Cat

Cat is a is a small domesticated Carnivorous Mammal which is amongst the most popular pets of the world. Their other names include Domestic Cat, House Cat, Pussy Cat, Kitty Cat etc. Cats are believed to be descended from the Wildcat of Africa and South-western Asia (F. silvestris libyca). Domestication of Cats occurred in Egypt roughly 4,000 years ago. It is believed that domestication of Cats by ancient civilizations began because of its prowess as a hunter of rodents. They were put to use ridding grain stores of rodent populations. Another theory that Cats were simply tolerated by people and gradually diverged from their 'Wild' relatives through natural selection. The current list of Cat Breeds is quite large. The Cat Fanciers' Association recognise 41 breeds, of which 16 are "Natural Breeds" that probably emerged before humans began Breeding Pedigree Cats, while the others were developed over the latter half of the 20th century. Wild Cats part of the genus Felis, include only Six Species. These are - Jungle Cat, African Wildcat, Sand Cat, Black-footed Cat, Wildcat, Chinese Mountain Cat. The Domesticated Cat and its closest wild ancestor are both Diploid Organisms that possess 38 chromosomes and roughly 20,000 Genes. Cats in captivity, live an average life expectancy for Male indoor Cat is 12 to 14 years, with Females usually living a year or two longer. However, there have been records of Cats reaching into their 20s and 30s.

Scientific Classification

Kingdom - Animalia.
Phylum - Chordata.
Class - Mammalia.
Order - Carnivora.
Family - Felidae.
Genus - Felis.
Species - F. catus.

Physical Features

Weight - Average weight of Cats is between 4 kilograms (8 lb 13 oz) and 5 kilograms (11 lb 0 oz). Weight may vary according to various breeds.

Height - Average height of Cats is about 23–25 centimetres (9–10 in) in height and 46 centimetres (18.1 in) in head/body length (males being larger than females), with tails averaging 30 centimetres (11.8 in) in length.

Colour - Cats come in a variety of Colours and Patterns. It is not Colour and Pattern that determine a Cat’s Breed. That is established by the physical characteristics described in each Breed’s standard. Just as all Pointed Cats are not Siamese and all Long haired Cats are not Persians and all Tail less Cats are not Manx, all Blue Cats are not Russian Blues. The same Colour and Pattern can be seen in many different Breeds. For example, there are brown classic tabby Maine Coons, American Short-hairs, Oriental Short-hairs, Devon Rex, Persians, Norwegian Forest Cats, Siberians, and Scottish Folds. Domestic Cats have all the same Colours and Patterns that are seen in Pure bred Cats.

There are Two Primary Colours in Cats -

1. Black.
2. Red.

All other Colours are variations of Black and Red with the exception of Solid White. White is a Masking Gene. It hides - masks - all other colour. So a solid White Cat is either Black or Red but the colour is hidden by the White. All Colours are also seen with different Markings - called Patterns. All Colours and Patterns can have some White. Referred to as White Spotting, this is also a Masking Gene. However, White Spotting only hides some of a Cat's colour instead of all of it.

• Cat's Forelimbs are attached to the shoulder by free-floating clavicle bones, which allows them to pass their body through any space into which they can fit their heads.

• Cats are Digitigrades which means that they can walk directly on their toes, with the bones of their feet making up the lower part of the visible leg. Cats are capable of walking very precisely, because they place each Hind Paw (almost) directly in the print of the corresponding Fore paw, minimizing noise and visible tracks. This also provides sure footing for their Hind Paws when they navigate rough terrain.

• Cats have Protractable Claws. In their normal, relaxed position the Claws are sheathed with the skin and fur around the 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. Cats can voluntarily extend their Claws on one or more Paws. They may extend their Claws in Hunting or Self-Defence, Climbing or whenever required.

• Cats have excellent night vision and can function at only one-sixth the light level required for human vision. 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. At the same time Domestic Cats have rather poor colour vision and can only see two colours: Blue and Green, and are less able to distinguish between Red and Green, although they can achieve this in some conditions.

