When my long-haired ragdoll cat startles my barely domesticated short-haired kit

Question

When my long-haired ragdoll cat startles my barely domesticated short-haired kitten, the kitten's tail puffs out and the fur on her back stands up all the way down her spine. The long-haired cat, no matter how scared he gets, never noticeably extends his fur. I believe cats do this when frightened or excited, and I have been told it is to look larger. What mechanism allows them to do this? Why can't they do it with all of their fur, and why can't some cats seem to do it at all? Is this in any way related to when the hair stands up on the back of a human's neck when s/he gets scared?

Explanation / Answer

So yeah, I think this is probably a very similar mechanism. So, when we get cold or when we get scared, the muscles that hold the base of our hair in place contract and that makes the hairs on our arms or on the back of our neck stand up. But you might notice that it doesn

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