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Cat hindfoot claw disembowelment...is that really a thing?
Topic Started: Nov 7 2017, 12:07 PM (1,434 Views)
k9boy
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is there any difference in skin thickness between horses and zebras?

horses skin is a little thicker then humans,so humans are definitly at risk from disembowelment from leopards, pumas and such. though this is unlikely, as cats never intentionally try and disembowel.
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Ausar
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FelinePowah
Feb 28 2018, 04:01 AM
Ausar
Feb 28 2018, 12:27 AM
I expected this to be revived.

That's a fascinating account. It shows that big cats can actually gut certain animals with the claws on their feet. With cats as a model, I'm wondering what this means for certain extinct clawed-footed predators and just the damage they can do, namely carnivorous dinosaurs. Dromaeosaurids had their giant sickle claws and extremely thick hindlimb bones and muscles. Other theropods didn’t have retractable claws on their feet, but tracks show that they were still sharp despite this and more or less had extremely muscular hindlimbs too. When kicking/raking downward/backward, the femur-retracting tail muscles (of some) would provide much more power in the movement than in animals without them.
Dont ruin the post by dragging dinos into it.....you have your own forum😜
It was one digression, and it still somehow connected to the thread's main topic. As long as a prolonged discussion about it doesn't follow up, which it still hasn't, it's not a big deal. That said, to help make sure it doesn't, I will end it here.

Quote:
 
is there any difference in skin thickness between horses and zebras?

horses skin is a little thicker then humans,so humans are definitly at risk from disembowelment from leopards, pumas and such. though this is unlikely, as cats never intentionally try and disembowel.
Well, since some horses are bigger than zebras I'd expect their skin to be thicker in absolute terms as a result of their larger size. Proportionately speaking, I don't know, but I intuitively wouldn't expect one.

I looked up horse skin thickness compared to humans, and, wow, you were right. Apparently horse skin is only about a millimeter thicker than a human's.

https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2015/03/25/whip-use-horses-more-sensitive-pain/

Edited by Ausar, Feb 28 2018, 05:09 AM.
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Cat
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I don't understand how a lioness - or any other carnivore btw - could do that amount of damage. At first I thought it was just a big flap of skin being torn off but then I clearly noticed the organs tumbling off. It looks like it has been hit by an auto-cannon. Apparently it's the lion hind legs that caused that, and in very short time. Either there is something that we are missing from the footage, or there is some particular weakness in equine bellies, or it's a incredibly freaky event.
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k9boy
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The proofs right there. There are many stories and accounts of cats disemboweling the stomach with their. Of course some are definitely questionable, but it was always obvious there was some truth to the many many claims throughout the years.

Until this, the best account was that of a male gorilla having its belly slashed open by a melanistic leopard that was somewhat of a specialist at gorilla hunting. They are capable of it, but its not how they kill, and like an above poster said it was likely unintentional.

regarding the skin vunerability to clawing, here is something by Gato:

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"I also managed to gather solid medical and anatomic evidence that explains why us humans and big apes are so vulnerable to clawing: we practically lack an essential tissue (Panniculus Carnaseum) that lies below the skin that (a) allows the skin to move and (b) allows relatively quick healing of slashing and cutting wounds in the skin. Basically, the vascular structure (blood vessels) in our skin is deeply anchored, so clawing would produce in us deep wounds with a lot of bleeding that would heal relatively slowly. The situation is entirely different in practically all carnivores, rodents, lagomorphs (which pant to cool off). They have this tissue, and thus are much less vulnerable to clawing (the vascular structure is local, not deeply anchored, so there is much less bleeding). Pigs, antelopes, horses and monkeys like baboons and macaques are somewhere in the middle: they have this tissue but they sweat and so it is not so efficient and/or doesn't cover delicate body parts. Big animals like elephants, rhinos and hippos have very thick skin. Unfortunately, it is a lot of technical stuff and I just don't have the time to sort it out to make it readable."

its not that humans, apes and horses have thin skin (gorillas actually have similar skin thickness to lions) its that they skin more rigid and attached to their structure, as opposed to that of animals like cats and dogs.

thickness of skin will only save an animal if its REALLY thick, like rhinos and such.
Edited by k9boy, Mar 4 2018, 05:03 AM.
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Ausar
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Quote:
 
The situation is entirely different in practically all carnivores, rodents, lagomorphs (which pant to cool off). They have this tissue, and thus are much less vulnerable to clawing (the vascular structure is local, not deeply anchored, so there is much less bleeding). Pigs, antelopes, horses and monkeys like baboons and macaques are somewhere in the middle: they have this tissue but they sweat and so it is not so efficient and/or doesn't cover delicate body parts.
So, animals that sweat (or at least have sweat glands: pigs apparently have sweat glands but they don't really seem to sweat) will tend to lack loose skin but animals that don't are likely to have it?

Edit: yes, apparently (this is an old post about it; scroll down a bit).
Edited by Ausar, Mar 4 2018, 05:39 AM.
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