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User:Ryan McGrady/fall2013/com257/workshop/cat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The domestic cat[1][2] (Felis catus[2] or Felis silvestris catus) is a small, usually furry, domesticated, and carnivorous mammal. It is often called the housecat when kept as an indoor pet,[3] or simply the cat when there is no need to distinguish it from other felids and felines. Cats are often valued by humans for companionship and their ability to hunt vermin and household pests.

Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with strong, flexible bodies, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. Cat senses fit a crepuscular and predatory ecological niche. Cats can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small animals. They can see in near darkness. Like most other mammals, cats have poorer color vision and a better sense of smell than humans.

Despite being solitary hunters, cats are a social species, and cat communication includes the use of a variety of vocalizations (meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling and grunting) as well as cat pheromones and types of cat-specific body language.

Cats have a rapid breeding rate. Under controlled breeding, they can be bred and shown as registered pedigree pets, a hobby known as cat fancy. Failure to control the breeding of pet cats by spaying and neutering, and the abandonment of former household pets, has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, requiring population control.[4]

Since cats were cult animals in ancient Egypt, they were commonly believed to have been domesticated there,[5] but there may have been instances of domestication as early as the Neolithic from around 9500 years ago (7500 BC).[6]

A genetic study in 2007 revealed that domestic cats are descended from African wildcats (Felis silvestris lybica) c. 8000 BC, in the Middle East.[5][7] According to Scientific American, cats are the most popular pet in the world, and are now found almost every place where people live.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Species Felis catus". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 534–535. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ a b "ITIS Standard Report Page: Felis catus". ITIS Online Database. Reston, Virginia: Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  3. ^ Housecat (Education.Yahoo.com online ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2010. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. ^ Rochlitz, Irene (2007). The Welfare of Cats. "Animal Welfare" series. Berlin: Springer. pp. 141–175. ISBN 978-1-4020-6143-1.
  5. ^ a b Wade, Nicholas (29 June 2007). "Study Traces Cat's Ancestry to Middle East". New York Times. New York. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  6. ^ "Meet Helen and Aphrodite, Cyprus's Indigenous Cats". China Daily. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  7. ^ "Oldest Known Pet Cat? 9500-year-old Burial Found on Cyprus". National Geographic News. National Geographic Society. 8 April 2004. Retrieved 6 March 2007.
  8. ^ Driscoll, Carlos A. (10 June 2009). "The Evolution of House Cats". Scientific American. New York: Nature Pubg. Group. Retrieved 26 August 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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