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The
domestic cat[1][2] (
Felis catus[2] or
Felis silvestris catus[4]) is a small, usually
furry,
domesticated, and
carnivorous mammal. It is often called the
housecat when kept as an indoor pet,
[6] 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 visionand a better
sense of smell than humans.
Since cats were
cult animals in ancient Egypt, they were commonly believed to have been domesticated there,
[9] but there may have been instances of domestication as early as the
Neolithic from around 9500 years ago (7500 BC).
[10]
A genetic study in 2007 concluded that domestic cats are descended from
African wildcats (
Felis silvestris lybica) c. 8000 BC, in the Near East.
[9][11] According to
Scientific American, cats are the most popular pet in the world, and are now found almost every place where people live.
[12]
The English word
cat (
Old English catt) is in origin a loanword, introduced to many
languages of Europe from Latin
cattus[14] and
Byzantine Greek κάττα, including
Portuguese and
Spanish gato,
French chat,
German Katze,
Lithuaniankatė and
Old Church Slavonic kotka, among others.
[15] The ultimate source of the word is
Afroasiatic, presumably from
Late Egyptian čaute,
[16] the feminine of
čaus "wildcat". The word was introduced, together with the domestic animal itself, to the
Roman Republic by the 1st century BC.
[citation needed] An alternative word with cognates in many languages is English
puss (
pussycat). Attested only from the 16th century, it 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. The etymology of this word is unknown, but it may have simply arisen from a sound used to attract a cat.
[17][18]
A group of cats is referred to as a "clowder" or a "glaring",
[19] a male cat is called a "tom" or "tomcat"
[20] (or a "gib",
[21] if neutered), an
unaltered female is called a "queen",
[22] and a pre-pubescent juvenile is referred to as a "
kitten". Although spayed females have no commonly used name, in some rare instances immature or spayed females are referred to as a "molly"
[citation needed]. The male progenitor of a cat, especially a pedigreed cat, is its "sire",
[23] and its female progenitor is its "dam".
[24] In
Early Modern English, the word
kitten was interchangeable with the now-obsolete word
catling.
[25]
While the
African wildcat is the ancestral subspecies from which domestic cats are descended, and wildcats and domestic cats can completely interbreed, there are several intermediate stages between domestic pet and pedigree cats on the one hand and those entirely wild animals on the other. The semi-feral cat is a mostly outdoor cat that is not owned by any one individual, but is generally friendly to people and may be fed by several households.
Feral cats are associated with human habitation areas and may be fed by people or forage in rubbish, but are typically wary of human interaction.
[13]
Taxonomy and evolution
Main article:
Cat evolution
The
wildcat,
Felis silvestris, is the ancestor of the domestic cat.
The felids are a rapidly evolving family of mammals that share a common ancestor only 10–15 million years ago,
[26] and include, in addition to the domestic cat, lions, tigers, cougars, and many others. Within this family, domestic cats (
Felis catus) are part of the
genus Felis, which is a group of small cats containing approximately seven species (depending upon classification scheme).
[1][27] Members of the genus are found worldwide and include the
jungle cat (
Felis chaus) of southeast Asia,
European wildcat (
F. silvestris silvestris),
African wildcat (
F. s. lybica), the
Chinese mountain cat(
F. bieti), and the Arabian
sand cat (
F. margarita), among others.
[28]
All the cats in this genus share a common ancestor that probably lived around 6–7 million years ago in Asia.
[29] The exact relationships within the Felidae are close but still uncertain,
[30][31] e.g. the Chinese mountain cat is sometimes classified (under the name
Felis silvestris bieti) as a
subspeciesof the wildcat, like the North African variety
F. s. lybica.
[4][30] As domestic cats are little altered from wildcats, they can readily interbreed. This
hybridization poses a danger to the genetic distinctiveness of wildcat populations, particularly in
Scotland and
Hungary, and possibly also the
Iberian Peninsula.
[32]
The domestic cat was first classified as
Felis catus by
Carolus Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his
Systema Naturae in 1758.
[1][3] However, because of modern
phylogenetics, domestic cats are now usually regarded as another subspecies of the wildcat,
Felis silvestris.
[1][4][33] This has resulted in mixed usage of the terms, as the domestic cat can be called by its subspecies name,
Felis silvestris catus.
[1][4][33] Wildcats have also been referred to as various subspecies of
F. catus,
[33] but in 2003 the
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature fixed the name for wildcats as
F. silvestris.
[34] The most common name in use for the domestic cat remains
F. catus, following a
convention for domesticated animals of using the earliest (the senior)
synonym proposed.
