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Cat

March 20, 2023

This article is about the species commonly kept as a pet. For the cat family, see Felidae. For other uses, see Cat (disambiguation) and Cats (disambiguation).

The cat (Felis catus) is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal.[1][2] It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of the family.[4] Cats are commonly kept as house pets but can also be farm cats or feral cats; the feral cat ranges freely and avoids human contact.[5] Domestic cats are valued by humans for companionship and their ability to kill rodents. About 60 cat breeds are recognized by various cat registries.[6]

Cat
Temporal range: 9,500 years ago – present
Various types of cat
Domesticated
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Felis
Species:
F. catus[1]
Binomial name
Felis catus[1]
Synonyms
  • Catus domesticus Erxleben, 1777[3]
  • F. angorensis Gmelin, 1788
  • F. vulgaris Fischer, 1829

The cat is similar in anatomy to the other felid species: it has a strong flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp teeth, and retractable claws adapted to killing small prey like mice and rats. Its night vision and sense of smell are well developed. Cat communication includes vocalizations like meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting as well as cat-specific body language. Although the cat is a social species, it is a solitary hunter. As a predator, it is crepuscular, i.e. most active at dawn and dusk. It can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small mammals.[7] It also secretes and perceives pheromones.[8]

Female domestic cats can have kittens from spring to late autumn, with litter sizes often ranging from two to five kittens.[9] Domestic cats are bred and shown at events as registered pedigreed cats, a hobby known as cat fancy. Population control of cats may be achieved by spaying and neutering, but their proliferation and the abandonment of pets has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, contributing to the extinction of entire bird, mammal, and reptile species.[10]

It was long thought that cat domestication began in ancient Egypt, where cats were venerated from around 3100 BC,[11][12] but recent advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that their domestication occurred in Western Asia around 7500 BC.[13]

As of 2021, there were an estimated 220 million owned and 480 million stray cats in the world.[14][15] As of 2017, the domestic cat was the second most popular pet in the United States, with 95.6 million cats owned[16][17][18] and around 42 million households owning at least one cat.[19] In the United Kingdom, 26% of adults have a cat, with an estimated population of 10.9 million pet cats as of 2020.[20]

Etymology and naming

The origin of the English word cat, Old English catt, is thought to be the Late Latin word cattus, which was first used at the beginning of the 6th century.[21] It was suggested that cattus is derived from an Egyptian precursor of Coptic ϣⲁⲩ šau, 'tomcat', or its feminine form suffixed with -t.[22] The Late Latin word may be derived from another Afro-Asiatic[23] or Nilo-Saharan language. The Nubian word kaddîska 'wildcat' and Nobiin kadīs are possible sources or cognates.[24] The Nubian word may be a loan from Arabic قَطّ‎ qaṭṭ ~ قِطّ qiṭṭ.

However, it is "equally likely that the forms might derive from an ancient Germanic word, imported into Latin and thence to Greek and to Syriac and Arabic".[25] The word may be derived from Germanic and Northern European languages, and ultimately be borrowed from Uralic, cf. Northern Sami gáđfi, 'female stoat', and Hungarian hölgy, 'lady, female stoat'; from Proto-Uralic *käďwä, 'female (of a furred animal)'.[26]

The English puss, extended as pussy and pussycat, is attested from the 16th century and may have been introduced from Dutch poes or from Low German puuskatte, related to Swedish kattepus, or Norwegian pus, pusekatt. Similar forms exist in Lithuanian puižė and Irish puisín or puiscín. The etymology of this word is unknown, but it may have arisen from a sound used to attract a cat.[27][28]

A male cat is called a tom or tomcat[29] (or a gib,[30] if neutered). A female is called a queen[31] (or a molly,[32][user-generated source?] if spayed), especially in a cat-breeding context. A juvenile cat is referred to as a kitten. In Early Modern English, the word kitten was interchangeable with the now-obsolete word catling.[33] A group of cats can be referred to as a clowder or a glaring.[34]

Taxonomy

The scientific name Felis catus was proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for a domestic cat.[1][2] Felis catus domesticus was proposed by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777.[3] Felis daemon proposed by Konstantin Satunin in 1904 was a black cat from the Transcaucasus, later identified as a domestic cat.[35][36]

In 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature ruled that the domestic cat is a distinct species, namely Felis catus.[37][38] In 2007, it was considered a subspecies, F. silvestris catus, of the European wildcat (F. silvestris) following results of phylogenetic research.[39][40] In 2017, the IUCN Cat Classification Taskforce followed the recommendation of the ICZN in regarding the domestic cat as a distinct species, Felis catus.[41]

Evolution

Main article: Cat evolution
 
Skulls of a wildcat (top left), a housecat (top right), and a hybrid between the two. (bottom center)

The domestic cat is a member of the Felidae, a family that had a common ancestor about 10–15 million years ago.[42] The genus Felis diverged from other Felidae around 6–7 million years ago.[43] Results of phylogenetic research confirm that the wild Felis species evolved through sympatric or parapatric speciation, whereas the domestic cat evolved through artificial selection.[44] The domesticated cat and its closest wild ancestor are diploid and both possess 38 chromosomes[45] and roughly 20,000 genes.[46] The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) was tamed independently in China around 5500 BC. This line of partially domesticated cats leaves no trace in the domestic cat populations of today.[47]

Domestication

See also: Domestication of the cat
 
A cat eating a fish under a chair, a mural in an Egyptian tomb dating to the 15th century BC

The earliest known indication for the taming of an African wildcat (F. lybica) was excavated close by a human Neolithic grave in Shillourokambos, southern Cyprus, dating to about 7500–7200 BC. Since there is no evidence of native mammalian fauna on Cyprus, the inhabitants of this Neolithic village most likely brought the cat and other wild mammals to the island from the Middle Eastern mainland.[48] Scientists therefore assume that African wildcats were attracted to early human settlements in the Fertile Crescent by rodents, in particular the house mouse (Mus musculus), and were tamed by Neolithic farmers. This mutual relationship between early farmers and tamed cats lasted thousands of years. As agricultural practices spread, so did tame and domesticated cats.[13][6] Wildcats of Egypt contributed to the maternal gene pool of the domestic cat at a later time.[49]

The earliest known evidence for the occurrence of the domestic cat in Greece dates to around 1200 BC. Greek, Phoenician, Carthaginian and Etruscan traders introduced domestic cats to southern Europe.[50] During the Roman Empire they were introduced to Corsica and Sardinia before the beginning of the 1st millennium.[51] By the 5th century BC, they were familiar animals around settlements in Magna Graecia and Etruria.[52] By the end of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, the Egyptian domestic cat lineage had arrived in a Baltic Sea port in northern Germany.[49]

During domestication, cats have undergone only minor changes in anatomy and behavior, and they are still capable of surviving in the wild. Several natural behaviors and characteristics of wildcats may have pre-adapted them for domestication as pets. These traits include their small size, social nature, obvious body language, love of play, and high intelligence. Captive Leopardus cats may also display affectionate behavior toward humans but were not domesticated.[53] House cats often mate with feral cats.[54] Hybridisation between domestic and other Felinae species is also possible, producing hybrids such as the Kellas cat in Scotland.[55][56]

Development of cat breeds started in the mid 19th century.[57] An analysis of the domestic cat genome revealed that the ancestral wildcat genome was significantly altered in the process of domestication, as specific mutations were selected to develop cat breeds.[58] Most breeds are founded on random-bred domestic cats. Genetic diversity of these breeds varies between regions, and is lowest in purebred populations, which show more than 20 deleterious genetic disorders.[59]

Characteristics

Main article: Cat anatomy

Size

 
Diagram of the general anatomy of a male domestic cat

The domestic cat has a smaller skull and shorter bones than the European wildcat.[60] It averages about 46 cm (18 in) in head-to-body length and 23–25 cm (9–10 in) in height, with about 30 cm (12 in) long tails. Males are larger than females.[61] Adult domestic cats typically weigh between 4 and 5 kg (9 and 11 lb).[44]

Skeleton

Cats have seven cervical vertebrae (as do most mammals); 13 thoracic vertebrae (humans have 12); seven lumbar vertebrae (humans have five); three sacral vertebrae (as do most mammals, but humans have five); and a variable number of caudal vertebrae in the tail (humans have only three to five vestigial caudal vertebrae, fused into an internal coccyx).[62]: 11  The extra lumbar and thoracic vertebrae account for the cat's spinal mobility and flexibility. Attached to the spine are 13 ribs, the shoulder, and the pelvis.[62]: 16  Unlike human arms, cat forelimbs are attached to the shoulder by free-floating clavicle bones which allow them to pass their body through any space into which they can fit their head.[63]

Skull

 
Cat skull
 
A cat with exposed teeth and claws

The cat skull is unusual among mammals in having very large eye sockets and a powerful specialized jaw.[64]: 35  Within the jaw, cats have teeth adapted for killing prey and tearing meat. When it overpowers its prey, a cat delivers a lethal neck bite with its two long canine teeth, inserting them between two of the prey's vertebrae and severing its spinal cord, causing irreversible paralysis and death.[65] Compared to other felines, domestic cats have narrowly spaced canine teeth relative to the size of their jaw, which is an adaptation to their preferred prey of small rodents, which have small vertebrae.[65]

The premolar and first molar together compose the carnassial pair on each side of the mouth, which efficiently shears meat into small pieces, like a pair of scissors. These are vital in feeding, since cats' small molars cannot chew food effectively, and cats are largely incapable of mastication.[64]: 37  Although cats tend to have better teeth than most humans, with decay generally less likely because of a thicker protective layer of enamel, a less damaging saliva, less retention of food particles between teeth, and a diet mostly devoid of sugar, they are nonetheless subject to occasional tooth loss and infection.[66]

Claws

 
Shed claw sheaths

Cats have protractible and retractable claws.[67] In their normal, relaxed position, the claws are sheathed with the skin and fur around the paw's toe pads. This keeps the claws sharp by preventing wear from contact with the ground and allows for the silent stalking of prey. The claws on the forefeet are typically sharper than those on the hindfeet.[68] Cats can voluntarily extend their claws on one or more paws. They may extend their claws in hunting or self-defense, climbing, kneading, or for extra traction on soft surfaces. Cats shed the outside layer of their claw sheaths when scratching rough surfaces.[69]