• Cat's have large Movable Outer Ears and therefore 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.

• 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.

• The Cat's Tongue has backwards-facing spines about 500 micrometres long, which are called Papillae. These are quite rigid, as they contain Keratin. These spines allow Cats to groom themselves by licking their fur, with the rows of Papillae acting like a hairbrush.

• The Cat Skull is unusual among Mammals as it has very large Eye Sockets and a Powerful and Specialized Jaw. Cats Jaw, have teeth that adapted for killing prey and tearing meat. When it overpowers its prey, it 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.

Coat Variations

Cat Coat Genetics can produce a variety of Coat patterns.

Some of the most common are:

Bicolor, Tuxedo and Van - This Pattern varies between the Tuxedo Cat which is mostly Black with a White Chest, and possibly Markings on the Face and Paws/Legs. In Van pattern, the only coloured parts of the Cat are the tail (usually including the base of the tail proper), and the top of the head (often including the ears). There are several other terms for amounts of white between these two extremes, such as Harlequin or jellicle cat. Bicolor cats can have as their primary (non-white) Color Black, Red, any dilution thereof, and Tortoiseshell.

Tabby - Striped, with a variety of Patterns. The Classic Blotched Tabby (or marbled) Pattern is the most common and consists of butterflies and bullseyes. The Mackerel or Striped Tabby is a series of Vertical Stripes down the Cat's side (resembling the fish). This Pattern broken into Spots is referred to as a Spotted Tabby. The Tabby Markings may look like a series of ticks on the fur, thus the Ticked Tabby.

Tortoiseshell and Calico - A Tortoiseshell Cat is patched over with Ginger (or its dilute form, champagne) and Black (or its dilute blue) mottled throughout the coat. Additionally, the Cat may have White Spots in its fur, which make it a 'Tortoiseshell and White' cat; if there is a significant amount of White in the fur and the Red and Black colours form a patchwork rather than a mottled aspect, in North America the Cat will be called a Calico. Both Tortoiseshell and Calico Cats are typically Female because the Coat Pattern is the result of differential X Chromosome inactivation in Females (which, as with all normal female mammals, have two X chromosomes).

Colourpoint - The Colourpoint Pattern is most commonly associated with Siamese Cats, but may also appear in any Domesticated Cat. A Colourpointed Cat has Dark Colours on the Face, Ears, Feet, and Tail, with a lighter version of the same Colour on the rest of the body, and possibly some White.

White Cats - A mutation of the Tyrosinase Gene, also known as True albinism, is quite rare in Cats. Much more common is the appearance of white coat colour due to a lack of Melanocytes in the skin. A higher frequency of deafness in white cats is due to a reduction in the population and survival of Melanoblast Stem Cells, which in addition to creating pigment producing cells, develop into a variety of Neurological Cell types. White Cats with one or two Blue Eyes have a particularly high likelihood of being deaf.

Smoke Cats - In this type of Pattern, the bottom eighth of each Hair is White or Creamy-White, with the rest of the Hair being a Solid Colour. Genetically this Colour is a Non-Agouti Cat with the dominant inhibitor gene; a Non-Agouti version of the silver tabby. Smoke Cats will look solid coloured until they move, when the white undercoat becomes apparent. It is mostly found in Pedigree Cats (especially longhair breeds) but also present in some Domestic Long haired Cats.

Geographical Range and Habitat

The Wild Species are distributed widely across Europe, Southern and Central Asia, and Africa. The Domestic Cat has been introduced worldwide.

Behaviour

• Cats are active both day and night, although they tend to be slightly more active at night. 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.

• In Feral Cat colonies, one Cat is usually dominant over the others. 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.  These territories are marked by urine spraying, by rubbing objects at head height with secretions from facial glands and by defecation. 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.