[34] Sometimes the domestic cat has been called
Felis domesticus[35] or
Felis domestica,
[1] as proposed by German naturalist
J. C. P. Erxleben in 1777, but these are not valid taxonomic names and have been used only rarely in scientific literature,
[36] because Linnaeus's binomial takes precedence.
[37]
Cats have either a
mutualistic or
commensal relationship with humans. However, in comparison to dogs, cats have not undergone major changes during the domestication process, as the form and behavior of the domestic cat are not radically different from those of wildcats, and domestic cats are perfectly capable of surviving in the wild.
[38][39] This limited evolution during domestication means that domestic cats tend to interbreed freely with wild relatives,
[32] distinguishing them from other domesticated animals.
[citation needed] Fully domesticated house cats also often interbreed with
feral F. catus populations.
[13] However, several natural behaviors and characteristics of wildcats may have
pre-adapted them for domestication as pets.
[39] These traits include their small size, social nature, obvious body language, love of play, and relatively high intelligence;
[40]:12–17 they may also have an inborn tendency towards tameness.
[39]
There are two main theories about how cats were domesticated. In one, people deliberately tamed cats in a process of
artificial selection, as they were useful predators of vermin.
[41] However, this has been criticized as implausible, because there may have been little reward for such an effort: cats generally do not carry out commands and, although they do eat rodents, other species such as
ferrets or
terriers may be better at controlling these pests.
[4] The alternative idea is that cats were simply tolerated by people and gradually diverged from their wild relatives through
natural selection, as they adapted to hunting the vermin found around humans in towns and villages.
[4]
Genetics
Main article:
Cat genetics
Anatomy
Main article:
Cat anatomy
Diagram of the general
anatomy of a male
Domestic cats are similar in size to the other members of the genus
Felis, typically weighing between 4–5 kg (8.8–11 lb).
[30] However, some
breeds, such as the
Maine Coon, can occasionally exceed 11 kg (25 lb). Conversely, very small cats (less than 1.8 kg (4.0 lb)) have been reported.
[48] The world record for the largest cat is 21.3 kg (47 lb).
[49] The smallest adult cat ever officially recorded weighed around 1.36 kg (3.0 lb).
[49] Feral cats tend to be lighter as they have more limited access to food than house cats. In the
Boston area, the average feral adult male will scale 3.9 kg (8.6 lb) and average feral female 3.3 kg (7.3 lb).
[50] Cats average about 23–25 cm (9–10 in) in height and 46 cm (18.1 in) in head/body length (males being larger than females), with tails averaging 30 cm (11.8 in) in length.
[51]
Cats have seven
cervical vertebrae as do almost all
mammals; 13
thoracic vertebrae (humans have 12); seven
lumbar vertebrae (humans have five); three
sacral vertebrae like most mammals (humans have five because of their bipedal posture); and a variable number of
caudal vertebrae in the tail (humans retain three to five caudal vertebrae, fused into an internal
coccyx).
[52]: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.
[52] :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 heads.
[53]
The cat skull is unusual among mammals in having very large
eye sockets and a powerful and specialized jaw.
[54]: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.
[55] Compared to other felines, domestic cats have narrowly spaced canine teeth, which is an adaptation to their preferred prey of small rodents, which have small vertebrae.
[55] 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.
[54]:37
Cats, like dogs, are
digitigrades. They walk directly on their toes, with the bones of their feet making up the lower part of the visible leg.
[56] Cats are capable of walking very precisely, because like all
felines they directly register; that is, they place each hind paw (almost) directly in the print of the corresponding forepaw, minimizing noise and visible tracks. This also provides sure footing for their hind paws when they navigate rough terrain. Unlike most mammals, when cats walk, they use a "pacing"
gait; that is, they move the two legs on one side of the body before the legs on the other side. This trait is shared with
camels and
giraffes. As a walk speeds up into a trot, a cat's gait will change to be a "diagonal" gait, similar to that of most other mammals (and many other land animals, such as
lizards): the diagonally opposite hind and forelegs will move simultaneously.
[57]
Like almost all members of the
Felidae family, cats have protractable and retractable
claws.
[58] 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 the silent stalking of prey. The claws on the forefeet are typically sharper than those on the hind feet.
[59] 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. Most cats have five claws on their front paws, and four on their rear paws.
[60] The fifth front claw (the
dewclaw) is
proximal to the other claws. More proximally, there is a protrusion which appears to be a sixth "finger". This special feature of the front paws, on the inside of the wrists, is the carpal pad, also found on the paws of
big cats and of dogs. It has no function in normal walking, but is thought to be an anti-skidding device used while jumping. Some breeds of cats are prone to
polydactyly (extra toes and claws).
