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For alternative meanings see cat (disambiguation).

The cat (also called domestic cat or house cat) is a small feline carnivorous mammal. Its scientific name is Felis silvestris catus or Felis silvestris domesticus, but the species is sometimes referred to as Felis domesticus or Felis catus. Felis catus is the more current species name.

The cat has been living in close association with humans (although never entirely domesticated as dogs are) since at least 3500 years ago, when the Ancient Egyptians routinely used cats to keep mice and other rodents away from their grain. Currently, the cat is one of the world's most popular household pets. 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 whose animal bears 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 referred to as domestic longhairs and domestic shorthairs. In the UK, non-purebred cats are sometimes known as moggies. In the U.S., a non-purebred cat is often called an alley-cat, even if it is not a stray.

Characteristics

A cat yawning, showing characteristic canine teeth.

Domestic cats have the capacity to be predators as deadly and effective as the big cats, but pose little danger to humans because of their small size. They ambush and dispatch prey using tactics similar to those of leopards and tigers -- by pouncing and delivering a neck bite with their long canine teeth that sever the victim's spinal cord or asphyxiate it by crushing the windpipe. Cats are thought to be "the perfect carnivores," and have highly specialized teeth and a digestive tract that reflect this. The premolar and first molar together comprise the carnassial pair on each side of the mouth, which efficiently functions to shear meat like a pair of scissors. While this is present in canines, it is highly developed in felines.

Despite its reputation as a solitary animal, the domestic cat is social enough to form colonies, but does not attack in groups as do lions. Unlike dogs, cats can thrive only on a completely carnivorous diet.

The wild cat ancestor of the domestic cat is believed to have evolved in a desert climate, as evident in the behavior common to both the domestic and wild forms. Cats enjoy heat and solar exposure, often sleeping in a warm area during the heat of the day. Their feces are usually dry, and cats prefer to bury them in sandy places. They are able to remain motionless for long periods of time, especially when observing prey and preparing to pounce. In North Africa there are still small wildcats that are probably closely related to the ancestors of today's domesticated breeds.

Being closely related to desert animals, cats can withstand the heat and cold of a temperate climate, but not for long periods of time. They have little resistance against rain and snow, although certain breeds such as the Norwegian Forest Cat and Maine Coon have developed more protection than others; and struggle to maintain their 39°C (102°F) body temperature when wet. Most cats dislike immersion in water. One exception is the Turkish Van cat.

Four kittens being nursed.

The male cat's penis has spines which point backwards. Upon removal of the penis, the spines rake the walls of the female's vagina. This stimulation is required by the female in order for ovulation to begin. Because of this, females are rarely impregnated by the first male they mate with. The gestation period for cats is approximately 63 days. Kittens are weaned at between 6 and 7 weeks, and sexual maturity is reached at between 10 and 15 months. Cats typically give birth to four kittens, as their uterus has four distinct areas.

Cats typically weigh between 2.5 and 7 kg (5.5-16 pounds) and rarely exceed 10 kg (22 pounds). They have been known to reach weights in excess of 23 kg (50 pounds) when overfed. This is very unhealthy for the cat, and should be avoided. In captivity, cats typically live 15 to 20 years, though the oldest known cat lived to age 36. Domestic cats live longer if they are not permitted to go outdoors (thus avoiding fights and accidents) and if they are spayed or neutered. Feral cats living in modern urban environments often live 2 years or less. Indoor cats must be provided a litterbox containing sand or similar commercial material (litter). This arrangement serves the same purpose as a toilet for humans. A litterbox is recommended for indoor-outdoor cats as well. Indoor cats will also benefit from being provided with a scratching post.

Cats often have a reputation as fussy eaters. This is because they have a scent organ in the roof of their mouths called the vomeronasal, or Jacobson's organ. When this organ becomes sensitised to a specific food, a cat will reject any food that doesn't fit the pattern it is expecting. When a cat wrinkles its muzzle, lowers its chin, and lets its tongue hang a bit, it is opening the passage to the vomeronasal. This is called gaping. Gaping is the equivalent of the Flehmen response in other animals, such as dogs and horses.

