#1 Primordial Pouches, Not Belly Fat!

Primordial pouch,
which looks like belly flap,
refers to the saggy layer of skin
that runs along from the back legs to the stomach.

Primordial pouch feels soft and tender, like touching the skin on the belly,
and all cats have it regardless of age and gender.

Other feline species, such as tigers and lions,
also have primordial pouches.


#2 The Purpose of the Primordial Pouch

1. To Move Quickly

The primordial pouch enables cats
to stride so flexibly
that their movement seems liquid-like.

Cats can also jump
more than twice their height
or run super fast.

Cats’ skin can tolerate
even such dynamic movement
because the primordial pouch can stretch out quite far.

2. To Protect Internal Organs

Cats’ important internal organs
are all located in their stomach,
so their life could be in danger
if attacked by predators.

The primordial pouch protects
such important organs.

For instance, even if the predators
attack cats with sharp claws or teeth,
cats’ loose skin
will prevent the internal organs
from getting fatally wounded.

3. To Store Food

In the wild,
cats used to live off small animals.
If they failed to hunt, they had to starve.

Therefore, primordial pouches may have come about
so that cats could eat as much as they could
when they had the chance.