Cat
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
This article is about the cat species
that is commonly kept as a pet. For the cat family, see Felidae. For other uses, see Cat
(disambiguation) and Cats
(disambiguation).
The domestic cat[1][5] (Latin: Felis
catus)
or the feral cat[5][3] (Latin: Felis
silvestris catus)
is a small, typically furry, carnivorousmammal. They are often
called house cats when kept as indoor pets or simply cats when there is no need
to distinguish them from other felids and felines.[6] Cats are often valued
by humans for companionship and
for their ability to hunt vermin. There are more than
70 cat breeds; different associations proclaim different numbers according to
their standards.
Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids,
with a strong, flexible body, 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 infrequency 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. Cats,
despite being solitary hunters, are a social species and cat communication includes the use of a
variety of vocalizations (mewing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, andgrunting), as well as cat pheromones and types of cat-specific body language.[7]
Cats have a high 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 neutering and the abandonment of former household pets has resulted in large
numbers of feral cats worldwide, requiring population
control.[8] This has contributed,
along with habitat destruction and other factors, to the extinction of many
bird species. Cats have been known to extirpate a bird species within specific
regions and may have contributed to the extinction of isolated island
populations.[9] Cats are thought to be
primarily, though not solely, responsible for the extinction of 33 species of
birds, and the presence of feral and free ranging cats makes some locations
unsuitable for attemptedspecies
reintroduction in otherwise suitable locations.[10]
Since cats were venerated
in ancient Egypt,
they were commonly believed to have been domesticated there,[11] but there may have
been instances of domestication as early as the Neolithic from around 9,500
years ago (7,500 BC).[12] A genetic study in
2007 concluded that domestic cats are descended from Near Eastern wildcats,
having diverged around 8,000 BC in West Asia.[11][13] A 2016 study found
that leopard cats were undergoing
domestication independently in China around 5,500 BC, though this line of
partially domesticated cats leaves no trace in the domesticated populations of
today.[14][15]
As of a 2007 study, cats are the second
most popular pet in the United States by number of pets
owned, behind the first, which isfreshwater fish.[16]