Most cats have five claws on their front paws and four on their rear paws. The dewclaw is proximal to the other claws. More proximally is a protrusion which appears to be a sixth "finger". This special feature of the front paws on the inside of the wrists has no function in normal walking but is thought to be an antiskidding device used while jumping. Some cat breeds are prone to having extra digits ("polydactyly").[70] Polydactylous cats occur along North America's northeast coast and in Great Britain.[71]

Ambulation

The cat is digitigrade. It walks on the toes, with the bones of the feet making up the lower part of the visible leg.[72] Unlike most mammals, it uses a "pacing" gait and moves both legs on one side of the body before the legs on the other side. It registers directly by placing each hind paw close to the track of the corresponding fore paw, minimizing noise and visible tracks. This also provides sure footing for hind paws when navigating rough terrain. As it speeds up from walking to trotting, its gait changes to a "diagonal" gait: The diagonally opposite hind and fore legs move simultaneously.[73]

Balance

Comparison of cat righting reflexes in gravity and zero gravity

Most breeds of cat are notably fond of sitting in high places, or perching. A higher place may serve as a concealed site from which to hunt; domestic cats strike prey by pouncing from a perch such as a tree branch. Another possible explanation is that height gives the cat a better observation point, allowing it to survey its territory. A cat falling from heights of up to 3 meters (9.8 ft) can right itself and land on its paws.[74]

During a fall from a high place, a cat reflexively twists its body and rights itself to land on its feet using its acute sense of balance and flexibility. This reflex is known as the cat righting reflex.[75] A cat always rights itself in the same way during a fall, if it has enough time to do so, which is the case in falls of 90 cm (2 ft 11 in) or more.[76] How cats are able to right themselves when falling has been investigated as the "falling cat problem".[77]

Coats

Main article: Cat coat genetics

The cat family (Felidae) can pass down many colors and patterns to their offsprings. The domestic cat genes MC1R and ASIP allow for the variety of color in coats. The feline ASIP gene consists of three coding exons.[78] Three novel microsatellite markers linked to ASIP were isolated from a domestic cat BAC clone containing this gene and were used to perform linkage analysis in a pedigree of 89 domestic cats that segregated for melanism.[79]

Senses

Main article: Cat senses

Vision

 
Reflection of camera flash from the tapetum lucidum
 
A cat's nictitating membrane shown as it blinks

Cats have excellent night vision and can see at only one-sixth the light level required for human vision.[64]: 43  This is partly the result of cat eyes having a tapetum lucidum, which reflects any light that passes through the retina back into the eye, thereby increasing the eye's sensitivity to dim light.[80] Large pupils are an adaptation to dim light. The domestic cat has slit pupils, which allow it to focus bright light without chromatic aberration.[81] At low light, a cat's pupils expand to cover most of the exposed surface of its eyes.[82] The domestic cat has rather poor color vision and only two types of cone cells, optimized for sensitivity to blue and yellowish green; its ability to distinguish between red and green is limited.[83] A response to middle wavelengths from a system other than the rod cells might be due to a third type of cone. This appears to be an adaptation to low light levels rather than representing true trichromatic vision.[84] Cats also have a nictitating membrane, allowing them to blink without hindering their vision.

Hearing

The domestic cat's hearing is most acute in the range of 500 Hz to 32 kHz.[85] It can detect an extremely broad range of frequencies ranging from 55 Hz to 79 kHz. It can hear a range of 10.5 octaves, while humans and dogs can hear ranges of about 9 octaves.[86][87] Its hearing sensitivity is enhanced by its large movable outer ears, the pinnae, which amplify sounds and help detect the location of a noise. It can detect ultrasound, which enables it to detect ultrasonic calls made by rodent prey.[88][89] Recent research has shown that cats have socio-spatial cognitive abilities to create mental maps of owners' locations based on hearing owners' voices.[90]

Smell

Cats have an acute sense of smell, due in part to their well-developed olfactory bulb and a large surface of olfactory mucosa, about 5.8 square centimetres (29⁄32 square inch) in area, which is about twice that of humans.[91] Cats and many other animals have a Jacobson's organ in their mouths that is used in the behavioral process of flehmening. It allows them to sense certain aromas in a way that humans cannot. Cats are sensitive to pheromones such as 3-mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol,[92] which they use to communicate through urine spraying and marking with scent glands.[93] Many cats also respond strongly to plants that contain nepetalactone, especially catnip, as they can detect that substance at less than one part per billion.[94] About 70–80% of cats are affected by nepetalactone.[95] This response is also produced by other plants, such as silver vine (Actinidia polygama) and the herb valerian; it may be caused by the smell of these plants mimicking a pheromone and stimulating cats' social or sexual behaviors.[96]

Taste

Cats have relatively few taste buds compared to humans (470 or so versus more than 9,000 on the human tongue).[97] Domestic and wild cats share a taste receptor gene mutation that keeps their sweet taste buds from binding to sugary molecules, leaving them with no ability to taste sweetness.[98] Their taste buds instead respond to acids, amino acids like protein, and bitter tastes.[99] Cats also have a distinct temperature preference for their food, preferring food with a temperature around 38 °C (100 °F) which is similar to that of a fresh kill and routinely rejecting food presented cold or refrigerated (which would signal to the cat that the "prey" item is long dead and therefore possibly toxic or decomposing).[97]

Whiskers

 
The whiskers of a cat are highly sensitive to touch.

To aid with navigation and sensation, cats have dozens of movable whiskers (vibrissae) over their body, especially their faces. These provide information on the width of gaps and on the location of objects in the dark, both by touching objects directly and by sensing air currents; they also trigger protective blink reflexes to protect the eyes from damage.[64]: 47 

Behavior

See also: Cat behavior

Outdoor cats are active both day and night, although they tend to be slightly more active at night.[100] Domestic cats spend the majority of their time in the vicinity of their homes but can range many hundreds of meters from this central point. They establish territories that vary considerably in size, in one study ranging from 7 to 28 hectares (17–69 acres).[101] The timing of cats' activity is quite flexible and varied, which means house cats may be more active in the morning and evening, as a response to greater human activity at these times.[102]

Cats conserve energy by sleeping more than most animals, especially as they grow older. The daily duration of sleep varies, usually between 12 and 16 hours, with 13 and 14 being the average. Some cats can sleep as much as 20 hours. The term "cat nap" for a short rest refers to the cat's tendency to fall asleep (lightly) for a brief period. While asleep, cats experience short periods of rapid eye movement sleep often accompanied by muscle twitches, which suggests they are dreaming.[103]

Sociability

The social behavior of the domestic cat ranges from widely dispersed individuals to feral cat colonies that gather around a food source, based on groups of co-operating females.[104] Within such groups, one cat is usually dominant over the others.[105] Each cat in a colony holds a distinct territory, with sexually active males having the largest territories, which are about 10 times larger than those of female cats and may overlap with several females' territories. These territories are marked by urine spraying, by rubbing objects at head height with secretions from facial glands, and by defecation.[93] Between these territories are neutral areas where cats watch and greet one another without territorial conflicts. Outside these neutral areas, territory holders usually chase away stranger cats, at first by staring, hissing, and growling and, if that does not work, by short but noisy and violent attacks. Despite this colonial organization, cats do not have a social survival strategy or a pack mentality, and always hunt alone.[106]

Life in proximity to humans and other domestic animals has led to a symbiotic social adaptation in cats, and cats may express great affection toward humans or other animals. Ethologically, a cat's human keeper functions as if a mother surrogate.[107] Adult cats live their lives in a kind of extended kittenhood, a form of behavioral neoteny. Their high-pitched sounds may mimic the cries of a hungry human infant, making them particularly difficult for humans to ignore.[108] Some pet cats are poorly socialized. In particular, older cats show aggressiveness toward newly arrived kittens, which include biting and scratching; this type of behavior is known as feline asocial aggression.[109]

Redirected aggression is a common form of aggression which can occur in multiple cat households. In redirected aggression there is usually something that agitates the cat: this could be a sight, sound, or another source of stimuli which causes a heightened level of anxiety or arousal. If the cat cannot attack the stimuli, it may direct anger elsewhere by attacking or directing aggression to the nearest cat, dog, human or other being.[110][111]

Domestic cats' scent rubbing behavior toward humans or other cats is thought to be a feline means for social bonding.[112]

Communication

Main article: Cat communication
 
Vocalizing domestic cat

Domestic cats use many vocalizations for communication, including purring, trilling, hissing, growling/snarling, grunting, and several different forms of meowing.[7] Their body language, including position of ears and tail, relaxation of the whole body, and kneading of the paws, are all indicators of mood. The tail and ears are particularly important social signal mechanisms in cats. A raised tail indicates a friendly greeting, and flattened ears indicates hostility. Tail-raising also indicates the cat's position in the group's social hierarchy, with dominant individuals raising their tails less often than subordinate ones.[113] Feral cats are generally silent.[114]: 208  Nose-to-nose touching is also a common greeting and may be followed by social grooming, which is solicited by one of the cats raising and tilting its head.[104]

Purring may have developed as an evolutionary advantage as a signaling mechanism of reassurance between mother cats and nursing kittens, who are thought to use it as a care-soliciting signal.[115] Post-nursing cats also often purr as a sign of contentment: when being petted, becoming relaxed,[116][117] or eating. Even though purring is popularly interpreted as indicative of pleasure, it has been recorded in a wide variety of circumstances, most of which involve physical contact between the cat and another, presumably trusted individual.[115] Some cats have been observed to purr continuously when chronically ill or in apparent pain.[118]

The exact mechanism by which cats purr has long been elusive, but it has been proposed that purring is generated via a series of sudden build-ups and releases of pressure as the glottis is opened and closed, which causes the vocal folds to separate forcefully. The laryngeal muscles in control of the glottis are thought to be driven by a neural oscillator which generates a cycle of contraction and release every 30-40 milliseconds (giving a frequency of 33 to 25 Hz).[115][119][120]

Grooming

 
The hooked papillae on a cat's tongue act like a hairbrush to help clean and detangle fur

Cats are known for spending considerable amounts of time licking their coats to keep them clean.[121] The cat's tongue has backward-facing spines about 500 μm long, which are called papillae. These contain keratin which makes them rigid[122] so the papillae act like a hairbrush. Some cats, particularly longhaired cats, occasionally regurgitate hairballs of fur that have collected in their stomachs from grooming. These clumps of fur are usually sausage-shaped and about 2–3 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄4 in) long. Hairballs can be prevented with remedies that ease elimination of the hair through the gut, as well as regular grooming of the coat with a comb or stiff brush.[121]

Fighting

 
A domestic cat's arched back, raised fur, and open-mouthed hiss are signs of aggression.

