What Nerves Are in a Cat's Back Leg?

Have you ever wondered just what happens inside a cat's body when it rears back and jumps up to your furniture or favorite cat tower from the floor? Those strong muscles in the back legs of your cat operate the way they do because of four major nerves that feed information to them from the brain.

  1. Sciatic Nerve

    • The largest, longest and widest of these nerves is the sciatic nerve, which starts at the lower back portion of your cat's body, all the way down both back legs to the toes. This nerve is the most important because it receives information from the brain along the spinal cord that controls the movement of your cat's lower half. It controls the way a cat flexes its legs, especially for walking and jumping. The sciatic nerve branches from the spinal cord into two distinct sections called the articular region, which controls arteries and blood flow, and the muscular region, which works with your cat's muscles in the rear legs to aid in its strength and agility when jumping.

    Femoral Nerve

    • The femoral nerve, as its name would suggest, extends down the femoral
      artery, which is the main circulatory center for your cat's legs, from the femoral triangle, which begins your cat's upper thighs, to the lower part of the back leg. This nerve controls the muscles in the back leg by allowing your cat's legs to stretch or bend. If you've ever noticed your cat lifting its leg up to clean, that's the femoral nerve hard at work. This nerve also gives cats the sense of touch along the thigh and part of the lower leg.

    Tibial nerve

    • Attached to the sciatic nerve and branching away to the lower leg is the tibial nerve. It receives information from the sciatic nerve to control the movement and feeling your cat has in its lower legs and paws, especially when bending inward. A good example of this nerve's performance happens when your cat sits back on its haunches and its legs tuck in underneath his rear.

    Fibular or Common Peroneal Nerve

    • The last major nerve in your cat's back legs is called the fibular nerve, also known as the common peroneal nerve. Like the tibial, this nerve also branches away from the sciatic nerve to supply movement and sensation to the lower leg and paws, and then further out to each individual toe. The peroneal nerves of your cat controls the fibular muscles, which aids in its balance, whether standing straight, or trying a "death-defying" walk along a narrow beam, sofa top or window sill.

    Nerve Cooperation

    • Together, these four nerves in your cat's back legs help to ensure its balance, agility, strength and grace. The next time you see your cat pausing just before making a mighty leap from one table to another, don't worry. There's nothing wrong. Your cat's just getting up the nerves.