• Domestic cats use many vocalizations for communication, including purring, trilling, hissing, growling, snarling and several different forms of meowing. In contrast, Feral Cats are generally silent. They use body language to communicate. The Tail and Ears are particularly important social signal in Cats, with a raised Tail acting as a friendly greeting. 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. 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.

• Cats are known for their cleanliness, spending many hours licking their coats.

• Males among Domestic Cats are more likely to fight than Females. Fighting amongst them occurs when the Cats have difficulties in establishing a territory within a small home. Female Cats may also fight over territory or to defend their kittens. Feral Cats tend to fight when two Males are competing to mate with a Female, wherein the most the heavier Male will win most of the times. When fighting, Cats make themselves appear more impressive and threatening by raising their fur and arching their backs, thus increasing their apparent size. 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. Attacks usually comprise Powerful Slaps to the face and body with the Forepaws as well as bites, but serious damage is rare.

• 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. This is known as the Cat's "Righting Reflex". It 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 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. This leads to the proverb "A cat always lands on its feet."

• Cats are able to tolerate quite high temperatures. Humans generally start to feel uncomfortable when their skin temperature passes about 44.5 °C (112 °F). However Cats show no discomfort until their skin reaches around 52 °C (126 °F). They can tolerate temperatures of up to 56 °C (133 °F) if they have access to water. Cats conserve heat by reducing the flow of blood to their skin and lose heat by evaporation through their mouth. A Cat's body temperature does not vary throughout the day; this is part of Cats' general lack of Circadian Rhythms and may reflect their tendency to be active at both day and night.

• Cats' faeces are usually dry and their urine is also highly concentrated, both of which are adaptations that allow cats to retain as much fluid as possible. Their Kidneys are so efficient that they can survive on a diet consisting only of meat, with no additional water and can even rehydrate by drinking seawater.

Diet

Cats feed on small animals which primarily include birds and rodents. They also eat a variety of amphibians, reptiles, fish and invertebrates.

Reproduction

Cats normally reach sexual maturity at 5–10 months (females) and to 5–7 months (males), although this can vary depending on breed. Female Cats are seasonally Polyestrous, which means they may have many periods of Heat over the course of a year, the season beginning in January or February and ending in late October. Heat periods occur about every two weeks and last about 4 to 7 days. 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 spines, which are about one millimetre long and upon withdrawal of the penis, the spines rake the walls of the Female's vagina, which is a trigger for ovulation. After mating, the female will wash her vulva thoroughly. If a Male attempts to breed 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. Because ovulation is not always triggered by a single Mating, Females may not be impregnated by the first Male with which they mate. 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. The gestation  period for Cats is between 64–67 days, with an average length of 66 days. 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.

Extinct Species

Proailurus - It was a prehistoric carnivore that lived in Europe and Asia approximately 25 million years ago in the Late Oligocene and Miocene. Proailurus was a compact and small animal, just a little larger than the Domestic Cat, weighing about 20 lb (9 kg). It had a long tail, large eyes and sharp claws and teeth, with similar proportions to the modern viverrids. Its claws would have been retractable to some extent. Like the viverrids, Proailurus was at least partially arboreal. One recent scientific finding places it as a basal member of the Feloidea, the super family that Includes Mongooses, Civets, Hyenas and Cats; but other studies suggest that it instead was a felid (a true cat).

In Folklore and Culture

• In ancient Egypt Cats were sacred animals, with the Bast often depicted in Cat form, sometimes taking on the warlike aspect of a Lioness.

• 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.

• 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. It is considered that a Black Cat "crossing your path" leads to bad luck, or that Cats are witches' familiars used to augment a Witch's powers and skills.

• According to myths in many cultures, Cats have multiple lives. In many countries, they are believed to have nine lives.

• Cats have been featured in some movies like Cats & Dogs, The Adventures of Milo and Otis, Garfield etc.

• Garfield is the most famous Cat Cartoon, which has it's own comic strips, movies and animation feature.