Among domestic cats, males are more likely to fight than females.[123] Among feral cats, the most common reason for cat fighting is competition between two males to mate with a female. In such cases, most fights are won by the heavier male.[124] Another common reason for fighting in domestic cats is the difficulty of establishing territories within a small home.[123] Female cats also fight over territory or to defend their kittens. Neutering will decrease or eliminate this behavior in many cases, suggesting that the behavior is linked to sex hormones.[125]

When cats become aggressive, they try to make themselves appear larger and more threatening by raising their fur, arching their backs, turning sideways and hissing or spitting.[126] Often, the ears are pointed down and back to avoid damage to the inner ear and potentially listen for any changes behind them while focused forward. Cats may also vocalize loudly and bare their teeth in an effort to further intimidate their opponents. Fights usually consist of grappling and delivering powerful slaps to the face and body with the forepaws as well as bites. Cats also throw themselves to the ground in a defensive posture to rake their opponent's belly with their powerful hind legs.[127]

Serious damage is rare, as the fights are usually short in duration, with the loser running away with little more than a few scratches to the face and ears. Fights for mating rights are typically more severe and injuries may include deep puncture wounds and lacerations. Normally, serious injuries from fighting are limited to infections of scratches and bites, though these can occasionally kill cats if untreated. In addition, bites are probably the main route of transmission of feline immunodeficiency virus.[128] Sexually active males are usually involved in many fights during their lives, and often have decidedly battered faces with obvious scars and cuts to their ears and nose.[129] Cats are willing to threaten animals larger than them to defend their territory, such as dogs and foxes.[130]

Hunting and feeding

See also: Cat food
 
A domestic cat with its prey, a deermouse

The shape and structure of cats' cheeks is insufficient to allow them to take in liquids using suction. Therefore, when drinking they lap with the tongue to draw liquid upward into their mouths. Lapping at a rate of four times a second, the cat touches the smooth tip of its tongue to the surface of the water, and quickly retracts it like a corkscrew, drawing water upward.[131][132]

Feral cats and free-fed house cats consume several small meals in a day. The frequency and size of meals varies between individuals. They select food based on its temperature, smell and texture; they dislike chilled foods and respond most strongly to moist foods rich in amino acids, which are similar to meat. Cats reject novel flavors (a response termed neophobia) and learn quickly to avoid foods that have tasted unpleasant in the past.[106][133] It is also a common misconception that cats like milk/cream, as they tend to avoid sweet food and milk. Most adult cats are lactose intolerant; the sugar in milk is not easily digested and may cause soft stools or diarrhea.[134] Some also develop odd eating habits and like to eat or chew on things like wool, plastic, cables, paper, string, aluminum foil, or even coal. This condition, pica, can threaten their health, depending on the amount and toxicity of the items eaten.[135]

Cats hunt small prey, primarily birds and rodents,[136] and are often used as a form of pest control.[137][138] Cats use two hunting strategies, either stalking prey actively, or waiting in ambush until an animal comes close enough to be captured.[139] The strategy used depends on the prey species in the area, with cats waiting in ambush outside burrows, but tending to actively stalk birds.[140]: 153  Domestic cats are a major predator of wildlife in the United States, killing an estimated 1.3 to 4.0 billion birds and 6.3 to 22.3 billion mammals annually.[141]

Certain species appear more susceptible than others; in one English village, for example, 30% of house sparrow mortality was linked to the domestic cat.[142] In the recovery of ringed robins (Erithacus rubecula) and dunnocks (Prunella modularis) in Britain, 31% of deaths were a result of cat predation.[143] In parts of North America, the presence of larger carnivores such as coyotes which prey on cats and other small predators reduces the effect of predation by cats and other small predators such as opossums and raccoons on bird numbers and variety.[144]

Perhaps the best-known element of cats' hunting behavior, which is commonly misunderstood and often appalls cat owners because it looks like torture, is that cats often appear to "play" with prey by releasing and recapturing it. This cat and mouse behavior is due to an instinctive imperative to ensure that the prey is weak enough to be killed without endangering the cat.[145]

Another poorly understood element of cat hunting behavior is the presentation of prey to human guardians. One explanation is that cats adopt humans into their social group and share excess kill with others in the group according to the dominance hierarchy, in which humans are reacted to as if they are at or near the top.[146] Another explanation is that they attempt to teach their guardians to hunt or to help their human as if feeding "an elderly cat, or an inept kitten".[147] This hypothesis is inconsistent with the fact that male cats also bring home prey, despite males having negligible involvement in raising kittens.[140]: 153 

Play

Main article: Cat play and toys
Play fight between kittens aged 14 weeks

Domestic cats, especially young kittens, are known for their love of play. This behavior mimics hunting and is important in helping kittens learn to stalk, capture, and kill prey.[148] Cats also engage in play fighting, with each other and with humans. This behavior may be a way for cats to practice the skills needed for real combat, and might also reduce any fear they associate with launching attacks on other animals.[149]

Cats also tend to play with toys more when they are hungry.[150] Owing to the close similarity between play and hunting, cats prefer to play with objects that resemble prey, such as small furry toys that move rapidly, but rapidly lose interest. They become habituated to a toy they have played with before.[151] String is often used as a toy, but if it is eaten, it can become caught at the base of the cat's tongue and then move into the intestines, a medical emergency which can cause serious illness, even death.[152] Owing to the risks posed by cats eating string, it is sometimes replaced with a laser pointer's dot, which cats may chase.[153]

Reproduction

 
When cats mate, the tomcat (male) bites the scruff of the female's neck as she assumes a position conducive to mating known as lordosis behavior.
See also: Kitten

Female cats, called queens, are polyestrous with several estrus cycles during a year, lasting usually 21 days. They are usually ready to mate between early February and August.[154]

Several males, called tomcats, are attracted to a female in heat. They fight over her, and the victor wins the right to mate. At first, the female rejects the male, but eventually, the female allows the male to mate. The female utters a loud yowl as the male pulls out of her because a male cat's penis has a band of about 120–150 backward-pointing penile spines, which are about 1 mm (1⁄32 in) long; upon withdrawal of the penis, the spines may provide the female with increased sexual stimulation, which acts to induce ovulation.[155]

After mating, the female cleans her vulva thoroughly. If a male attempts to mate with her at this point, the female attacks him. After about 20 to 30 minutes, once the female is finished grooming, the cycle will repeat.[156] Because ovulation is not always triggered by a single mating, females may not be impregnated by the first male with which they mate.[157] Furthermore, cats are superfecund; that is, a female may mate with more than one male when she is in heat, with the result that different kittens in a litter may have different fathers.[156]

The morula forms 124 hours after conception. At 148 hours, early blastocysts form. At 10–12 days, implantation occurs.[158] The gestation of queens lasts between 64 and 67 days, with an average of 65 days.[154][159]

 
Radiography of a pregnant cat. The skeletons of two fetuses are visible on the left and right of the uterus.
 
A newborn kitten

Data on the reproductive capacity of more than 2,300 free-ranging queens were collected during a study between May 1998 and October 2000. They had one to six kittens per litter, with an average of three kittens. They produced a mean of 1.4 litters per year, but a maximum of three litters in a year. Of 169 kittens, 127 died before they were six months old due to a trauma caused in most cases by dog attacks and road accidents.[9] The first litter is usually smaller than subsequent litters. Kittens are weaned between six and seven weeks of age. Queens normally reach sexual maturity at 5–10 months, and males at 5–7 months. This varies depending on breed.[156] Kittens reach puberty at the age of 9–10 months.[154]

Cats are ready to go to new homes at about 12 weeks of age, when they are ready to leave their mother.[160] They can be surgically sterilized (spayed or castrated) as early as seven weeks to limit unwanted reproduction.[161] This surgery also prevents undesirable sex-related behavior, such as aggression, territory marking (spraying urine) in males and yowling (calling) in females. Traditionally, this surgery was performed at around six to nine months of age, but it is increasingly being performed before puberty, at about three to six months.[162] In the United States, about 80% of household cats are neutered.[163]

Lifespan and health

Main articles: Cat health and Aging in cats

The average lifespan of pet cats has risen in recent decades. In the early 1980s, it was about seven years,[164]: 33 [165] rising to 9.4 years in 1995[164]: 33  and about 15 years in 2021.[citation needed] Some cats have been reported as surviving into their 30s,[166] with the oldest known cat, Creme Puff, dying at a verified age of 38.[167]

Neutering increases life expectancy: one study found castrated male cats live twice as long as intact males, while spayed female cats live 62% longer than intact females.[164]: 35  Having a cat neutered confers health benefits, because castrated males cannot develop testicular cancer, spayed females cannot develop uterine or ovarian cancer, and both have a reduced risk of mammary cancer.[168]

Disease

Main article: List of feline diseases

About 250 heritable genetic disorders have been identified in cats, many similar to human inborn errors of metabolism.[169] The high level of similarity among the metabolism of mammals allows many of these feline diseases to be diagnosed using genetic tests that were originally developed for use in humans, as well as the use of cats as animal models in the study of the human diseases.[170][171] Diseases affecting domestic cats include acute infections, parasitic infestations, injuries, and chronic diseases such as kidney disease, thyroid disease, and arthritis. Vaccinations are available for many infectious diseases, as are treatments to eliminate parasites such as worms, ticks, and fleas.[172]

Ecology

Habitats

The domestic cat is a cosmopolitan species and occurs across much of the world.[59] It is adaptable and now present on all continents except Antarctica, and on 118 of the 131 main groups of islands, even on the isolated Kerguelen Islands.[173][174] Due to its ability to thrive in almost any terrestrial habitat, it is among the world's most invasive species.[175] It lives on small islands with no human inhabitants.[176] Feral cats can live in forests, grasslands, tundra, coastal areas, agricultural land, scrublands, urban areas, and wetlands.[177]

The unwantedness that leads to the domestic cat being treated as an invasive species is twofold. On one hand, as it is little altered from the wildcat, it can readily interbreed with the wildcat. This hybridization poses a danger to the genetic distinctiveness of some wildcat populations, particularly in Scotland and Hungary, possibly also the Iberian Peninsula, and where protected natural areas are close to human-dominated landscapes, such as Kruger National Park in South Africa.[178][56] On the other hand, and perhaps more obviously, its introduction to places where no native felines are present contributes to the decline of native species.[179]

Ferality

Main article: Feral cat
 
Feral farm cat

Feral cats are domestic cats that were born in or have reverted to a wild state. They are unfamiliar with and wary of humans and roam freely in urban and rural areas.[10] The numbers of feral cats is not known, but estimates of the United States feral population range from 25 to 60 million.[10] Feral cats may live alone, but most are found in large colonies, which occupy a specific territory and are usually associated with a source of food.[180] Famous feral cat colonies are found in Rome around the Colosseum and Forum Romanum, with cats at some of these sites being fed and given medical attention by volunteers.[181]

Public attitudes toward feral cats vary widely, from seeing them as free-ranging pets to regarding them as vermin.[182]

Some feral cats can be successfully socialized and 're-tamed' for adoption; young cats, especially kittens[183] and cats that have had prior experience and contact with humans are the most receptive to these efforts.