[60] These are particularly common along the northeast coast of North America.
[61]
.gif)
Physiology
As cats are familiar and easily kept animals, their physiology has been particularly well studied; it generally resembles that of other carnivorous mammals but displays several unusual features probably attributable to cats' descent from desert-dwelling species.
[35] For instance, cats are able to tolerate quite high temperatures: Humans generally start to feel uncomfortable when their skin temperature passes about 38 °C (100 °F), but cats show no discomfort until their skin reaches around 52 °C (126 °F),
[54]:46 and can tolerate temperatures of up to 56 °C (133 °F) if they have access to water.
[63]
Cats conserve heat by reducing the flow of blood to their skin and lose heat by evaporation through their mouth. They do not sweat, and
pant for heat relief only at very high temperatures
[64] (but may also pant when stressed). A cat's body temperature does not vary throughout the day; this is part of cats' general lack of
circadian rhythmsand may reflect their tendency to be active both during the day and at night.
[65]:1 Cats' feces are comparatively dry and their urine is highly concentrated, both of which are adaptations that allow cats to retain as much fluid as possible.
[35] Their kidneys are so efficient that cats can survive on a diet consisting only of meat, with no additional water,
[66] and can even rehydrate by drinking
seawater.
[65]:29[67]
Cats are
obligate carnivores: their
physiology has evolved to efficiently process meat, and they have difficulty digesting plant matter.
[35] In contrast to
omnivores such as
rats, which only require about 4% protein in their diet, about 20% of a cat's diet must be protein.
[35] Cats are unusually dependent on a constant supply of the
amino acid arginine, and a diet lacking arginine causes marked weight loss and can be rapidly fatal.
[68] Another unusual feature is that the cat cannot produce
taurine, with taurine deficiency causing
macular degeneration, wherein the cat's retina slowly degenerates, causing irreversible blindness.
[35] Since cats tend to eat all of their prey, they obtain minerals by digesting animal bones, and a diet composed only of meat may cause
calcium deficiency.
[35]
A cat's
gastrointestinal tract is adapted to meat eating, being much shorter than that of omnivores and having low levels of several of the
digestive enzymes that are needed to digest carbohydrates.
[69] These traits severely limit the cat's ability to digest and use plant-derived nutrients, as well as certain
fatty acids.
[69] Despite the cat's meat-oriented physiology, several vegetarian or vegan cat foods have been marketed that are supplemented with
chemically synthesized taurine and other nutrients, in attempts to produce a complete diet. However, some of these products still fail to provide all the nutrients that cats require,
[70] and diets containing no animal products pose the risk of causing severe nutritional deficiencies.
[71]
Senses
Cats have excellent
night vision and can see at only one sixth the light level required for human vision.
[54]: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.
[73]Another adaptation to dim light is the large pupils of cats' eyes. Unlike some big cats, such as tigers, domestic cats have slit pupils.
[74] These
slit pupils can focus bright light without
chromatic aberration, and are needed since the domestic cat's pupils are much larger, relative to their eyes, than the pupils of the big cats.
[74] Indeed, at low light levels a cat's pupils will expand to cover most of the exposed surface of its eyes.
[75] However, domestic cats have rather poor
color vision and (like most non-primate mammals) have only two types of
cones, optimized for sensitivity to blue and yellowish green; they have limited ability to distinguish between red and green.
[76] A 1993 paper found a response to mid-wavelengths from a system other than the
rods which might be due to a third type of cone. However, this appears to be an adaptation to low light levels rather than representing true
trichromatic vision.
[77]
Cats have excellent hearing and can detect an extremely broad range of frequencies. They can hear higher-pitched sounds than either dogs or humans, detecting frequencies from 55
Hz up to 79
kHz, a range of 10.5 octaves; while humans can only hear from 31 Hz up to 18 kHz, and dogs hear from 67 Hz to 44 kHz, which are both ranges of about 9 octaves.
[78][79] Cats do not use this ability to hear
ultrasound for communication but it is probably important in hunting,
[80] since many species of rodents make ultrasonic calls.
[81] Cat hearing is also extremely sensitive and is among the best of any mammal,
[78] being most acute in the range of 500 Hz to 32 kHz.
[82] This sensitivity is further enhanced by the cat's large movable outer ears (their
pinnae), which both amplify sounds and help a cat sense the direction from which a noise is coming.
[80]
Cats' whiskers are highly sensitive to touch.
Cats have an acute sense of smell, which is due in part to their well-developed
olfactory bulb and also to a large surface of
olfactory mucosa, about 5.8 square centimetres (0.90 sq in) in area, which is about twice that of humans and only 1.7-fold less than the average dog.
