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Cat

For alternative meanings see cat (disambiguation).

Cat
#redirect
#redirect : Animalia #redirect : Chordata #redirect : Mammalia #redirect : Carnivora #redirect : Felidae #redirect : Felis #redirect : silvestris Subspecies: catus or domesticus
Trinomial name
Felis silvestris catus Schreber, 1775

A male cat is usually called a tom cat, a female cat is called a queen. A young cat is called a kitten (as are baby rats, rabbits, hedgehogs and squirrels). A cat whose ancestry is officially registered is called a purebred cat, a pedigreed cat or a show cat. The owners and breeders of show cats compete to see who can breed the cat with the closest resemblance to the "ideal" definition of the breed (see selective breeding). Less than one percent of the total feline population are purebred cats—the remaining 99% have mixed ancestry and are generally known in the UK and elsewhere as moggies, or more properly domestic longhairs and domestic shorthairs.

Table of contents

1 Characteristics 2 History and mythology 3 Domestication 4 Varieties of domestic cat 4.1 Breeds 4.2 Variety 5 Cats as food 6 Cats and the Black Death 7 Quotations 8 See also 9 External links

Characteristics

Cats typically weigh 4 to 7 kg (9 to 15 pounds), rarely over 10 kg (22 pounds). In captivity cats typically live 15 to 20 years, though the oldest known cat lived to age 36. Domestic cats, on average, live longer if they are not permitted to go outdoors (thus avoiding fights and accidents), and if they are spayed or neutered. Indoor cats must be provided a litterbox containing sand or similar commercial material for their bathroom use.

Cats (including domesticated cats) have a scent organ in the roof of their mouths called the vomeronasal, or Jacobson's organ. When a cat wrinkles its muzzle, raises its chin, and lets its tongue hang a bit, it is opening the passage to the vomeronasal. This is called the Flehmen response.

Cats have excellent nocturnal and diurnal vision; an organ called the tapetum lucidum is responsible for their strong low-light vision, as well as for the varied colours of cats' eyes in flash photographs. As with most carnivores their eyes are both forward facing affording depth perception at the expense of field of view. Cats are weakly trichromatic.

Cats have a third eyelid, which is a thin cover that appears when you open the cat's eyelid. This is called the nictitating membrane. If a cat is sick, this membrane will partially close. This is a sign that the cat needs immediate veterinary attention. Sometimes, however, if your cat is very sleepy and happy, they will show this membrane.

The sound a cat makes is written "meow" in American English, "miaow" in British English and various other ways in other languages. Cats can also produce a purring noise that is immensely pleasurable to many humans. Some cats growl or hiss when they see other cats on their territory.

Virtually all cats have straight upward ears. Unlike dogs, flap-eared breeds are very rare. Scottish Folds is one such exceptional genetic mutation.

History and mythology

The earliest written records of cat domestication date to ancient Egypt circa 4000 BC, to keep mice and rats away from their grain stores. However, a recently discovered gravesite in Shillourokambos, Cyprus, dating to 7500 BC contains the skeletons of a ceremonially buried human and a young cat, although cats are not native to Cyprus. This is thought to indicate that cats were domesticated (or perhaps just tamed) at least this early. class="external">[1 The cat found in the Cyprus grave was more similar to the ancestral wildcat species than to modern housecats.

Ancient Egyptians regarded cats as embodiments of the goddess Bast, also known as Bastet or Thet; the penalty for killing a cat was death, and when a cat died it was sometimes mummified in the same way as a human. In the Middle Ages, though, cats were often thought to be witches' familiars, and during festivities were sometimes burnt alive or thrown off tall buildings. Today some people believe that white cats are unlucky, or that it is unlucky if a black cat crosses your path, but others believe that black cats are lucky.

The cat is one of the 12-year cycle of animals in the Vietnamese zodiac. It does not, however, appear in the Chinese zodiac. Legend states that the rat, who invited the animals to the Jade Emperor's palace to be chosen for the zodiac, forgot to invite the cat, so the cat declared the rat its natural enemy.

Domestication

Cats are kept for companionship as pets, and to hunt mice and rats. Farms often have dozens of cats, living semi-wild in the barns. Hunting in the barns and the fields, they kill and eat rodents that would otherwise eat large parts of the grain crop. (Many pet cats successfully hunt and kill mice, birds and fish by instinct, but might not eat their prey). Feral cats may live alone or in large groups called colonies with communal nurseries, depending on resource availability.

Like many other domesticated animals, cats lived in a mutualistic arrangement with humans. The benefit of removing rats and mice from humans' food stores outweighed the cost of allowing a formerly-wild animal to enjoy the relative safety of a human settlement; hence, the relationship between cat and human has continued. However, unlike other domesticated species, housecats' ancestors did not hunt socially or enjoy the safety of a herd, as other domesticated animals did. This evolutionary history may be the reason cats do not "understand" the desires of humans in the same way that dogs do; before humans, cats had fewer social relationships to benefit from. This may also contribute to a sense common among pet owners that cats are both more aloof and more self-sufficient than other pets. However, cats can be very affectionate towards their humans, especially if they imprint on them at a very young age and are treated with consistent affection.

Some environmentalists claim that the domestication of cats is of harm to the environment. The reason they state is that due to feeding from humans, cats have reached population levels that are impossible for any natural carnivore. This is believed to result in the overhunting of many small animals in populated areas, possibly hurting the food chain.

For more information on the care of domestic cats, see How to choose your pet and take care of it, which has a section on cats.

Varieties of domestic cat

Typical domestic shorthair

Breeds

Variety

Household cats are grouped into a smaller number of types according to basic physical appearance:

• domestic longhaired cat
• domestic shorthaired cat
• Oriental cat (not a specific breed, but any cat with an elongated slender build, almond-shaped eyes, large ears and very short sleek fur)

• Maltese cat
• Tabby cat
• Tortoiseshell cat (also known as 'calico cat' or 'torty')
• Tuxedo cat or 'Jellicle cat'

Cats and the Black Death

Quotations

• "The cat is a wild animal that inhabits the homes of humans."—Konrad Lorenz, Man Meets Dog

• List of historical cats
• List of fictional cats
• Big cat
• Cat Fanciers' Association

• PetCat is a site devoted to information and books about pet cats.
• Cat of the Day.com displays a picture of a different pet cat every day.
• Meow entry at Wiktionary

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