Impact on wildlife

Main article: Cat predation on wildlife

On islands, birds can contribute as much as 60% of a cat's diet.[184] In nearly all cases, the cat cannot be identified as the sole cause for reducing the numbers of island birds, and in some instances, eradication of cats has caused a "mesopredator release" effect;[185] where the suppression of top carnivores creates an abundance of smaller predators that cause a severe decline in their shared prey. Domestic cats are a contributing factor to the decline of many species, a factor that has ultimately led, in some cases, to extinction. The South Island piopio, Chatham rail,[143] and the New Zealand merganser[186] are a few from a long list, with the most extreme case being the flightless Lyall's wren, which was driven to extinction only a few years after its discovery.[187][188] One feral cat in New Zealand killed 102 New Zealand lesser short-tailed bats in seven days.[189] In the US, feral and free-ranging domestic cats kill an estimated 6.3 – 22.3 billion mammals annually.[141]

In Australia, the impact of cats on mammal populations is even greater than the impact of habitat loss.[190] More than one million reptiles are killed by feral cats each day, representing 258 species.[191] Cats have contributed to the extinction of the Navassa curly-tailed lizard and Chioninia coctei.[179]

Interaction with humans

Main article: Human interaction with cats
 
A cat sleeping on a man's lap

Cats are common pets throughout the world, and their worldwide population as of 2007 exceeded 500 million.[192] Cats have been used for millennia to control rodents, notably around grain stores and aboard ships, and both uses extend to the present day.[193][194]

As well as being kept as pets, cats are also used in the international fur trade[195] and leather industries for making coats, hats, blankets, and stuffed toys;[196] and shoes, gloves, and musical instruments respectively[197] (about 24 cats are needed to make a cat-fur coat).[198] This use has been outlawed in the United States since 2000 and in the European Union (as well as the United Kingdom) since 2007.[199]

Cat pelts have been used for superstitious purposes as part of the practice of witchcraft,[200] and are still made into blankets in Switzerland as traditional medicine thought to cure rheumatism.[201]

A few attempts to build a cat census have been made over the years, both through associations or national and international organizations (such as that of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies[202]) and over the Internet,[203][204] but such a task does not seem simple to achieve. General estimates for the global population of domestic cats range widely from anywhere between 200 million to 600 million.[205][206][207][208][209] Walter Chandoha made his career photographing cats after his 1949 images of Loco, an especially charming stray taken in, were published around the world. He is reported to have photographed 90,000 cats during his career and maintained an archive of 225,000 images that he drew from for publications during his lifetime.[210]

Shows

Main article: Cat show

A cat show is a judged event in which the owners of cats compete to win titles in various cat-registering organizations by entering their cats to be judged after a breed standard.[211] It is often required that a cat must be healthy and vaccinated in order to participate in a cat show.[211] Both pedigreed and non-purebred companion ("moggy") cats are admissible, although the rules differ depending on the organization. Competing cats are compared to the applicable breed standard, and assessed for temperament.[211]

Infection

Main article: Feline zoonosis

Cats can be infected or infested with viruses, bacteria, fungus, protozoans, arthropods or worms that can transmit diseases to humans.[212] In some cases, the cat exhibits no symptoms of the disease.[213] The same disease can then become evident in a human. The likelihood that a person will become diseased depends on the age and immune status of the person. Humans who have cats living in their home or in close association are more likely to become infected. Others might also acquire infections from cat feces and parasites exiting the cat's body.[212][214] Some of the infections of most concern include salmonella, cat-scratch disease and toxoplasmosis.[213]

History and mythology

Main articles: Cultural depictions of cats and Cats in ancient Egypt

In ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped, and the goddess Bastet often depicted in cat form, sometimes taking on the war-like aspect of a lioness. The Greek historian Herodotus reported that killing a cat was forbidden, and when a household cat died, the entire family mourned and shaved their eyebrows. Families took their dead cats to the sacred city of Bubastis, where they were embalmed and buried in sacred repositories. Herodotus expressed astonishment at the domestic cats in Egypt, because he had only ever seen wildcats.[215]

Ancient Greeks and Romans kept weasels as pets, which were seen as the ideal rodent-killers. The earliest unmistakable evidence of the Greeks having domestic cats comes from two coins from Magna Graecia dating to the mid-fifth century BC showing Iokastos and Phalanthos, the legendary founders of Rhegion and Taras respectively, playing with their pet cats. The usual ancient Greek word for 'cat' was ailouros, meaning 'thing with the waving tail'. Cats are rarely mentioned in ancient Greek literature. Aristotle remarked in his History of Animals that "female cats are naturally lecherous." The Greeks later syncretized their own goddess Artemis with the Egyptian goddess Bastet, adopting Bastet's associations with cats and ascribing them to Artemis. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, when the deities flee to Egypt and take animal forms, the goddess Diana turns into a cat.[216][217]

Cats eventually displaced weasels as the pest control of choice because they were more pleasant to have around the house and were more enthusiastic hunters of mice. During the Middle Ages, many of Artemis's associations with cats were grafted onto the Virgin Mary. Cats are often shown in icons of Annunciation and of the Holy Family and, according to Italian folklore, on the same night that Mary gave birth to Jesus, a cat in Bethlehem gave birth to a kitten.[218] Domestic cats were spread throughout much of the rest of the world during the Age of Discovery, as ships' cats were carried on sailing ships to control shipboard rodents and as good-luck charms.[50]

Several ancient religions believed cats are exalted souls, companions or guides for humans, that are all-knowing but mute so they cannot influence decisions made by humans. In Japan, the maneki neko cat is a symbol of good fortune.[219] In Norse mythology, Freyja, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, is depicted as riding a chariot drawn by cats.[220] In Jewish legend, the first cat was living in the house of the first man Adam as a pet that got rid of mice. The cat was once partnering with the first dog before the latter broke an oath they had made which resulted in enmity between the descendants of these two animals. It is also written that neither cats nor foxes are represented in the water, while every other animal has an incarnation species in the water.[221] Although no species are sacred in Islam, cats are revered by Muslims. Some Western writers have stated Muhammad had a favorite cat, Muezza.[222] He is reported to have loved cats so much, "he would do without his cloak rather than disturb one that was sleeping on it".[223] The story has no origin in early Muslim writers, and seems to confuse a story of a later Sufi saint, Ahmed ar-Rifa'i, centuries after Muhammad.[224] One of the companions of Muhammad was known as Abu Hurayrah ("father of the kitten"), in reference to his documented affection to cats.[225]

 
The ancient Egyptians mummified dead cats out of respect in the same way that they mummified people[4]
 
Ancient Roman mosaic of a cat killing a partridge from the House of the Faun in Pompeii
 
A 19th-century drawing of a tabby cat

Superstitions and rituals

 
Some cultures are superstitious about black cats, ascribing either good or bad luck to them.

Many cultures have negative superstitions about cats. An example would be the belief that encountering a black cat ("crossing one's path") leads to bad luck, or that cats are witches' familiars used to augment a witch's powers and skills. The killing of cats in Medieval Ypres, Belgium, is commemorated in the innocuous present-day Kattenstoet (cat parade).[226] In mid-16th century France, cats would be burnt alive as a form of entertainment. According to Norman Davies, the assembled people "shrieked with laughter as the animals, howling with pain, were singed, roasted, and finally carbonized".[227]

James Frazer wrote that "It was the custom to burn a basket, barrel, or sack full of live cats, which was hung from a tall mast in the midst of the bonfire; sometimes a fox was burned. The people collected the embers and ashes of the fire and took them home, believing that they brought good luck. The French kings often witnessed these spectacles and even lit the bonfire with their own hands. In 1648 Louis XIV, crowned with a wreath of roses and carrying a bunch of roses in his hand, kindled the fire, danced at it and partook of the banquet afterwards in the town hall. But this was the last occasion when a monarch presided at the midsummer bonfire in Paris. At Metz midsummer fires were lighted with great pomp on the esplanade, and a dozen cats, enclosed in wicker cages, were burned alive in them, to the amusement of the people. Similarly, at Gap, in the department of the Hautes-Alpes, cats used to be roasted over the midsummer bonfire."[228]

According to a myth in many cultures, cats have multiple lives. In many countries, they are believed to have nine lives, but in Italy, Germany, Greece, Brazil and some Spanish-speaking regions, they are said to have seven lives,[229][230] while in Arabic traditions, the number of lives is six.[231] An early mention of the myth can be found in John Heywood's The Proverbs of John Heywood (1546):

Husband, (quoth she), ye studie, be merrie now,
And even as ye thinke now, so come to yow.
Nay not so, (quoth he), for my thought to tell right,
I thinke how you lay groning, wife, all last night.
Husband, a groning horse and a groning wife
Never faile their master, (quoth she), for my life.
No wife, a woman hath nine lives like a cat.