[83] Cats are very sensitive to
pheromones such as
3-mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol,
[84] which they use to communicate through
urine spraying and marking with
scent glands.
[85] Cats also respond strongly to plants that contain
nepetalactone, especially
catnip, as they can detect that substance at less than one part per billion.
[86]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.
[87]
Cats have relatively few taste buds compared to humans. Domestic and wild cats share a gene mutation that keeps their sweet taste buds from binding to sugary molecules like carbohydrates, leaving them with no ability to taste
sweetness.
[88] Their
taste buds instead respond to amino acids, bitter tastes and acids.
[89]
To aid with navigation and sensation, cats have dozens of movable
vibrissae (whiskers) over their body, especially their face. 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.
[54]:47
Health
The average life expectancy for male indoor cats at birth is around 12 to 14 years,
[90] with females usually living a year or two longer.
[91] However, there have been reports of cats reaching into their 30s,
[92] with the oldest known cat,
Creme Puff, dying at a verified age of 38.
[93] Feline life expectancy has increased significantly in recent decades.
[94] Having a cat
neutered confers some health benefits, since castrated males cannot develop
testicular cancer, spayed females cannot develop
uterine or
ovarian cancer, and both have a reduced risk of
mammary cancer.
[95] The lifespan of feral cats is hard to determine accurately, although one study reported a
median age of 4.7 years, with a range between 0 to 8.3 years.
[96]
Diseases
Cats can suffer from a wide range of health problems, including infectious diseases, parasites, injuries and chronic disease.
Vaccinations are available for many of these diseases, and domestic cats are regularly given treatments to eliminate parasites such as worms and fleas.
Poisoning
In addition to obvious dangers such as
rodenticides,
insecticides and
herbicides, cats may be poisoned by many chemicals that are usually considered safe by their human guardians.
[97] This is because their livers are less effective at some forms of
detoxification than those of many other animals, including humans and dogs.
[35][98] Some of the most common causes of poisoning in cats are antifreeze and rodent baits.
[99] It has also been suggested that cats may be particularly sensitive to environmental pollutants.
[97][100] When a cat has a sudden or prolonged serious illness without any obvious cause, it is possible that it has been exposed to a toxin.
Many human medicines should never be given to cats. For example, the painkiller
paracetamol (also called acetaminophen, sold as
Tylenol and
Panadol) is extremely toxic to cats: even very small doses need immediate treatment and can be fatal.
[101][102] Even
aspirin, which is sometimes used to treat
arthritis in cats, is much more toxic to them than to humans
[102] and must be administered cautiously.
[97] Similarly, application of
minoxidil (Rogaine) to the skin of cats, either accidentally or by well-meaning guardians attempting to counter loss of fur, has sometimes been fatal.
[103] Essential oils can be toxic to cats and there have been reported cases of serious illnesses caused by
tea tree oil, including flea treatments and shampoos containing it.
[104]
Behavior
Free-ranging cats are active both day and night, although they tend to be slightly more active at night.
[110][111] The timing of cats' activity is quite flexible and varied, which means that house cats may be more active in the morning and evening (
crepuscular behavior), as a response to greater human activity at these times.
[112] Although they spend the majority of their time in the vicinity of their home, housecats can range many hundreds of meters from this central point, and are known to establish
territories that vary considerably in size, in one study ranging from 7 to 28 hectares (17 to 69 acres).
[111]
Cats conserve energy by sleeping more than most animals, especially as they grow older. The daily duration of sleep varies, usually 12–16 hours, with 13–14 being the average. Some cats can sleep as much as 20 hours in a 24-hour period. 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 that they are
dreaming.
[113]
Sociability
Although wildcats are solitary, the social behavior of domestic cats is much more variable and ranges from widely dispersed individuals to
feral cat colonies that form around a food source, based on groups of co-operating females.
[114][115] Within such groups one cat is usually dominant over the others.
[36] Each cat in a colony holds a distinct territory, with sexually active males having the largest territories, which are about ten times larger than those of female cats and may overlap with several females' territories.
[85] These territories are marked by
urine spraying, by rubbing objects at head height with secretions from facial glands, and by defecation.
[85] 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 some cats cohabiting in colonies, cats do not have a social survival strategy, or a
pack mentality and always hunt alone.
[116]
Domestic cats use many
vocalizations for
communication, including
purring,
trilling, hissing,
growling/
snarling,
grunting, and several different forms of
meowing.
[7] By contrast, feral cats are generally silent.
[117]:208 Their types of
body language, including position of ears and tail, relaxation of whole body, and kneading of paws, are all indicators of mood. The tail and ears are particularly important social signal mechanisms in cats,
[118][119] e.g. with a raised tail acting as a friendly greeting, and flattened ears indicating 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 animals.
