Why are cats not afraid of tigers?

For a long time, people’s impression of cats and tigers is that they look similar but are different in size. Some people say that a long time ago, the cat was the tiger’s master. The cat taught the tiger many skills, such as hunting, running, etc. Later, when the tiger gained skills, it became more ambitious and wanted to eat the cat. However, since ancient times, masters have kept a trick, and the same goes for cats. They have not taught tigers the ability to climb trees. Therefore, now, the difference between cats and tigers is that tigers cannot climb trees, but cats can. There is a common saying, “If the tiger doesn’t show its power, you will treat me as a sick cat.” So what is the relationship between cats and tigers?

First of all, tigers and cats are both modern cats. Tigers, lions, leopards, and snow leopards belong to the genus Panthera, subfamily Panthera, while cats, lynx, etc. belong to the genus Leopardae, subfamily Felis. About 60 million years ago, small ancient cats were the common ancestor of canines and cats, and their descendants include bears, wolves, dogs, tigers, etc.; true cats, true saber-toothed tigers and dinocats evolved from the differentiation of ancient cats. Later, true saber-toothed cats and dire cats became extinct during the Quaternary Ice Age; ancient cats, ancient cheetahs, ancient saber-toothed cats and pseudo-sabertooth cats evolved into multiple branches of ancient carnivorous cat-like animals. Among them, cheetahs differentiated from ancient cheetahs. The time was about 7 million years ago; the main ancestor of modern domestic cats is the African wild cat, which originated from the Matri cat in the middle of the Pleistocene century. The African wild cat is a forest wild cat that evolved from the Matri cat 900,000 years ago. branch. It was domesticated by the Egyptians about four to five thousand years ago.

In fact, modern cats and tigers are both small in size. The largest cat in the family is the saber-toothed tiger, which is twice the size of a lion. The modern tiger was just a “little brother” when its “big brother”, the saber-toothed tiger, became king, with the size of a modern civet cat. Almost like a lynx. Later, after the saber-toothed tiger became extinct, it came to power. Due to the increase in the size of its food, it also became larger. In addition, there was no need to climb trees on the grassland, so it grew bigger and bigger. The difference in size between tigers and cats is mainly due to the difference in the division of prey. Tigers and lions hunt bison, wildebeest, etc.; leopards hunt pigs, sheep, etc.; lynx eats rabbits, and cats hunt mice. Therefore, it seems that tigers will not eat cats when they see them, because it is not cost-effective (wasting physical energy to replenish the energy is pitiful, not as practical as catching a cow), and the cat meat is sour and unpalatable.

Finally, are cats afraid of tigers? They should be afraid. First of all, they are much bigger than themselves. Secondly, when cats see tigers, they will smell the fishy smell of tigers. This is the smell of carnivores. He should be afraid of such a huge carnivore. However, fortunately, our cats have a unique skill. They can climb into trees. If there is any danger, they will not be afraid anymore after climbing into the trees.

Tigers and lions are both cats and apex predators.
However, another feline species has become a pet for humans, and it is the cat.

As both felines, what are the obvious differences between cats and tigers?

There is a big difference in body shape.

Cats and tigers have very obvious differences in body shape.
Tigers are very big and cats are very small.
In the animal kingdom, larger body size brings advantages.

The recipes are different.

Tigers generally prey on large mammals, such as various wild deer, wild sheep, bison, wild boars, red deer, sambar, roe deer, musk deer, muntjac, etc.
Cats’ food is usually fish, rats, rabbits, etc.
Of course, this mainly depends on their own strength.

Different heart rates.

A tiger’s heart rate is only 56-97 beats per minute, while a cat’s heart rate is 140-240 beats.
Being smaller and having a faster heart rate is a given because it takes more power to drive blood through smaller vessels.

The attitude towards water is completely different.

Tigers love water and like to bathe and swim in the water.
Cats are afraid of water and are very resistant to water.
Although cats and tigers both belong to the feline family, they began to differentiate more than 10 million years ago. The differentiation of body shapes determines their different ecological niches, and the different ecological niches determine their appearance and habits. different.
In fact, both cats and tigers are very agile in their movements.
Of the same size, they are almost always invincible.
Of course, tigers are both agile and powerful, which is the ceiling of cats’ combat power.

Cats have sufficient agility but insufficient strength. Therefore, they have many natural enemies in nature.

Cats definitely cannot defeat tigers, but since they say cats are tigers’ masters, with cats’ super agility, when tigers attack cats, can cats escape from the tiger’s mouth?
This is indeed an interesting question.
Cats and tigers are animals belonging to different genera of the Feline family. Cats are not part of the tiger’s diet, but obviously tigers can eat cats, but cats have no ability to resist and can only run for their lives.
However, such a weak cat also has unique body-pressing skills that tigers cannot master, and can use it to escape!
We might as well use scoring to calculate domestic cats vs. tigers, and the probability of domestic cats escaping (based on standard domestic cats and standard wild tigers):
1. Cats have the fastest reaction among felines, with a field of view of 285 degrees and a reaction speed of only 10 milliseconds. Even domestic cats are much more agile than tigers. If a tiger cannot hit a cat, it will be very depressed. cat+1
2. Both cats and tigers can climb trees, but cats can climb trees much more smoothly than tigers, and they can climb to very high places. Tigers cannot climb trees anymore. Domestic cats +1
3. The average running speed of cats is about 55 kilometers per hour, and the same is almost the same for tigers. The two are tied in terms of speed, and there is no extra point.
4. Cats and tigers are both felines. They have neither long-lasting endurance when running at high speeds. They have to rest after a few minutes and cannot fight a protracted battle. This is not a plus for either of them.
5. Due to their small size and soft body, cats can escape by drilling holes, climbing walls, climbing over railings, jumping from high places, and other acrobatic tricks. Tigers cannot do these things, and cats will just find a flaw and escape (of course) , can’t encounter water, cats don’t like water, and tigers are great swimmers), domestic cats +1
6. The tiger’s strength, claws, and teeth are all fatal to cats, but the cat’s attack power is almost negligible compared to the tiger. The tiger +1
Comparing these main points, the domestic cat scored 3 points and the tiger scored 1 point. It seems that the master is still more powerful!
However, in reality, there are many examples of cats being eaten. The reason is the unequal position in the food chain. Tigers naturally have the opportunity to eat cats, but cats have no chance of eating tigers. This is an innate and unchangeable law.
Therefore, even though the cat, as the master, retains many unique skills, the tiger is too powerful, and the cat can only accept the fact that his apprentice is stronger than him!