— Julian Sharman, The Proverbs of John Heywood (1874), p.104

The myth is attributed to the natural suppleness and swiftness cats exhibit to escape life-threatening situations.[citation needed] Also lending credence to this myth is the fact that falling cats often land on their feet, using an instinctive righting reflex to twist their bodies around. Nonetheless, cats can still be injured or killed by a high fall.[232]

See also

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March 20, 2023
this, article, about, species, commonly, kept, family, felidae, other, uses, disambiguation, disambiguation, felis, catus, domestic, species, small, carnivorous, mammal, only, domesticated, species, family, felidae, commonly, referred, domestic, house, disting. This article is about the species commonly kept as a pet For the cat family see Felidae For other uses see Cat disambiguation and Cats disambiguation The cat Felis catus is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal 1 2 It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of the family 4 Cats are commonly kept as house pets but can also be farm cats or feral cats the feral cat ranges freely and avoids human contact 5 Domestic cats are valued by humans for companionship and their ability to kill rodents About 60 cat breeds are recognized by various cat registries 6 CatTemporal range 9 500 years ago presentVarious types of catConservation statusDomesticatedScientific classificationKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass MammaliaOrder CarnivoraSuborder FeliformiaFamily FelidaeSubfamily FelinaeGenus FelisSpecies F catus 1 Binomial nameFelis catus 1 Linnaeus 1758 2 SynonymsCatus domesticus Erxleben 1777 3 F angorensis Gmelin 1788 F vulgaris Fischer 1829The cat is similar in anatomy to the other felid species it has a strong flexible body quick reflexes sharp teeth and retractable claws adapted to killing small prey like mice and rats Its night vision and sense of smell are well developed Cat communication includes vocalizations like meowing purring trilling hissing growling and grunting as well as cat specific body language Although the cat is a social species it is a solitary hunter As a predator it is crepuscular i e most active at dawn and dusk It can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears such as those made by mice and other small mammals 7 It also secretes and perceives pheromones 8 Female domestic cats can have kittens from spring to late autumn with litter sizes often ranging from two to five kittens 9 Domestic cats are bred and shown at events as registered pedigreed cats a hobby known as cat fancy Population control of cats may be achieved by spaying and neutering but their proliferation and the abandonment of pets has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide contributing to the extinction of entire bird mammal and reptile species 10 It was long thought that cat domestication began in ancient Egypt where cats were venerated from around 3100 BC 11 12 but recent advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that their domestication occurred in Western Asia around 7500 BC 13 As of 2021 update there were an estimated 220 million owned and 480 million stray cats in the world 14 15 As of 2017 update the domestic cat was the second most popular pet in the United States with 95 6 million cats owned 16 17 18 and around 42 million households owning at least one cat 19 In the United Kingdom 26 of adults have a cat with an estimated population of 10 9 million pet cats as of 2020 update 20 Contents 1 Etymology and naming 2 Taxonomy 3 Evolution 3 1 Domestication 4 Characteristics 4 1 Size 4 2 Skeleton 4 3 Skull 4 4 Claws 4 5 Ambulation 4 6 Balance 4 7 Coats 5 Senses 5 1 Vision 5 2 Hearing 5 3 Smell 5 4 Taste 5 5 Whiskers 6 Behavior 6 1 Sociability 6 2 Communication 6 3 Grooming 6 4 Fighting 6 5 Hunting and feeding 6 6 Play 6 7 Reproduction 7 Lifespan and health 7 1 Disease 8 Ecology 8 1 Habitats 8 2 Ferality 8 3 Impact on wildlife 9 Interaction with humans 9 1 Shows 9 2 Infection 9 3 History and mythology 9 4 Superstitions and rituals 10 See also 11 References 12 External linksEtymology and namingThe origin of the English word cat Old English catt is thought to be the Late Latin word cattus which was first used at the beginning of the 6th century 21 It was suggested that cattus is derived from an Egyptian precursor of Coptic ϣⲁⲩ sau tomcat or its feminine form suffixed with t 22 The Late Latin word may be derived from another Afro Asiatic 23 or Nilo Saharan language The Nubian word kaddiska wildcat and Nobiin kadis are possible sources or cognates 24 The Nubian word may be a loan from Arabic ق ط qaṭṭ ق ط qiṭṭ However it is equally likely that the forms might derive from an ancient Germanic word imported into Latin and thence to Greek and to Syriac and Arabic 25 The word may be derived from Germanic and Northern European languages and ultimately be borrowed from Uralic cf Northern Sami gađfi female stoat and Hungarian holgy lady female stoat from Proto Uralic kadwa female of a furred animal 26 The English puss extended as pussy and pussycat is attested from the 16th century and may have been introduced from Dutch poes or from Low German puuskatte related to Swedish kattepus or Norwegian pus pusekatt Similar forms exist in Lithuanian puize and Irish puisin or puiscin The etymology of this word is unknown but it may have arisen from a sound used to attract a cat 27 28 A male cat is called a tom or tomcat 29 or a gib 30 if neutered A female is called a queen 31 or a molly 32 user generated source if spayed especially in a cat breeding context A juvenile cat is referred to as a kitten In Early Modern English the word kitten was interchangeable with the now obsolete word catling 33 A group of cats can be referred to as a clowder or a glaring 34 TaxonomyThe scientific name Felis catus was proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for a domestic cat 1 2 Felis catus domesticus was proposed by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777 3 Felis daemon proposed by Konstantin Satunin in 1904 was a black cat from the Transcaucasus later identified as a domestic cat 35 36 In 2003 the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature ruled that the domestic cat is a distinct species namely Felis catus 37 38 In 2007 it was considered a subspecies F silvestris catus of the European wildcat F silvestris following results of phylogenetic research 39 40 In 2017 the IUCN Cat Classification Taskforce followed the recommendation of the ICZN in regarding the domestic cat as a distinct species Felis catus 41 EvolutionMain article Cat evolution Skulls of a wildcat top left a housecat top right and a hybrid between the two bottom center The domestic cat is a member of the Felidae a family that had a common ancestor about 10 15 million years ago 42 The genus Felis diverged from other Felidae around 6 7 million years ago 43 Results of phylogenetic research confirm that the wild Felis species evolved through sympatric or parapatric speciation whereas the domestic cat evolved through artificial selection 44 The domesticated cat and its closest wild ancestor are diploid and both possess 38 chromosomes 45 and roughly 20 000 genes 46 The leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis was tamed independently in China around 5500 BC This line of partially domesticated cats leaves no trace in the domestic cat populations of today 47 Domestication See also Domestication of the cat A cat eating a fish under a chair a mural in an Egyptian tomb dating to the 15th century BC The earliest known indication for the taming of an African wildcat F lybica was excavated close by a human Neolithic grave in Shillourokambos southern Cyprus dating to about 7500 7200 BC Since there is no evidence of native mammalian fauna on Cyprus the inhabitants of this Neolithic village most likely brought the cat and other wild mammals to the island from the Middle Eastern mainland 48 Scientists therefore assume that African wildcats were attracted to early human settlements in the Fertile Crescent by rodents in particular the house mouse Mus musculus and were tamed by Neolithic farmers This mutual relationship between early farmers and tamed cats lasted thousands of years As agricultural practices spread so did tame and domesticated cats 13 6 Wildcats of Egypt contributed to the maternal gene pool of the domestic cat at a later time 49 The earliest known evidence for the occurrence of the domestic cat in Greece dates to around 1200 BC Greek Phoenician Carthaginian and Etruscan traders introduced domestic cats to southern Europe 50 During the Roman Empire they were introduced to Corsica and Sardinia before the beginning of the 1st millennium 51 By the 5th century BC they were familiar animals around settlements in Magna Graecia and Etruria 52 By the end of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century the Egyptian domestic cat lineage had arrived in a Baltic Sea port in northern Germany 49 During domestication cats have undergone only minor changes in anatomy and behavior and they are still capable of surviving in the wild Several natural behaviors and characteristics of wildcats may have pre adapted them for domestication as pets These traits include their small size social nature obvious body language love of play and high intelligence Captive Leopardus cats may also display affectionate behavior toward humans but were not domesticated 53 House cats often mate with feral cats 54 Hybridisation between domestic and other Felinae species is also possible producing hybrids such as the Kellas cat in Scotland 55 56 Development of cat breeds started in the mid 19th century 57 An analysis of the domestic cat genome revealed that the ancestral wildcat genome was significantly altered in the process of domestication as specific mutations were selected to develop cat breeds 58 Most breeds are founded on random bred domestic cats Genetic diversity of these breeds varies between regions and is lowest in purebred populations which show more than 20 deleterious genetic disorders 59 CharacteristicsMain article Cat anatomy Size Diagram of the general anatomy of a male domestic cat The domestic cat has a smaller skull and shorter bones than the European wildcat 60 It averages about 46 cm 18 in in head to body length and 23 25 cm 9 10 in in height with about 30 cm 12 in long tails Males are larger than females 61 Adult domestic cats typically weigh between 4 and 5 kg 9 and 11 lb 44 Skeleton Cats have seven cervical vertebrae as do most mammals 13 thoracic vertebrae humans have 12 seven lumbar vertebrae humans have five three sacral vertebrae as do most mammals but humans have five and a variable number of caudal vertebrae in the tail humans have only three to five vestigial caudal vertebrae fused into an internal coccyx 62 11 The extra lumbar and thoracic vertebrae account for the cat s spinal mobility and flexibility Attached to the spine are 13 ribs the shoulder and the pelvis 62 16 Unlike human arms cat forelimbs are attached to the shoulder by free floating clavicle bones which allow them to pass their body through any space into which they can fit their head 63 Skull Cat skull A cat with exposed teeth and claws The cat skull is unusual among mammals in having very large eye sockets and a powerful specialized jaw 64 35 Within the jaw cats have teeth adapted for killing prey and tearing meat When it overpowers its prey a cat delivers a lethal neck bite with its two long canine teeth inserting them between two of the prey s vertebrae and severing its spinal cord causing irreversible paralysis and death 65 Compared to other felines domestic cats have narrowly spaced canine teeth relative to the size of their jaw which is an adaptation to their preferred prey of small rodents which have small vertebrae 65 The premolar and first molar together compose the carnassial pair on each side of the mouth which efficiently shears meat into small pieces like a pair of scissors These are vital in feeding since cats small molars cannot chew food effectively and cats are largely incapable of mastication 64 37 Although cats tend to have better teeth than most humans with decay generally less likely because of a thicker protective layer of enamel a less damaging saliva less retention of food particles between teeth and a diet mostly devoid of sugar they are nonetheless subject to occasional tooth loss and infection 66 Claws Shed claw sheaths Cats have protractible and retractable claws 67 In their normal relaxed position the claws are sheathed with the skin and fur around the paw