[119] 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.
[115]
However, some pet cats are poorly socialized. In particular, older cats may show aggressiveness towards newly arrived kittens, which may include biting and scratching; this type of behavior is known as Feline Asocial Aggression.
[120]
For cats, life in proximity to humans and other animals kept by them amounts to a symbiotic social adaptation. They may express great affection towards their human (and even other) companions, especially if they
psychologically imprint on them at a very young age and are treated with consistent affection.
[citation needed] It has been suggested that,
ethologically, the human keeper of a cat functions as a sort of surrogate for the cat's mother,
[citation needed] and that adult housecats live their lives in a kind of extended kittenhood,
[122] a form of behavioral
neoteny. It has even been theorized
[123] that the high-pitched sounds housecats make to solicit food may mimic the cries of a hungry human infant, making them particularly hard for humans to ignore.
Grooming
The hooked papillae on a cat's tongue act like a
hairbrush to help clean and detangle fur.
Cats are known for their cleanliness, spending many hours licking their coats.
[124] The cat's
tongue has backwards-facing spines about 500
micrometers long, which are called
papillae. These are quite rigid, as they contain
keratin.
[125] These spines allow cats to groom themselves by licking their fur, with the rows of papillae acting 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 two to three centimeters 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.
[124] Some cats can develop a compulsive behavior known as
psychogenic alopecia, or excessive grooming.
[126][clarification needed]
Fighting
Among domestic cats, males are more likely to fight than females.
[127] 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 will be won by the heavier male.
[128] Another common reason for fighting in domestic cats is the difficulty of establishing territories within a small home.
[127] Female cats will 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.
[citation needed]
Cats intimidate opponents by arching their backs, raising their fur, turning sideways, and hissing.
When fighting, cats make themselves appear more impressive and threatening by raising their fur, arching their backs, and turning sideways, thus increasing their apparent size.
[118] 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. They may also vocalize loudly and bare their teeth in an effort to further intimidate their opponent. Fights usually consist of grappling and delivering powerful slaps to the face and body with the forepaws as well as bites. Cats will also throw themselves to the ground in a defensive posture to rake their opponent's belly with their powerful hind legs.
[129]
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. However, fights for mating rights are typically more severe and injuries may include deep puncture wounds and lacerations. Normally, serious injuries from fighting will be 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 (FIV).
[130] Sexually active males will usually be involved in many fights during their lives, and often have decidedly battered faces with obvious scars and cuts to the ears and nose.
Hunting and feeding
A cat that has caught a mouse.
Cats hunt small prey, primarily birds and rodents,
[131] and are often used as a form of pest control.
[132][133]Domestic cats are a major predator of wildlife in the United States killing 1.4–3.7 billion birds and 6.9–20.7 billion mammals annually.
[134][135] The bulk of the predation the United States is done by 80 million feral and stray cats. Effective measures to reduce this population are elusive, meeting opposition from cat enthusiasts.
[134][135] In the case of free ranging pets, equipping cats with bells and not letting them out at night will reduce wildlife predation.
[131] Feral cats and house cats that are free-fed tend to consume many small meals in a single day, although the frequency and size of meals varies between individuals.
[116] Cats use two hunting strategies, either stalking prey actively, or waiting in ambush until an animal comes close enough to be captured. Although it is not certain, the type of strategy used may depend on the prey species in the area, with for example, cats waiting in ambush outside burrows, but tending to actively stalk birds.
[136]:153
Most breeds of cat have a noted fondness for settling in high places, or perching. In the wild, a higher place may serve as a concealed site from which to hunt; domestic cats may strike prey by pouncing from such a perch as a tree branch, as does a
leopard.
[137][clarification needed] Other possible explanations include that height gives the cat a better observation point, allowing it to survey its territory. During a fall from a high place, a cat can reflexively twist its body and right itself using its acute
sense of balance and flexibility.
[138][clarification needed] This is known as the
cat righting reflex. An individual cat always rights itself in the same way, provided it has the time to do so, during a fall. The height required for this to occur is around 90 cm (3 feet). Cats without a tail (e.g.
Manx cats) also have this ability, since a cat mostly moves its hind legs and relies on conservation of
angular momentum to set up for landing, and the tail is in fact little used for this feat.
[139] This leads to the proverb "a cat always lands on its feet".
One poorly understood element of cat hunting behavior is the presentation of prey to human guardians.
Ethologist Paul Leyhausen proposed that cats adopt humans into their social group, and share excess kill with others in the group according to the local
pecking order, in which humans are placed at or near the top.
