In captivity, indoor cats typically live 14 to 20 years, though the oldest-known cat lived to age 36. Domestic cats tend to live longer if they are not permitted to go outdoors (reducing the risk of injury from fights or accidents and exposure to diseases) and if they are spayed or neutered. Neutered male cats cannot develop testicular cancer, spayed female cats cannot develop ovarian cancer and both have a reduced risk of mammary cancer. Feral cats living in modern urban environments often live only two years, or less. Feral cats in maintained colonies can live much longer; the British Cat Action Trust reported a 19-year-old feral female. The oldest feral cat was Mark who was maintained by the British charity Cats Protection and who reached 26 years of age.

Cats are athletic. Fast sprinters, they are capable of reaching speeds of about 30 mph but only for short distances. They can often jump vertically up a fence or wall over 7 feet from stationary.The domestic cat is one of the few four-legged animals that do not possess rigid collarbones. This allows him to fit through an opening about the size of his head.

Ears
A half-Siamese kitten showing the ears he inherited from his mother.Thirty-two individual muscles in the ear allow for a manner of directional hearing; [9] the cat can move each ear independently of the other. Because of this mobility, a cat can move its body in one direction and point its ears in another direction. Most cats have straight ears pointing upward. Unlike dogs, flap-eared breeds are extremely rare. (Scottish Folds are one such exceptional genetic mutation.) When angry or frightened, a cat will lay its ears back, to accompany the growling or hissing sounds it makes. Cats will also turn their ears back when they are playing, or occasionally to show interest in a sound coming from behind them.

Metabolism
An orange tabby taking a "cat nap"Cats conserve energy by sleeping more than most animals, especially as they grow older. Daily durations of sleep are various, usually 12–16 hours, with 13–14 being the average. Some cats can sleep as much as 20 hours in a 24-hour period. The term cat nap refers to the cat's ability to fall asleep (lightly) for a brief period and has entered the English lexicon – someone who nods off for a few minutes is said to be "taking a cat nap".

Due to their crepuscular nature, cats are often known to enter a period of increased hyperactivity and playfulness during the evening and early morning, dubbed the "evening crazies", "night crazies" or "mad half hour" by some.

The temperament of a cat can vary depending on the breed and socialization. Shorter haired cats tend to be skinnier and more active, while cats with longer hair tend to be heavier and less active.

The normal body temperature of a cat is between 38 and 39 °C (101 and 102.2 °F). A cat is considered febrile (hyperthermic) if it has a temperature of 39.5 °C (103 °F) or greater, or hypothermic if less than 37.5 °C (100 °F). For comparison, humans have a normal temperature of approximately 37 °C (98.6 °F). A domestic cat's normal heart rate ranges from 140 to 220 beats per minute, and is largely dependent on how excited the cat is. For a cat at rest, the average heart rate should be between 150 and 180 bpm, about twice that of a human.

Legs
A popular belief holds that cats always land on their feet; they do usually—but not always. During a fall, a cat can reflexively twist its body and right itself using its acute sense of balance and flexibility. This is known as the cat's "righting reflex." It always rights itself in the same way, provided it has the time to do so during a fall. Certain breeds that don't have a tail are a notable exception, since a cat moves its tail and relies on conservation of angular momentum to set up for landing.

Cats, like dogs, are digitigrades: they walk directly on their toes, the bones of their feet making up the lower part of the visible leg. Cats are capable of walking very precisely, because like all felines they directly register; that is, they place each hind paw (almost) directly in the print of the corresponding forepaw, minimizing noise and visible tracks. This also provides sure footing for their hind paws when they navigate rough terrain.

Like all members of family felidae, with the exception of the cheetah, cats have retractable claws. In their normal, relaxed position the claws are sheathed with the skin and fur around the toe pads. This keeps the claws sharp by preventing wear from contact with the ground and allows the silent stalking of prey. The claws on the forefeet are typically sharper than those on the hind feet. Cats can extend their claws voluntarily on one or more paws at will. Cats may extend their claws in hunting or self-defense, climbing, "kneading", or for extra traction on soft surfaces (bedspreads, thick rugs, their owners etc.). The curved claws may become entangled in carpet or thick fabric, which may cause injury if the cat is unable to free itself.

Senses
A close-up of a cat's eyeMeasuring the senses of any animal can be difficult because there is usually no explicit communication (e.g., reading aloud the letters of a Snellen chart) between the subject and the tester.