s toe pads This keeps the claws sharp by preventing wear from contact with the ground and allows for the silent stalking of prey The claws on the forefeet are typically sharper than those on the hindfeet 68 Cats can voluntarily extend their claws on one or more paws They may extend their claws in hunting or self defense climbing kneading or for extra traction on soft surfaces Cats shed the outside layer of their claw sheaths when scratching rough surfaces 69 Most cats have five claws on their front paws and four on their rear paws The dewclaw is proximal to the other claws More proximally is a protrusion which appears to be a sixth finger This special feature of the front paws on the inside of the wrists has no function in normal walking but is thought to be an antiskidding device used while jumping Some cat breeds are prone to having extra digits polydactyly 70 Polydactylous cats occur along North America s northeast coast and in Great Britain 71 Ambulation The cat is digitigrade It walks on the toes with the bones of the feet making up the lower part of the visible leg 72 Unlike most mammals it uses a pacing gait and moves both legs on one side of the body before the legs on the other side It registers directly by placing each hind paw close to the track of the corresponding fore paw minimizing noise and visible tracks This also provides sure footing for hind paws when navigating rough terrain As it speeds up from walking to trotting its gait changes to a diagonal gait The diagonally opposite hind and fore legs move simultaneously 73 Balance source source source source source source source source source source Comparison of cat righting reflexes in gravity and zero gravity Most breeds of cat are notably fond of sitting in high places or perching A higher place may serve as a concealed site from which to hunt domestic cats strike prey by pouncing from a perch such as a tree branch Another possible explanation is that height gives the cat a better observation point allowing it to survey its territory A cat falling from heights of up to 3 meters 9 8 ft can right itself and land on its paws 74 During a fall from a high place a cat reflexively twists its body and rights itself to land on its feet using its acute sense of balance and flexibility This reflex is known as the cat righting reflex 75 A cat always rights itself in the same way during a fall if it has enough time to do so which is the case in falls of 90 cm 2 ft 11 in or more 76 How cats are able to right themselves when falling has been investigated as the falling cat problem 77 Coats Main article Cat coat geneticsThe cat family Felidae can pass down many colors and patterns to their offsprings The domestic cat genes MC1R and ASIP allow for the variety of color in coats The feline ASIP gene consists of three coding exons 78 Three novel microsatellite markers linked to ASIP were isolated from a domestic cat BAC clone containing this gene and were used to perform linkage analysis in a pedigree of 89 domestic cats that segregated for melanism 79 SensesMain article Cat senses Vision Reflection of camera flash from the tapetum lucidum A cat s nictitating membrane shown as it blinks Cats have excellent night vision and can see at only one sixth the light level required for human vision 64 43 This is partly the result of cat eyes having a tapetum lucidum which reflects any light that passes through the retina back into the eye thereby increasing the eye s sensitivity to dim light 80 Large pupils are an adaptation to dim light The domestic cat has slit pupils which allow it to focus bright light without chromatic aberration 81 At low light a cat s pupils expand to cover most of the exposed surface of its eyes 82 The domestic cat has rather poor color vision and only two types of cone cells optimized for sensitivity to blue and yellowish green its ability to distinguish between red and green is limited 83 A response to middle wavelengths from a system other than the rod cells might be due to a third type of cone This appears to be an adaptation to low light levels rather than representing true trichromatic vision 84 Cats also have a nictitating membrane allowing them to blink without hindering their vision Hearing The domestic cat s hearing is most acute in the range of 500 Hz to 32 kHz 85 It can detect an extremely broad range of frequencies ranging from 55 Hz to 79 kHz It can hear a range of 10 5 octaves while humans and dogs can hear ranges of about 9 octaves 86 87 Its hearing sensitivity is enhanced by its large movable outer ears the pinnae which amplify sounds and help detect the location of a noise It can detect ultrasound which enables it to detect ultrasonic calls made by rodent prey 88 89 Recent research has shown that cats have socio spatial cognitive abilities to create mental maps of owners locations based on hearing owners voices 90 Smell Cats have an acute sense of smell due in part to their well developed olfactory bulb and a large surface of olfactory mucosa about 5 8 square centimetres 29 32 square inch in area which is about twice that of humans 91 Cats and many other animals have a Jacobson s organ in their mouths that is used in the behavioral process of flehmening It allows them to sense certain aromas in a way that humans cannot Cats are sensitive to pheromones such as 3 mercapto 3 methylbutan 1 ol 92 which they use to communicate through urine spraying and marking with scent glands 93 Many cats also respond strongly to plants that contain nepetalactone especially catnip as they can detect that substance at less than one part per billion 94 About 70 80 of cats are affected by nepetalactone 95 This response is also produced by other plants such as silver vine Actinidia polygama and the herb valerian it may be caused by the smell of these plants mimicking a pheromone and stimulating cats social or sexual behaviors 96 Taste Cats have relatively few taste buds compared to humans 470 or so versus more than 9 000 on the human tongue 97 Domestic and wild cats share a taste receptor gene mutation that keeps their sweet taste buds from binding to sugary molecules leaving them with no ability to taste sweetness 98 Their taste buds instead respond to acids amino acids like protein and bitter tastes 99 Cats also have a distinct temperature preference for their food preferring food with a temperature around 38 C 100 F which is similar to that of a fresh kill and routinely rejecting food presented cold or refrigerated which would signal to the cat that the prey item is long dead and therefore possibly toxic or decomposing 97 Whiskers The whiskers of a cat are highly sensitive to touch To aid with navigation and sensation cats have dozens of movable whiskers vibrissae over their body especially their faces These provide information on the width of gaps and on the location of objects in the dark both by touching objects directly and by sensing air currents they also trigger protective blink reflexes to protect the eyes from damage 64 47 BehaviorSee also Cat behavior Outdoor cats are active both day and night although they tend to be slightly more active at night 100 Domestic cats spend the majority of their time in the vicinity of their homes but can range many hundreds of meters from this central point They establish territories that vary considerably in size in one study ranging from 7 to 28 hectares 17 69 acres 101 The timing of cats activity is quite flexible and varied which means house cats may be more active in the morning and evening as a response to greater human activity at these times 102 Cats conserve energy by sleeping more than most animals especially as they grow older The daily duration of sleep varies usually between 12 and 16 hours with 13 and 14 being the average Some cats can sleep as much as 20 hours The term cat nap for a short rest refers to the cat s tendency to fall asleep lightly for a brief period While asleep cats experience short periods of rapid eye movement sleep often accompanied by muscle twitches which suggests they are dreaming 103 Sociability The social behavior of the domestic cat ranges from widely dispersed individuals to feral cat colonies that gather around a food source based on groups of co operating females 104 Within such groups one cat is usually dominant over the others 105 Each cat in a colony holds a distinct territory with sexually active males having the largest territories which are about 10 times larger than those of female cats and may overlap with several females territories These territories are marked by urine spraying by rubbing objects at head height with secretions from facial glands and by defecation 93 Between these territories are neutral areas where cats watch and greet one another without territorial conflicts Outside these neutral areas territory holders usually chase away stranger cats at first by staring hissing and growling and if that does not work by short but noisy and violent attacks Despite this colonial organization cats do not have a social survival strategy or a pack mentality and always hunt alone 106 Life in proximity to humans and other domestic animals has led to a symbiotic social adaptation in cats and cats may express great affection toward humans or other animals Ethologically a cat s human keeper functions as if a mother surrogate 107 Adult cats live their lives in a kind of extended kittenhood a form of behavioral neoteny Their high pitched sounds may mimic the cries of a hungry human infant making them particularly difficult for humans to ignore 108 Some pet cats are poorly socialized In particular older cats show aggressiveness toward newly arrived kittens which include biting and scratching this type of behavior is known as feline asocial aggression 109 Redirected aggression is a common form of aggression which can occur in multiple cat households In redirected aggression there is usually something that agitates the cat this could be a sight sound or another source of stimuli which causes a heightened level of anxiety or arousal If the cat cannot attack the stimuli it may direct anger elsewhere by attacking or directing aggression to the nearest cat dog human or other being 110 111 Domestic cats scent rubbing behavior toward humans or other cats is thought to be a feline means for social bonding 112 Communication Main article Cat communication Vocalizing domestic cat Domestic cats use many vocalizations for communication including purring trilling hissing growling snarling grunting and several different forms of meowing 7 Their body language including position of ears and tail relaxation of the whole body and kneading of the paws are all indicators of mood The tail and ears are particularly important social signal mechanisms in cats A raised tail indicates a friendly greeting and flattened ears indicates hostility Tail raising also indicates the cat s position in the group s social hierarchy with dominant individuals raising their tails less often than subordinate ones 113 Feral cats are generally silent 114 208 Nose to nose touching is also a common greeting and may be followed by social grooming which is solicited by one of the cats raising and tilting its head 104 Purring may have developed as an evolutionary advantage as a signaling mechanism of reassurance between mother cats and nursing kittens who are thought to use it as a care soliciting signal 115 Post nursing cats also often purr as a sign of contentment when being petted becoming relaxed 116 117 or eating Even though purring is popularly interpreted as indicative of pleasure it has been recorded in a wide variety of circumstances most of which involve physical contact between the cat and another presumably trusted individual 115 Some cats have been observed to purr continuously when chronically ill or in apparent pain 118 The exact mechanism by which cats purr has long been elusive but it has been proposed that purring is generated via a series of sudden build ups and releases of pressure as the glottis is opened and closed which causes the vocal folds to separate forcefully The laryngeal muscles in control of the glottis are thought to be driven by a neural oscillator which generates a cycle of contraction and release every 30 40 milliseconds giving a frequency of 33 to 25 Hz 115 119 120 Grooming The hooked papillae on a cat s tongue act like a hairbrush to help clean and detangle fur Cats are known for spending considerable amounts of time licking their coats to keep them clean 121 The cat s tongue has backward facing spines about 500 mm long which are called papillae These contain keratin which makes them rigid 122 so the papillae act like a