[140] Anthropologist and zoologist
Desmond Morris, in his 1986 book
Catwatching, suggests that when cats bring home mice or birds, they are attempting to teach their human to hunt, or trying to help their human as if feeding "an elderly cat, or an inept kitten".
[141][clarification needed] Morris's theory is inconsistent with the fact that male cats also bring home prey, despite males having no involvement with raising kittens.
[136]:153
Domestic cats select food based on its temperature, smell and texture, strongly disliking chilled foods and responding most strongly to moist foods rich in amino acids, which are similar to meat.
[71][116] Cats may reject novel flavors (a response termed
neophobia) and learn quickly to
avoid foods that have tasted unpleasant in the past.
[116] They may also avoid sugary foods and milk; since they are
lactose intolerant, these sugars are not easily digested and may cause soft stools or
diarrhea.
[116][142] They can also develop odd eating habits. Some cats like to eat or chew on other things, most commonly wool, but also plastic, paper, string, aluminum foil/Christmas tree tinsel, or even coal. This condition is called
pica and can threaten their health, depending on the amount and toxicity of the items eaten.
[143][144]
Since cats cannot fully close their lips around something to create suction, they use a lapping method with the tongue to draw liquid upwards 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, drawing water upwards.
[145]
Play
Play fight between kittens, age 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.
[146] Cats will 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.
[147]
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) in a toy they have played with before.
[148] Cats also tend to play with toys more when they are hungry.
[149] 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.
[150] Owing to the risks posed by cats eating string, it is sometimes replaced with a
laser pointer's dot, which cats may chase.
[151] While concerns have been raised about the safety of these lasers, John Marshall, an
ophthalmologist at
St Thomas' Hospital, has stated that it would be "virtually impossible" to blind a cat with a laser pointer.
[152][clarification needed]
Reproduction
When cats mate, the tomcat (male) bites the scruff of the female's neck as she assumes a position conducive to
matingknown as
lordosis behavior.
Female cats are seasonally
polyestrous, which means they may have many periods of
heat over the course of a year, the season beginning in spring and ending in late autumn. Heat periods occur about every two weeks and last about 4 to 7 days.
[153] Multiple males will be attracted to a female in heat. The males will fight over her, and the victor wins the right to mate. At first, the female will reject the male, but eventually the female will allow the male to mate. The female will utter a loud yowl as the male pulls out of her. This is because a male
cat's penis has a band of about 120–150 backwards-pointing
penile spines, which are about one millimeter long;
[154] upon withdrawal of the penis, the spines rake the walls of the female's
vagina, which is a trigger for
ovulation. This act also occurs to clear the vagina of other sperm in the context of a second (or more) mating, thus giving the later males a larger chance of conception.
[citation needed]
After mating, the female will wash her
vulva thoroughly. If a male attempts to mate with her at this point, the female will attack him. After about 20 to 30 minutes, once the female is finished grooming, the cycle will repeat.
[153]
Because ovulation is not always triggered by a single mating, females may not be impregnated by the first male with which they mate.
[155] 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.
[153]
At 124 hours post conception the morula forms. At 148 hours early blastocysts form. 10-12 Days implantation occurs.
[156][157]
The
gestation period for cats is between 64–67 days, with an average length of 66 days.
[158] The size of a
litter averages three to five kittens, with the first litter usually smaller than subsequent litters. Kittens are weaned at between six and seven weeks, and cats normally reach sexual maturity at 5–10 months (females) and to 5–7 months (males), although this can vary depending on breed.
[153] Females can have two to three litters per year, so may produce up to 150 kittens in their breeding span of around ten years.
[153]
Cats are ready to go to new homes at about 12 weeks old,
[159] or when they are ready to leave their mother. Cats can be surgically
sterilized (spayed or
castrated) as early as 7 weeks to limit unwanted reproduction.
[160] 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 prior to
puberty, at about three to six months.
[161] In the US approximately 80% of household cats are neutered.
[162]
Vocalizations
The cat is a very vocal animal. Known for its trademark
purring, it also produces a wide variety of other sounds.
The mechanism by which cats purr is elusive. The cat has no unique anatomical feature that is clearly responsible for the sound.
[163] It was, until recent times, believed that only the cats of the
Felis genus could purr. However, felids of the
Panthera genus (
tiger,
lion,
jaguar and
leopard) also produce sounds similar to purring, but only when exhaling.
[164]
Ecology
Habitats
Cats are a
cosmopolitan species and are found across much of the world.
[38] Geneticist Stephen James O'Brien, of the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland, remarked on how successful cats have been in evolutionary terms: "Cats are one of evolution's most charismatic creatures. They can live on the highest mountains and in the hottest deserts."