A close-up of a cat's eye.

Cats have excellent diurnal and night-vision. In very bright light, the slit-like iris closes very narrowly over the eye, reducing the amount of light on the sensitive retina, but greatly limiting the cat's field of view. 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 predators their eyes are both forward-facing, affording depth perception at the expense of field of view. Cats are weakly trichromatic.

When there is too little light for even cats to see, they use their whiskers (technically called vibrissae) to aid with navigation and sensation. Whiskers can detect very small shifts in air currents, enabling a cat to know they are near obstructions without actually seeing them.

Cats have a third eyelid, the nictitating membrane, which is a thin cover which closes from the side and appears when the cat's eyelid opens. This membrane partially closes if the cat is sick, although a very sleepy and happy cat can also show this membrane. If a cat chronically shows the third eyelid, it should be taken to a veterinarian.

The unique sound a small cat makes is written "meow" in American English, "miaow" in British English, and various ways in other languages. The cat's pronunciation of "miaow" varies significantly depending on meaning. Cats can also produce a purring noise that many humans find pleasurable. Most cats also growl or hiss.

Virtually all cats have straight upward ears. Unlike dogs, flap-eared breeds are very rare. Scottish Folds is one such exceptional genetic mutation. When angry or frightened, a cat will lay its ears back, to accompany the growl or hiss sounds it makes.

Cats are also very clean, as they groom themselves by licking their fur. Their saliva is a powerful cleaning agent, but it can provoke allergic reactions in humans. They also occasionally vomit up hair balls of fur that have collected in their stomachs.

Cats conserve energy by sleeping more than most animals. Daily durations are variously reported as 12-16 hours, with 13-14 a possible average, but some cats sleep as much as 20 hours in a 24 hour period. In English, the term "cat nap" refers to the cat's ability to fall asleep for a brief period of time and someone who nods off for a few moments is said to be "taking a cat nap."

Varieties of domestic cat

Breeds

The list of cat breeds is quite large. Each breed has distinct features and heritage. Due to common cross-breeding in populated areas, many cats are simply identified as belonging to the homogeneous breeds of domestic longhair and domestic shorthair, depending on their type of fur.

Variety

Cats come in a variety of colors and patterns. These are physical properties and should not be confused with a breed of cat.

File:Cat, Name, Fizzy.jpg
A cat with blue-tinted fur and blue eyes.

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

Cat coat genetics can produce a variety of coat patterns; some of the most common are:

Calico
White with distinct black or red (or blue and cream in the dilute variant) spots. The Japanese refer to this pattern as mi-ke. Calico cats are typically female.
Tortoiseshell
Black with red and white mottled throughout the coat. A true tortoiseshell, also known as Calimanco cat or Clouded Tiger cat, is a tricolour of black, light and dark red markings. The dilute of this pattern is referred to as blue-cream.
Tabby cat
Striped, with a variety of patterns. The classic pattern is the most common and consists of butterflies and bullseyes. The mackerel tabby is a series of vertical stripes down the cat's side (resembling the fish). This pattern broken into spots is referred to as spotted tabby.
Maltese cat
The former name for a blue (grey) cat.
Bicolor cat
Also known as 'Tuxedo cat' or 'Jellicle cat' (tuxedos are mostly black with white paws/legs, bellies, chests, and possible markings on face).

Domestication

Like domesticated animals, cats live in a mutualistic arrangement with humans, but have done so for a much shorter time than almost all domesticated animals, and the degree of domestication of cats is somewhat disputed. Since 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, the relationship between cat and human flourished. However, unlike other more domesticated species, housecats' ancestors did not hunt socially or enjoy the safety of a herd, as other more 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.

Humans still keep cats 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, rabbits, birds, lizards, frogs, fish, and large insects by instinct, but might not eat their prey. They may even present such victims (dead or maimed) to a beloved owner, often expecting reward.