hairbrush Some cats particularly longhaired cats occasionally regurgitate hairballs of fur that have collected in their stomachs from grooming These clumps of fur are usually sausage shaped and about 2 3 cm 3 4 1 1 4 in long Hairballs can be prevented with remedies that ease elimination of the hair through the gut as well as regular grooming of the coat with a comb or stiff brush 121 Fighting A domestic cat s arched back raised fur and open mouthed hiss are signs of aggression Among domestic cats males are more likely to fight than females 123 Among feral cats the most common reason for cat fighting is competition between two males to mate with a female In such cases most fights are won by the heavier male 124 Another common reason for fighting in domestic cats is the difficulty of establishing territories within a small home 123 Female cats also fight over territory or to defend their kittens Neutering will decrease or eliminate this behavior in many cases suggesting that the behavior is linked to sex hormones 125 When cats become aggressive they try to make themselves appear larger and more threatening by raising their fur arching their backs turning sideways and hissing or spitting 126 Often the ears are pointed down and back to avoid damage to the inner ear and potentially listen for any changes behind them while focused forward Cats may also vocalize loudly and bare their teeth in an effort to further intimidate their opponents Fights usually consist of grappling and delivering powerful slaps to the face and body with the forepaws as well as bites Cats also throw themselves to the ground in a defensive posture to rake their opponent s belly with their powerful hind legs 127 Serious damage is rare as the fights are usually short in duration with the loser running away with little more than a few scratches to the face and ears Fights for mating rights are typically more severe and injuries may include deep puncture wounds and lacerations Normally serious injuries from fighting are limited to infections of scratches and bites though these can occasionally kill cats if untreated In addition bites are probably the main route of transmission of feline immunodeficiency virus 128 Sexually active males are usually involved in many fights during their lives and often have decidedly battered faces with obvious scars and cuts to their ears and nose 129 Cats are willing to threaten animals larger than them to defend their territory such as dogs and foxes 130 Hunting and feeding See also Cat food A domestic cat with its prey a deermouse The shape and structure of cats cheeks is insufficient to allow them to take in liquids using suction Therefore when drinking they lap with the tongue to draw liquid upward into their mouths Lapping at a rate of four times a second the cat touches the smooth tip of its tongue to the surface of the water and quickly retracts it like a corkscrew drawing water upward 131 132 Feral cats and free fed house cats consume several small meals in a day The frequency and size of meals varies between individuals They select food based on its temperature smell and texture they dislike chilled foods and respond most strongly to moist foods rich in amino acids which are similar to meat Cats reject novel flavors a response termed neophobia and learn quickly to avoid foods that have tasted unpleasant in the past 106 133 It is also a common misconception that cats like milk cream as they tend to avoid sweet food and milk Most adult cats are lactose intolerant the sugar in milk is not easily digested and may cause soft stools or diarrhea 134 Some also develop odd eating habits and like to eat or chew on things like wool plastic cables paper string aluminum foil or even coal This condition pica can threaten their health depending on the amount and toxicity of the items eaten 135 Cats hunt small prey primarily birds and rodents 136 and are often used as a form of pest control 137 138 Cats use two hunting strategies either stalking prey actively or waiting in ambush until an animal comes close enough to be captured 139 The strategy used depends on the prey species in the area with cats waiting in ambush outside burrows but tending to actively stalk birds 140 153 Domestic cats are a major predator of wildlife in the United States killing an estimated 1 3 to 4 0 billion birds and 6 3 to 22 3 billion mammals annually 141 Certain species appear more susceptible than others in one English village for example 30 of house sparrow mortality was linked to the domestic cat 142 In the recovery of ringed robins Erithacus rubecula and dunnocks Prunella modularis in Britain 31 of deaths were a result of cat predation 143 In parts of North America the presence of larger carnivores such as coyotes which prey on cats and other small predators reduces the effect of predation by cats and other small predators such as opossums and raccoons on bird numbers and variety 144 Perhaps the best known element of cats hunting behavior which is commonly misunderstood and often appalls cat owners because it looks like torture is that cats often appear to play with prey by releasing and recapturing it This cat and mouse behavior is due to an instinctive imperative to ensure that the prey is weak enough to be killed without endangering the cat 145 Another poorly understood element of cat hunting behavior is the presentation of prey to human guardians One explanation is that cats adopt humans into their social group and share excess kill with others in the group according to the dominance hierarchy in which humans are reacted to as if they are at or near the top 146 Another explanation is that they attempt to teach their guardians to hunt or to help their human as if feeding an elderly cat or an inept kitten 147 This hypothesis is inconsistent with the fact that male cats also bring home prey despite males having negligible involvement in raising kittens 140 153 Play Main article Cat play and toys source source source source source source source source source source track Play fight between kittens aged 14 weeks Domestic cats especially young kittens are known for their love of play This behavior mimics hunting and is important in helping kittens learn to stalk capture and kill prey 148 Cats also engage in play fighting with each other and with humans This behavior may be a way for cats to practice the skills needed for real combat and might also reduce any fear they associate with launching attacks on other animals 149 Cats also tend to play with toys more when they are hungry 150 Owing to the close similarity between play and hunting cats prefer to play with objects that resemble prey such as small furry toys that move rapidly but rapidly lose interest They become habituated to a toy they have played with before 151 String is often used as a toy but if it is eaten it can become caught at the base of the cat s tongue and then move into the intestines a medical emergency which can cause serious illness even death 152 Owing to the risks posed by cats eating string it is sometimes replaced with a laser pointer s dot which cats may chase 153 Reproduction When cats mate the tomcat male bites the scruff of the female s neck as she assumes a position conducive to mating known as lordosis behavior See also Kitten Female cats called queens are polyestrous with several estrus cycles during a year lasting usually 21 days They are usually ready to mate between early February and August 154 Several males called tomcats are attracted to a female in heat They fight over her and the victor wins the right to mate At first the female rejects the male but eventually the female allows the male to mate The female utters a loud yowl as the male pulls out of her because a male cat s penis has a band of about 120 150 backward pointing penile spines which are about 1 mm 1 32 in long upon withdrawal of the penis the spines may provide the female with increased sexual stimulation which acts to induce ovulation 155 After mating the female cleans her vulva thoroughly If a male attempts to mate with her at this point the female attacks him After about 20 to 30 minutes once the female is finished grooming the cycle will repeat 156 Because ovulation is not always triggered by a single mating females may not be impregnated by the first male with which they mate 157 Furthermore cats are superfecund that is a female may mate with more than one male when she is in heat with the result that different kittens in a litter may have different fathers 156 The morula forms 124 hours after conception At 148 hours early blastocysts form At 10 12 days implantation occurs 158 The gestation of queens lasts between 64 and 67 days with an average of 65 days 154 159 Radiography of a pregnant cat The skeletons of two fetuses are visible on the left and right of the uterus A newborn kitten Data on the reproductive capacity of more than 2 300 free ranging queens were collected during a study between May 1998 and October 2000 They had one to six kittens per litter with an average of three kittens They produced a mean of 1 4 litters per year but a maximum of three litters in a year Of 169 kittens 127 died before they were six months old due to a trauma caused in most cases by dog attacks and road accidents 9 The first litter is usually smaller than subsequent litters Kittens are weaned between six and seven weeks of age Queens normally reach sexual maturity at 5 10 months and males at 5 7 months This varies depending on breed 156 Kittens reach puberty at the age of 9 10 months 154 Cats are ready to go to new homes at about 12 weeks of age when they are ready to leave their mother 160 They can be surgically sterilized spayed or castrated as early as seven weeks to limit unwanted reproduction 161 This surgery also prevents undesirable sex related behavior such as aggression territory marking spraying urine in males and yowling calling in females Traditionally this surgery was performed at around six to nine months of age but it is increasingly being performed before puberty at about three to six months 162 In the United States about 80 of household cats are neutered 163 Lifespan and healthMain articles Cat health and Aging in cats The average lifespan of pet cats has risen in recent decades In the early 1980s it was about seven years 164 33 165 rising to 9 4 years in 1995 164 33 and about 15 years in 2021 citation needed Some cats have been reported as surviving into their 30s 166 with the oldest known cat Creme Puff dying at a verified age of 38 167 Neutering increases life expectancy one study found castrated male cats live twice as long as intact males while spayed female cats live 62 longer than intact females 164 35 Having a cat neutered confers health benefits because castrated males cannot develop testicular cancer spayed females cannot develop uterine or ovarian cancer and both have a reduced risk of mammary cancer 168 Disease Main article List of feline diseases About 250 heritable genetic disorders have been identified in cats many similar to human inborn errors of metabolism 169 The high level of similarity among the metabolism of mammals allows many of these feline diseases to be diagnosed using genetic tests that were originally developed for use in humans as well as the use of cats as animal models in the study of the human diseases 170 171 Diseases affecting domestic cats include acute infections parasitic infestations injuries and chronic diseases such as kidney disease thyroid disease and arthritis Vaccinations are available for many infectious diseases as are treatments to eliminate parasites such as worms ticks and fleas 172 EcologyHabitats The domestic cat is a cosmopolitan species and occurs across much of the world 59 It is adaptable and now present on all continents except Antarctica and on 118 of the 131 main groups of islands even on the isolated Kerguelen Islands 173 174 Due to its ability to thrive in almost any terrestrial habitat it is among the world s most invasive species 175 It lives on small islands with no human inhabitants 176 Feral cats can live in forests grasslands tundra coastal areas agricultural land scrublands urban areas and wetlands 177 The unwantedness that leads to the domestic cat being treated as an invasive species is twofold On one hand as it is little altered from the wildcat it can readily interbreed with the wildcat This hybridization poses a danger to the genetic distinctiveness of some wildcat populations particularly in Scotland and Hungary possibly also the Iberian Peninsula and where protected natural areas are close to human dominated landscapes such as Kruger National Park in South