[165] They are extremely adaptable and are now present on all continents except
Antarctica, and on 118 of the 131 main groups of islands—even on sub-Antarctic islands such as the
Kerguelen Islands.
[166][167]
Feral cats can live in forests, grasslands, tundra, coastal areas, agricultural land, scrublands, urban areas and wetlands.
[168] Their habitats even include small oceanic islands with no human inhabitants.
[169] This ability to thrive in almost any terrestrial habitat has led to the cat's designation as one of the world's worst
invasive species.
[170] Despite this general adaptability, the close relatives of domestic cats, the
African wildcat (
Felis silvestris lybica) and the Arabian
sand cat (
Felis margarita) both inhabit desert environments,
[4] and domestic cats still show similar adaptations and behaviors.
[35]
Impact on prey species
To date, there are few scientific data available to assess the impact of cat predation on prey populations. Even well-fed domestic cats may hunt and kill, mainly catching small mammals, but also birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish and invertebrates.
[131][171]Hunting by domestic cats may be contributing to the decline in the numbers of birds in urban areas, although the importance of this effect remains controversial.
[172] In the wild, the introduction of feral cats during human settlement can threaten native species with extinction.
[169] In many cases controlling or eliminating the populations of non-native cats can produce a rapid recovery in native animals.
[173] However, the ecological role of introduced cats can be more complicated. For example, cats can control the numbers of rats, which also prey on birds' eggs and young, so a cat population can protect an endangered bird species by suppressing
mesopredators.
[174]
In the
Southern Hemisphere, cats are a particular problem in landmasses such as Australasia, where cat species have never been native and there were few equivalent native medium-sized mammalian predators.
[175] Native species such as the New Zealand
Kakapo and the Australian
Bettong, for example, tend to be more ecologically vulnerable and behaviorally "naive" to predation by feral cats.
[176] Feral cats have had a major impact on these native species and have played a leading role in the endangerment and extinction of many animals.
[177]
Cat numbers in the UK are growing and their abundance is far above the "natural"
carrying capacity, because their population sizes are independent of their prey's dynamics: i.e. cats are "recreational" hunters, with other food sources.
[178] Population densities can be as high as 2,000 individuals per km
2[179] and the trend is an increase of 0.5 million cats annually.
Impact on birds
The domestic cat is probably a significant predator of birds. UK assessments indicate that they may be accountable for an estimated 64.8 million bird deaths each year.
[131] Certain species appear more susceptible than others; for example, 30% of
house sparrow mortality is linked to the domestic cat.
[180] In the recovery of ringed robins (
Erithacus rubecula) and dunnocks (
Prunella modularis), it was also concluded that 31% of deaths were a result of cat predation.
[181] 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.
[182] The proposal that cat populations will increase when the numbers of these top predators decline is called the
mesopredator release hypothesis. However a new study suggests that cats are a much greater menace than previously thought and that feral cats kill several billion birds each year in the United States.
[183]
On islands, birds can contribute as much as 60% of a cat's diet.
[184] In nearly all cases, however, 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, however, known to be 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 Islands Rail,
[181] the
Auckland Islands Merganser,
[186] and the
common diving petrel[187] are a few from a long list, with the most extreme case being the flightless
Stephens Island Wren, which was driven to extinction only a few years after its discovery.
[188][189]
Some of the same factors that have promoted
adaptive radiation of island
avifauna over evolutionary time appear to promote vulnerability to non-native species in modern time. The susceptibility inherent of many island birds is undoubtedly due to evolution in the absence of mainland predators, competitors, diseases and parasites. In addition to lower reproductive rates and extended incubation periods.
[190] The loss of flight, or reduced flying ability is also characteristic of many island endemics.
[191] These biological aspects have increased vulnerability to extinction in the presence of
introduced species, such as the domestic cat.
[192] Equally, behavioral traits exhibited by island species, such as "predatory naivety"
[193] and ground-nesting,
[190] have also contributed to their susceptibility.
Cats and humans
Cats are common
pets in Europe and North America, and their worldwide population exceeds 500 million.
[9] Although cat guardianship has commonly been associated with women,
[194] a 2007
Gallup poll reported that men and women were equally likely to own a cat.
[195]
According to the
Humane Society of the United States, as well as being kept as pets, cats are also used in the international
fur trade,
[196] for making coats, gloves, hats, shoes, blankets and stuffed toys. About 24 cats are needed to make a cat fur coat.
[197] This use has now been outlawed in several countries, including the United States, Australia and the European Union.
[198]However, some cat furs are still made into blankets in
Switzerland as
folk remedies that are believed to help
rheumatism.
