such as the cat are also able to shiver which generates more heat when they get too cold.
Cold blooded creatures on the other hand take on the temperature of their surroundings. In other words, they are hot when their environment is hot and cold when their environment is cold. In hot environments, cold blooded creatures like reptiles and amphibians can have blood that is much warmer than that of warm blooded animals. Cold blooded animals are much more active in warn environments and are very sluggish when in cold environments. This is due to the fact that their muscle activity depends on chemical reactions which run quickly when it is hot and slowly when it is cold. Cold blooded creatures are able to convert much more of their food into body bass, compared to warm blooded animals.
Cold blooded animals can often be found basking in the sun to warm up and increase their metabolisms. When a cold blooded animals gets too hot you may find them lying parallel towards the sun’s rays rather than perpendicular, retreating to a shady area, or burrowing into cool soil.
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