Do Catgirls need tails?

[BloodAngel]

Hence the title, I'm writing up on a race evolved from cat-like animals (please don't ask where I got this idea from ), and was thinking about the tail; once a species evolves to bipedalism, does the tail suddenly become vestigial? Or could the tail have some other evolutionary use attached to it?

[Ariphaos]

Hence the title, I'm writing up on a race evolved from cat-like animals (please don't ask where I got this idea from ;) ), and was thinking about the tail; once a species evolves to bipedalism, does the tail suddenly become vestigial? Or could the tail have some other evolutionary use attached to it?

Kilrathi? Starter episode of this season of Dr. Who? Japanese Nekojin? :-p

Primates lost tails before we became bipedal. Primates lost tails because they were more vestigal in the case of no longer being required to maintain balance or movement, and may have even been a bit of a liability (when grabbed, etc).

[Pablo Sanchez]

If the tail becomes somewhat prehensile or otherwise useful, or just isn't a liability, it would tend to be retained.

[Patrick Degan]

Sorry, what was the question again...?

[Darth Raptor]

Your catgirls don't need tails any more than my raptor boys need tails. It's perfectly plausible though. Like Xeriar said, the only reason we don't have tails is because we evolved from animals that had already lost them. It has nothing to do with bipedalism- actually, scratch that. Tails facilitate bipedalism if the animal isn't fully erect.

[Dooey Jo]

There's also sexual selection, through which you can get some pretty crazy stuff.

[NoXion]

A common mistake I see is that catgirls often have only one pair of breasts. In reality they should have six, or at least six nipples

Hmmm, six breasts

[Darth Servo]

No, this will not help your attempt to get some tail.

[Lusankya]

There's also sexual selection, through which you can get some pretty crazy stuff.

Isn't that the reason women have boobs? I remember reading once that babies can't latch onto human teats as well as they otherwise would because of boobs (not sure where I read it, so it could be wrong).

And boobs are pretty crazy things. Or make crazy things happen, or something.


ROAR!!!!! says GOJIRA!!!!!

[SWPIGWANG]

Kangaroo is bipedal and it needs a tail to balance its body.

nuff said.

[wolveraptor]

I'm pretty sure he's referring to erect bipedalism.

*snickers* Erect...catgirls *snickers*

[Crossroads Inc.]

A common mistake I see is that catgirls often have only one pair of breasts. In reality they should have six, or at least six nipples

Hmmm, six breasts

Sexual joking aside it is strictly true. Most primates have two nipples because they bare few young. Some however have upwards of 8 because of large litters.

A Race evolving from Felines would most likely have six, but move on toward two as the Race needed few childern to survive. (I think it was shown primates used to have more offspring, but this was reduced once they started putting more effort into rasing young)

An 'Evoloved' Felinoid as it where would most likely have a single pair of developed Breasts and perhaps one smaller, less developed pair of breasts and vestigial nipples. Males I would imagine would just have six vestigial nipples...

Hrmmm, this is getting fun to think about... What was the OP again?

[BloodAngel]

I'm going to go along with two breasts (though six does sound like an interesting write...), since this species has a slow reproductive cycle already.

...And I opened this post up with the breasts. Great job guys.

So, I began to think of the weight of tails. If the catperson had a tail, would they really be allowed to be fully erect since the tail would make them somewhat lean over? Or would the tail's weight be comparatively inconsequential?

I was also considering making the tail a communication medium, as real cats also do.

[Duckie]

I'm going to go along with two breasts (though six does sound like an interesting write...), since this species has a slow reproductive cycle already.

...And I opened this post up with the breasts. Great job guys.

So, I began to think of the weight of tails. If the catperson had a tail, would they really be allowed to be fully erect since the tail would make them somewhat lean over? Or would the tail's weight be comparatively inconsequential?

I was also considering making the tail a communication medium, as real cats also do.

If the tail is catlike it would probably not weigh much at all. Judging from my cat here, she weighs about 7 pounds and the tail has no more than 1/6th a pound of that if I'm judging this right. The weight certainly wouldn't be more than two breasts, and women get around quite fine carrying a greater weight on the other end.

[wolveraptor]

A cat's tail DOES, however, weigh enough to affect balancing, which is the reason for it's existence in the first place. Cheetahs can be seen swinging their tails wildly in a 360 degree motion to achieve balance on turns. I think a similar thing occurs when a housecat pounces.

[felineki]

<snip>

You know, that was something I actually pondered at one point... do catgirls go into estrus?

Anyway, keeping the tail around for body language is enough of a justification for me. What cats lack in facial expression they more than make up for with their ears and tails (and whiskers, to a lesser extent). The idea of a ticked off catgirl angirly smacking the side of a chair or something with her tail like an annoyed cat smacks the ground with their tail amuses me to no end... almost as much as the idea of a catgirl in heat.

[felineki]

A common mistake I see is that catgirls often have only one pair of breasts. In reality they should have six, or at least six nipples

Hmmm, six breasts

Cats have EIGHT nipples, not six.

Speaking of numbers, another thing you might want to consider (depending on how similar you want the ancestors of your cat-race to be to the cats we know and love today) is that cats' front paws have five digits, while their back paws have four... so maybe you could could give them five fingers on each hand, but four toes on each foot.

[Dooey Jo]

Isn't that the reason women have boobs? I remember reading once that babies can't latch onto human teats as well as they otherwise would because of boobs (not sure where I read it, so it could be wrong).

Well, that might be true. I don't know what other reasons there might be to have big boobs. I've heard that they tend to get in the way a lot. Especially when running...

Darwin proposed that the reason humans don't have a lot of hair like almost all other mammals was sexual selection. Others have hypothesised that humour and blonde hair and all sorts of stuff might also be...

And boobs are pretty crazy things. Or make crazy things happen, or something.

Indeed. They are mysterious.

[Sriad]

If you want the tails to have some use, by all means include them.

They could be prehensile, or add a dimension to their communications (how many animals can you think of with lots of mass dedicated to nothing but secondary or tetiary sexual characteristics?)... They'd have to be pretty big to contribute much to balance I think, but it could keep them from becoming vestigal.

Also, lots of boobs>two boobs.

[Executor32]

Also, lots of boobs>two boobs.

Agreeed, but to play the devil's advocate, what's the point if you only have two hands with which to play with them?

[LadyTevar]

Also, lots of boobs>two boobs.

Agreeed, but to play the devil's advocate, what's the point if you only have two hands with which to play with them?

Considering the average cat has a spine flexible enough to lick their own belly, who needs hands? Hell... male cats are flexible enough to lick their own penis!

[Pick]

I think the more important question is, "Do I want catgirls to have tails?"

If yes, do it. If no, don't. That's the wonder of the imagination. *Reading Raiiiin-bow! music* As long as they're your creation, you can pretty much staple on any use you want . Even decoration is a perfectly acceptable reason for an animal to have a certain feature. Just look at peacock tails!

[Admiral Valdemar]

Considering the average cat has a spine flexible enough to lick their own belly, who needs hands? Hell... male cats are flexible enough to lick their own penis!

When my cat does that, she looks like a miniature Buddha covered in fur.

[Surlethe]

Hell... male cats are flexible enough to lick their own penis!

The male of his species no longer need to use their hands, I see. Hell, if they're that flexible, there's no use for an opposable thumb on the paws now.

[Sriad]

Also, lots of boobs>two boobs.

Agreeed, but to play the devil's advocate, what's the point if you only have two hands with which to play with them?

Prehensile tails, sir!