Cat

The cat (also called domestic cat or house cat) is a small feline carnivorous mammal that has been domesticated for approximately 7000 years. Its scientific name is Felis silvestris catus or Felis silvestris domesticus, however the species is sometimes referred to as Felis domesticus or Felis catus.

Cats
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A cat is considered to be of a specific cat breed if it is true breeding for the traits that define that breed, and has a breeding certificate showing its pedigree to at least four generations.

Ordinary 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)

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. Less than one percent of the total cat population are purebred cats—the remaining 99% have mixed ancestry and are generally known in the UK and elsewhere as moggies.

Characteristics

Cats, being closely related to desert animals, can withstand the heat and cold of a temperate climate, but not always for long periods of time. They lack little resistance against rain and snow and struggle to maintain their 102°F (39°C) body temperature when wet.

Cats typically weigh 4 to 7 kg (9 to 15 pounds) and rarely over 10 kg (22 pounds). They have been known to reach weights in excess of 23 kg (50 pounds) but only when overfed. This is very unhealthy for the animal and should not be done. 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, though this is recommended for indoor-outdoor cats as well.

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

The sound a cat makes, unique to small cats, 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. The hiss resembles the sound of a snake, an animal often more fearsome than a cat.

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

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.

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 leopards and tigers, although they cannot kill large prey due to their size. Despite its reputation as a solitary animal, the domestic cat is social enough to form colonies (but not to attack as a group as do lions). Unlike dogs, cats can thrive only on a carnivorous diet.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cat" and from Cat-Purr.com