Cats have five toes on their front paws and their back paws they have four. There are also cats that have seven front toes and, extra toes on their hind feet. When walking or running, a cat steps with both of its front legs, then both of its right legs. They normally walk on their toes. Domestic cats are known to sprint at approximately thirty-one miles an hour.

Their Special Way Of Walking

The cat is a skillful hunter and this may be the reason for a cat to walk in that special manner. Most animals will walk with alternate legs with the left front and right rear followed by the right front and the left rear. There are only three animals that do not follow this trend and,they are the giraffe, camel and the cat. The cat walk moves two legs on one side together first and, then shifts to repeat the motion with the other side. The beauty of such a method of walking is that it is a diagonal movement that conserves the animal’s energy as well as provides speed, agility as well as silence.

The Tail

The tail of the cat also plays a part in the cat walk as it provides balance, much in the same way as the tightrope walker uses a long pole. A cat that walks along a narrow ledge or fence can peer over in one direction by taking the help of its tail that moves in the opposite direction.

The Footpads

The footpads of the cat are extremely calloused and are of a modified skin that will cover the connective tissue and, thus is much tougher than normal skin. This allows the cat to walk even in the cold, without any problem.

The Paws

When the cat walks, its paws bear the full weight and a cat will stand as well as walk on the entire paw and, if were to be de-clawed, it will have to modify its stance. This would force the cat to walk unnaturally and puts extra strain on its paws. It would take the cat sometime to adjust to this changed circumstance, but once it does, the cat will walk with the adjusted motion, once again.

Big cats walk with their tails tucked behind them or tucked between their legs and this may be a ploy to conceal them to avoid being spotted by their enemies and, domestic cats may also walk this way, when stalking a mouse. That may be the reason why the term ‘cat walk’ was coined.

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