Saber-toothed cats were amazing prehistoric animals! They had very long, sharp teeth. These big cats lived thousands of years ago. Scientists just found something very interesting about them. They studied old bones from these cats.
The bones came from a famous place. It is called the La Brea Tar Pits. Scientists looked at over three thousand bones! Many bones had strange shapes. The cats had problems with their spines.
Scientists think the cats got sick over time. There were fewer cats to have families with. So the babies were born with bone problems. This made it hard for them to move. We can learn from this to help animals today!