Almost all cats are skilled predators.

Feral cats may live alone, but most are found in large groups called feral colonies with communal nurseries, depending on resource availability. Many lost or abandoned pet cats join these colonies out of desperation. The average lifespan of these feral cats is much shorter than a domestic housecat, who will live an average of sixteen years or more. Urban areas are not native environments to the cat; most domestic cats evolved from cats in desert climates and were distributed throughout the world by humans, but some feral cat colonies are found in large cities, e.g. around the Colosseum and Forum Romanum in Rome. Although cats are fairly adaptable, feral felines are unable to thrive in extreme cold and heat, and with a protein requirement of about 90%, few ferals in cities find adequate nutrition on their own. In addition, they have little defense or understanding of such predators as dogs, coyotes, and even automobiles. However, there are thousands of volunteers and organizations that trap these unadoptable feral felines, spay or neuter them, immunize the cats against rabies and feline leukemia, and treat them with long-lasting flea products. Before release back into their feral colonies, the attending veterinarian nips the tip off one ear to mark the feral as spayed/neutered and inoculated, as these cats will more than likely find themselves trapped again. Volunteers continue to feed and give care to these cats throughout their lives, and not only is their lifespan greatly increased, but behavior and nuisance problems, due to competition for food, are also greatly reduced. In time, if an entire colony is successfully spayed and neutered, no additional kittens are born and the feral colony disappears. Many hope to see an end to the harsh and unnatural world of urban feral cat colonies through these efforts.

Some environmentalists claim that the domestication of cats is harmful to the environment, and that excessive cat populations result in the overhunting of many small animals and birds in both urban and rural areas, possibly disrupting the food chain and limiting local species' populations. Throughout the centuries, as humans took advantage of the domestic cat's hunting skills, few had regard for their habitat and care, and far fewer thought to practice good animal husbandry. This created many pockets of excessive populations and local imbalances; however, with intervention and management, most especially spay and neuter programs, the disruptions and chaos in both the feline's life cycle as well as its prey can easily be avoided, and the positive effects these small and vital predators have in the appropriate environments can be observed and appreciated.

History and mythology

The exact history of human interaction with cats is still somewhat vague. The earliest written records of the attempt to domesticate cats date to ancient Egypt circa 4000 BC, where cats were employed to keep mice and rats away from grain stores. However, a recently discovered gravesite in Shillourokambos, Cyprus, dating to 7500 BC, contains the skeletons of a ceremonially buried human and a type of young cat. Since cats are not native to Cyprus, this suggests that cats were domesticated (or just tamed) at least this early. The cat found in the Cyprus grave was more similar to the ancestral wildcat species than to modern housecats. [1][2].

A bronze mask used in the burial of a cat mummy in Ancient Egypt.

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, cats were often thought to be witches' familiars, and during festivities were sometimes burnt alive or thrown off tall buildings. Some historians theorize that widespread superstition-induced Christian enmity towards cats accelerated The Black Death (generally held to have been an outbreak of Bubonic Plague). The speed with which the Black Death spread through 14th century Europe led many to believe that the Devil was responsible for the disease. This belief led the Pope to declare that cats, who were known to roam freely, were in league with the devil. Because of the declaration, a great many cats were killed in Europe. The sudden decrease in the cat population led to a massive increase in the number of rats, the number of plague-carrying fleas that fed upon them, and the number of human plague victims, which is what the declaration had aimed to reduce.

Today some people still believe that black cats are unlucky, or that it is unlucky if a black cat crosses ones path, while others believe that black cats are lucky.

Cats are also still to this day associated with witchcraft. Black cats in particular are associated with Halloween festivities. Wiccans and other practioners of Neopaganism believe that cats are good-natured animals that are attuned to the spirit world and can sense evil spirits.

In Asia, the cat is one of the animals in the 12-year cycle of the Vietnamese zodiac. It does not, however, appear in the Chinese zodiac. Legend holds 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.

Cats as food source

Please see Pets as a Food Source

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