[199]
Census
There are approximately 220 million domestic cats in the world, according to the International Federation for Animal Health Europe (IFAH).
[200]
A few attempts to build a cat census have been made over the years, both through associations or national and international organization (such as the
Canadian Federation of Humane Societies's one
[201]) and over the net,
[202][203] but such a task does not seem so simple to achieve.
Feral cats
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.
[8] The numbers of feral cats is not known, but estimates of the US feral population range from 25 to 60 million.
[8] Feral cats may live alone, but most are found in large groups called
feral colonies, which occupy a specific territory and are usually associated with a source of food.
[204] 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.
[205]
Public attitudes towards feral cats vary widely: ranging from seeing them as free-ranging pets, to regarding them as vermin.
[206] One common approach to reducing the feral cat population is termed
trap-neuter-return, where the cats are trapped,
neutered,
immunized against rabies and the
feline leukemia virus, and then released. Before releasing them back into their feral colonies, the attending veterinarian often nips the tip off one ear to mark the feral as neutered and inoculated, since these cats may be trapped again. Volunteers continue to feed and give care to these cats throughout their lives. Given this support, their lifespan is increased, and behavior and nuisance problems caused by competition for food are reduced.
[204]
History and mythology
19th century drawing of a tabby cat
Traditionally, historians tended to think that
ancient Egypt was the site of cat domestication, owing to the clear depictions of house cats in Egyptian paintings about 3,600 years old.
[4] However, in 2004, a Neolithic grave was excavated in
Shillourokambos, Cyprus, that contained the skeletons, laid close to one another, of both a human and a cat. The grave is estimated to be 9,500 years old, pushing back the earliest known feline–human association significantly.
[11][207][208] The cat specimen is large and closely resembles the
African wildcat (
Felis silvestris lybica), rather than present-day domestic cats. This discovery, combined with genetic studies, suggest that cats were probably domesticated in the Middle East, in the
Fertile Crescent around the time of the
development of agriculture and then they were brought to Cyprus and Egypt.
[4]
Direct evidence for the domestication of cats 5,300 years ago in Quanhucun in China has been published by researchers. The cats are believed to have been attracted to the village by rodents which in turn were attracted by grain cultivated and stored by humans.
[209]
In ancient Egypt cats were
sacred animals, with the goddess
Bastet often depicted in cat form, sometimes taking on the warlike aspect of a lioness.
[210]:220 The
Romans are often credited with introducing the domestic cat from Egypt to Europe;
[210]:223 in
Roman Aquitaine, a 1st or 2nd century epitaph of a young girl holding a cat is one of two earliest depictions of the Roman domesticated cat.
[211] However, it is possible that cats were already kept in Europe prior to the
Roman Empire, as they may have already been present in Britain in the late
Iron Age.
[41] Domestic cats were spread throughout much of the rest of the world during the
Age of Discovery, as they were carried on
sailing ships to control shipboard rodents and as good-luck charms.
[210]:223
Several ancient religions believed that cats are exalted souls, companions or guides for humans, that they are all-knowing but are mute so they cannot influence decisions made by humans. In Japan, the
maneki neko is a cat that is a symbol of good fortune. Although there are no sacred species in Islam,
cats are revered by Muslims. Some writers have stated that
Muhammad had a favorite cat,
Muezza.
[212] He is reported to have loved cats so much that "he would do without his cloak rather than disturb one that was sleeping on it".
[213]
Freyja—the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility in
Norse mythology—is depicted as riding a chariot drawn by cats.
Many cultures have negative
superstitions about cats. An example would be the belief that 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).
[citation needed]
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 and some Spanish-speaking regions they are said to have seven lives,
[214] while in Turkish and Arabic traditions the number of lives is six.
[215] The myth is attributed to the natural suppleness and swiftness cats exhibit to escape life-threatening situations.
[216] 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.
[217]
See also
- Cats by location
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- Jump up^ "You thought watching cat videos was harmless fun? Think AGAIN."
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- Jump up^ Abby Ellin (5 October 2008). "More Men Are Unabashedly Embracing Their Love of Cats". New York Times. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
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- Jump up^ "What Is That They're Wearing?". Humane Society of the United States. Archived from the original on 1 December 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
- Jump up^ "EU proposes cat and dog fur ban". BBC News. 20 November 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
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- Jump up^ Gatos fueron domesticados en China hace 5.300 añosLa Nación, 2013-12-18. (Spanish)
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- Jump up^ ASPCA (30 June 2005). "The ASPCA Warns About High-Rise Falls by Cats". New York: About.com. Retrieved 26 April 2012
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