Africa 178 56 On the other hand and perhaps more obviously its introduction to places where no native felines are present contributes to the decline of native species 179 Ferality Main article Feral cat Feral farm cat Feral cats are domestic cats that were born in or have reverted to a wild state They are unfamiliar with and wary of humans and roam freely in urban and rural areas 10 The numbers of feral cats is not known but estimates of the United States feral population range from 25 to 60 million 10 Feral cats may live alone but most are found in large colonies which occupy a specific territory and are usually associated with a source of food 180 Famous feral cat colonies are found in Rome around the Colosseum and Forum Romanum with cats at some of these sites being fed and given medical attention by volunteers 181 Public attitudes toward feral cats vary widely from seeing them as free ranging pets to regarding them as vermin 182 Some feral cats can be successfully socialized and re tamed for adoption young cats especially kittens 183 and cats that have had prior experience and contact with humans are the most receptive to these efforts Impact on wildlife Main article Cat predation on wildlife On islands birds can contribute as much as 60 of a cat s diet 184 In nearly all cases the cat cannot be identified as the sole cause for reducing the numbers of island birds and in some instances eradication of cats has caused a mesopredator release effect 185 where the suppression of top carnivores creates an abundance of smaller predators that cause a severe decline in their shared prey Domestic cats are a contributing factor to the decline of many species a factor that has ultimately led in some cases to extinction The South Island piopio Chatham rail 143 and the New Zealand merganser 186 are a few from a long list with the most extreme case being the flightless Lyall s wren which was driven to extinction only a few years after its discovery 187 188 One feral cat in New Zealand killed 102 New Zealand lesser short tailed bats in seven days 189 In the US feral and free ranging domestic cats kill an estimated 6 3 22 3 billion mammals annually 141 In Australia the impact of cats on mammal populations is even greater than the impact of habitat loss 190 More than one million reptiles are killed by feral cats each day representing 258 species 191 Cats have contributed to the extinction of the Navassa curly tailed lizard and Chioninia coctei 179 Interaction with humansMain article Human interaction with cats A cat sleeping on a man s lap Cats are common pets throughout the world and their worldwide population as of 2007 exceeded 500 million 192 Cats have been used for millennia to control rodents notably around grain stores and aboard ships and both uses extend to the present day 193 194 As well as being kept as pets cats are also used in the international fur trade 195 and leather industries for making coats hats blankets and stuffed toys 196 and shoes gloves and musical instruments respectively 197 about 24 cats are needed to make a cat fur coat 198 This use has been outlawed in the United States since 2000 and in the European Union as well as the United Kingdom since 2007 199 Cat pelts have been used for superstitious purposes as part of the practice of witchcraft 200 and are still made into blankets in Switzerland as traditional medicine thought to cure rheumatism 201 A few attempts to build a cat census have been made over the years both through associations or national and international organizations such as that of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies 202 and over the Internet 203 204 but such a task does not seem simple to achieve General estimates for the global population of domestic cats range widely from anywhere between 200 million to 600 million 205 206 207 208 209 Walter Chandoha made his career photographing cats after his 1949 images of Loco an especially charming stray taken in were published around the world He is reported to have photographed 90 000 cats during his career and maintained an archive of 225 000 images that he drew from for publications during his lifetime 210 Shows Main article Cat show A cat show is a judged event in which the owners of cats compete to win titles in various cat registering organizations by entering their cats to be judged after a breed standard 211 It is often required that a cat must be healthy and vaccinated in order to participate in a cat show 211 Both pedigreed and non purebred companion moggy cats are admissible although the rules differ depending on the organization Competing cats are compared to the applicable breed standard and assessed for temperament 211 Infection Main article Feline zoonosis Cats can be infected or infested with viruses bacteria fungus protozoans arthropods or worms that can transmit diseases to humans 212 In some cases the cat exhibits no symptoms of the disease 213 The same disease can then become evident in a human The likelihood that a person will become diseased depends on the age and immune status of the person Humans who have cats living in their home or in close association are more likely to become infected Others might also acquire infections from cat feces and parasites exiting the cat s body 212 214 Some of the infections of most concern include salmonella cat scratch disease and toxoplasmosis 213 History and mythology Main articles Cultural depictions of cats and Cats in ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt cats were worshipped and the goddess Bastet often depicted in cat form sometimes taking on the war like aspect of a lioness The Greek historian Herodotus reported that killing a cat was forbidden and when a household cat died the entire family mourned and shaved their eyebrows Families took their dead cats to the sacred city of Bubastis where they were embalmed and buried in sacred repositories Herodotus expressed astonishment at the domestic cats in Egypt because he had only ever seen wildcats 215 Ancient Greeks and Romans kept weasels as pets which were seen as the ideal rodent killers The earliest unmistakable evidence of the Greeks having domestic cats comes from two coins from Magna Graecia dating to the mid fifth century BC showing Iokastos and Phalanthos the legendary founders of Rhegion and Taras respectively playing with their pet cats The usual ancient Greek word for cat was ailouros meaning thing with the waving tail Cats are rarely mentioned in ancient Greek literature Aristotle remarked in his History of Animals that female cats are naturally lecherous The Greeks later syncretized their own goddess Artemis with the Egyptian goddess Bastet adopting Bastet s associations with cats and ascribing them to Artemis In Ovid s Metamorphoses when the deities flee to Egypt and take animal forms the goddess Diana turns into a cat 216 217 Cats eventually displaced weasels as the pest control of choice because they were more pleasant to have around the house and were more enthusiastic hunters of mice During the Middle Ages many of Artemis s associations with cats were grafted onto the Virgin Mary Cats are often shown in icons of Annunciation and of the Holy Family and according to Italian folklore on the same night that Mary gave birth to Jesus a cat in Bethlehem gave birth to a kitten 218 Domestic cats were spread throughout much of the rest of the world during the Age of Discovery as ships cats were carried on sailing ships to control shipboard rodents and as good luck charms 50 Several ancient religions believed cats are exalted souls companions or guides for humans that are all knowing but mute so they cannot influence decisions made by humans In Japan the maneki neko cat is a symbol of good fortune 219 In Norse mythology Freyja the goddess of love beauty and fertility is depicted as riding a chariot drawn by cats 220 In Jewish legend the first cat was living in the house of the first man Adam as a pet that got rid of mice The cat was once partnering with the first dog before the latter broke an oath they had made which resulted in enmity between the descendants of these two animals It is also written that neither cats nor foxes are represented in the water while every other animal has an incarnation species in the water 221 Although no species are sacred in Islam cats are revered by Muslims Some Western writers have stated Muhammad had a favorite cat Muezza 222 He is reported to have loved cats so much he would do without his cloak rather than disturb one that was sleeping on it 223 The story has no origin in early Muslim writers and seems to confuse a story of a later Sufi saint Ahmed ar Rifa i centuries after Muhammad 224 One of the companions of Muhammad was known as Abu Hurayrah father of the kitten in reference to his documented affection to cats 225 The ancient Egyptians mummified dead cats out of respect in the same way that they mummified people 4 Ancient Roman mosaic of a cat killing a partridge from the House of the Faun in Pompeii A 19th century drawing of a tabby cat Superstitions and rituals Some cultures are superstitious about black cats ascribing either good or bad luck to them Many cultures have negative superstitions about cats An example would be the belief that encountering a black cat crossing one s path leads to bad luck or that cats are witches familiars used to augment a witch s powers and skills The killing of cats in Medieval Ypres Belgium is commemorated in the innocuous present day Kattenstoet cat parade 226 In mid 16th century France cats would be burnt alive as a form of entertainment According to Norman Davies the assembled people shrieked with laughter as the animals howling with pain were singed roasted and finally carbonized 227 James Frazer wrote that It was the custom to burn a basket barrel or sack full of live cats which was hung from a tall mast in the midst of the bonfire sometimes a fox was burned The people collected the embers and ashes of the fire and took them home believing that they brought good luck The French kings often witnessed these spectacles and even lit the bonfire with their own hands In 1648 Louis XIV crowned with a wreath of roses and carrying a bunch of roses in his hand kindled the fire danced at it and partook of the banquet afterwards in the town hall But this was the last occasion when a monarch presided at the midsummer bonfire in Paris At Metz midsummer fires were lighted with great pomp on the esplanade and a dozen cats enclosed in wicker cages were burned alive in them to the amusement of the people Similarly at Gap in the department of the Hautes Alpes cats used to be roasted over the midsummer bonfire 228 According to a myth in many cultures cats have multiple lives In many countries they are believed to have nine lives but in Italy Germany Greece Brazil and some Spanish speaking regions they are said to have seven lives 229 230 while in Arabic traditions the number of lives is six 231 An early mention of the myth can be found in John Heywood s The Proverbs of John Heywood 1546 Husband quoth she ye studie be merrie now And even as ye thinke now so come to yow Nay not so quoth he for my thought to tell right I thinke how you lay groning wife all last night Husband a groning horse and a groning wifeNever faile their master quoth she for my life No wife a woman hath nine lives like a cat Julian Sharman The Proverbs of John Heywood 1874 p 104 The myth is attributed to the natural suppleness and swiftness cats exhibit to escape life threatening situations citation needed Also lending credence to this myth is the fact that falling cats often land on their feet using an instinctive righting reflex to twist their bodies around Nonetheless cats can still be injured or killed by a high fall 232 See also Cats portal Mammals portal Animals portalAging in cats Ailurophobia Animal testing on cats Animal track Cancer in cats Cat bite Cat cafe Cat collar Cat lady Cat lover culture Cat meat Cats and the Internet Cats in Australia Cats in New Zealand Cats in the United States Cat dog relationship Dried cat List of cat breeds List of cat documentaries television series and cartoons List of individual cats List of fictional felines Perlorian Pet door Pet first aid Popular cat namesReferences a b c Linnaeus C 1758 Felis Catus Systema naturae per regna tria naturae secundum classes ordines genera species cum characteribus differentiis synonymis locis in Latin Vol 1 Tenth reformed ed Holmiae Laurentii Salvii p 42 a b c Wozencraft W C 2005 Species Felis catus In Wilson D E Reeder D M eds Mammal Species of the World A Taxonomic and 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