While a cat's senses of smell and hearing may not be as keen as, say, those of a mouse, they are superior in many ways to those of humans. These along with the cat's highly advanced eyesight, taste, and touch receptors make the cat extremely sensitive among mammals.

Sight
Testing indicates that a cat's vision is superior at night in comparison to humans, and inferior in daylight. Cats, like dogs, have a tapetum lucidum that reflects extra light to the retina. While this enhances the ability to see in low light, it appears to reduce net visual acuity, thus detracting when light is abundant. In very bright light, the slit-like iris closes very narrowly over the eye, reducing the amount of light on the sensitive retina, and improving depth of field. The tapetum and other mechanisms give the cat a minimum light detection threshold up to seven times lower than that of humans. Variation in color of cats' eyes in flash photographs is largely due to the interaction of the flash with the tapetum.

The tapetum lucidum reflecting green in the pupils of a cat.Average cats have a visual field of view estimated at 200°, versus 180° in humans, with a binocular field (overlap in the images from each eye) narrower than that of humans. As with most predators, their eyes face forward, affording depth perception at the expense of field of view. Field of view is largely dependent upon the placement of the eyes, but may also be related to the eye's construction. Instead of the fovea which gives humans sharp central vision, cats have a central band known as the visual streak. Cats can apparently differentiate among colors, especially at close range, but without appreciable subtlety.

Cats have a third eyelid, the nictitating membrane, which is a thin cover that closes from the side and appears when the cat's eyelid opens. This membrane partially closes if the cat is sick; although in a sleepy, content cat this membrane is often visible. If a cat chronically shows the third eyelid, it should be taken to a veterinary surgeon.

Cats have a wide variation in eye colour, the most typical colours being golden, green and orange. Blue eyes are usually associated with the Siamese breed, but they are also found in albino cats. If an albino cat has two blue eyes, it is usually deaf; however, orange eyes usually indicate the cat is free of hearing problems. Albino cats having one blue and one orange eye are normally deaf on the same side as the blue eye.

Hearing
Humans and cats have a similar range of hearing on the low end of the scale, but cats can hear much higher-pitched sounds, even better than dogs. Cats can hear 2 octaves higher than humans, and one-half octave higher than dogs. When listening for something, a cat's ears will swivel in that direction; a cat's ear flaps (pinnae) can independently point backwards as well as forwards and sideways to pinpoint the source of the sound. Cats can judge within three inches (7.5 cm) the location of a sound being made one yard (approximately one meter) away - this can be useful for localizing prey etc.

Smell
A domestic cat's sense of smell is about fourteen times as strong as a human's. Cats have twice as many smell-sensitive cells in their noses as people do, which means they can smell things we are not even aware of. Cats also have a scent organ in the roof of their mouths called the vomeronasal, or Jacobson's, organ. When a cat wrinkles its muzzle, lowers its chin, and lets its tongue hang a bit, it is opening the passage to the vomeronasal. This is called gaping, "sneering", or "flehming". Gaping is the equivalent of the Flehmen response in other animals, such as dogs, horses and big cats.

Touch
Whiskers clearly distinguishable on the wrist of even a long haired catCats generally have about a dozen whiskers in four rows on each upper lip, a few on each cheek, tufts over the eyes and bristles on the chin. Whiskers may also be found on the cat's inner "wrists", and there are similar hairs which make up the cat's eyebrows. The Sphynx (a nearly hairless breed) may have full length, short, or no whiskers at all.

Whiskers (technically called vibrissae) can aid with navigation and sensation. Whiskers may detect very small shifts in air currents, enabling a cat to know it is near obstructions without actually seeing them. The upper two rows of whiskers can move independently from the lower two rows for even more precise measuring.

It is thought that a cat may choose to rely on the whiskers in dim light where fully dilating the pupils would reduce its ability to focus on close objects. The whiskers also spread out roughly as wide as the cat's body making it able to judge if it can fit through an opening.

Whiskers are also an indication of the cat's attitude. Whiskers point forward when the cat is inquisitive and friendly, and lie flat on the face when the cat is being defensive or aggressive.

Taste
According to National Geographic December 8, 2005 cats cannot taste sugary foods due to a faulty sweet receptor gene. Some scientists believe this is related to the cat's diet being naturally high in protein, though it is unclear whether it is the cause or the result of it.