Cat lovers call the soft, round pads on their pets' paws “beans.” But why do cats need them? (Image credit: Maliflower73 via Getty Images)
From their tiny noses to their fluffy tails, there are plenty of things to love about cats. One of the most beloved features of many cat lovers’ furry friends is their “beans” — the soft, round pads on their paws that are also known as paw pads. Named for their resemblance to real beans, these little pads have been the subject of countless cute cat videos, and there are even entire forums online dedicated to them.
But why do cats have beans on their toes? The answer lies in millions of years of evolution.
“In some ways, the question isn’t why do cats have paw pads,” Jonathan Losos, an evolutionary biologist at Washington University in St. Louis and the author of “The Cat’s Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa” (Viking, 2023), told Live Science. He explained that most members of the order Carnivora — a taxonomic group that includes cats, dogs, wolves, bears, raccoons, and otters — also have some form of pad on their paws. So the real question is why do all these animals have pads.
Losos said the foot pads likely evolved about 50 million years ago, when Carnivora first evolved. “It's an old trait, and I suspect that in most cases they all serve the same purpose,” he added.
Paw pads serve several key functions in cats and their carnivorous relatives. First, they help them run, jump, and land softly. Most importantly, Losos says, they act as shock absorbers; specialized phalanges are one reason cats can fall from great heights without serious injury.
The internal structure of a cat's paw pads is made up of fatty tissue bound with collagen, which makes them soft and springy and helps absorb shock. One study that looked at the structure of domestic cats' paw pads found that they stiffen when compressed, helping to cushion the landing. The researchers also noted that at the cellular level, the paw pads have ellipsoidal pockets of fat that absorb energy and prevent instability when the cat lands.
Cat beans are so effective at cushioning falls that some scientists are studying them to create better shoes for skydivers. Researchers have replicated the fatty structure of paw pads in 3D-printed shoe soles, which helps cushion high falls.
In addition to providing a soft surface to land on, toe pads aid in dexterity by providing traction. Without paw pads, cats, dogs, and other members of the order Carnivora would slip and lose their balance on their furry paws. And, like human fingers, paw pads are highly sensitive. Amy Shojai, a certified animal behavior consultant and author of pet care books, told Live Science in an email that cats can detect subtle changes in temperature through their toe pads, and that the area is fine-tuned to perceive different textures.
The toe pads are also one of the few places on a cat’s body where sweat glands are located, and this is true for most other members of the order Carnivora. “You may notice damp paw prints when your cat is very stressed,” Shojai noted. That sweat on the pads may help with temperature regulation a little, but cats mostly lick themselves to stay cool.
Shojai explained that the variety of paw pad colors is largely a reflection of each cat's fur color, which is determined by the amount of melanin in the area. In general, darker fur corresponds to black or brown beans.
Sourse: www.livescience.com
