Final answer:
The difference between the number of adult cats at the pet care center on Tuesday and Thursday is -1.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the difference between the number of adult cats at the pet care center on Tuesday and Thursday, we need to determine the number of adult cats on each day.
On Thursday, the ratio of adult cats to kittens was 4:3, so if there were 12 kittens, we can calculate the number of adult cats using the ratio.
Let's represent the number of adult cats on Thursday as x:
4/3 = x/12
4 * 12 = 3 * x
48 = 3x
x = 48/3 = 16
Therefore, there were 16 adult cats at the pet care center on Thursday.
On Tuesday, there were 17 adults cats. To find the difference, we subtract the number of adult cats on Tuesday from the number on Thursday: 16 - 17 = -1.