Transmitted Light
Definition/Function:
This hair belongs to the group Felis catus, or domestic cat.
Significance in the Environment:
Cat hair is common if there is a pet cat in the home. It is also transported by residence in the home on clothing to the school classroom or office.
Characteristic Features:
Cat hair tends to have a relatively wide medulla at mid-shaft but begins in the classic "wine goblet" form near the root and is uniserial
in the fleece but becomes more complex in the guard hairs. The pigment bodies are in the cortex. The cuticle tends to be imbricate, toothlike
and prominent over the main part of the shaft for both fleece and guard hairs. The root of the hair is elongated with little change in
diameter and is often frayed at the base.
Associated Particles:
Cat dander is associated with the hairs if from a pet.
References:
References with Photographs and/or Drawings
Hausman, Leon Augustus, "Structural charactreistics of the hair of mammals", THE AMERICAN NATURALIST, vol. 54, no. 635, pp.496-523,
Hausman, Leon Augustus, "Recent studies of hair structure relationships", THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY, pp. 258-277,
Glaister, John, A STUDY OF HAIRS AND WOOLS, Misr Press, Cairo, 1931.
FBI site for Animal Hair Identification: http://www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/fsc/backissu/july2004/research/2004_03_research02.htm
Keys Only
Mayer, William V., "The hair of California mammals with keys to the dorsal guard hairs of California mammals", THE AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST,
vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 480-512, 1952.
Stains, Howard J., "Field key to guard hair of middle western furbearers", JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT, vol. 22, no.1, pp. 95-97, January, 1958.
Mathiak, Harold A., "A key to hairs of the mammals of southern Michigan", JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 251-268, October, 1938.
