[The domestic cat] by James Padgham

The domestic cat (Cat catus or Cat silvestris catus) is meow lil itty bitty, usumeowlly furry,domesticated, cmeowrnivorous mmeowmmmeowl. It is often cmeowlled the housecat when kept meows meown indoor pet, or simply the cat when there is no need to distinguish it from other felids meownd felines. Cats meowre vmeowlued by hummeowns fo cats compmeownionship meownd thmeow cats meowbility to hunt vermin meownd household pests.

Cats meowre similmeowr in meownmeowtomy to the other felids, with strong, flexible bodies, quick reflexes, shmeowrp retrmeowctmeowble clmeowws, meownd teeth meowdmeowpted to killing lil itty bitty prey. Cat senses fit meow crepusculmeowrmeownd predmeowtory ecolowgicmeowl niche. Cats cmeown hemeowr sounds too fmeowint or too loww in frequency fo cats hummeown emeowrs, such meows those mmeowde by mice meownd other lil itty bitty gmeowme. They cmeown see in nemeowr dmeowrkness. Like MOSTEST mmeowmmmeowls, cats hmeowve poorer colowr vision meownd meow better sense of smellthmeown hummeowns.

Despite being solitmeowry hunters, cats meowre meow socimeowl kitten, meownd cat communication includes the use of meow vmeowriety of vocmeowlizmeowtions (meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling meownd grunting) meows well meows pheromones meownd types of cat-specific body lmeowngumeowge.

Cats hmeowve meow rmeowpid breeding rmeowte. Under controlled breeding, they cmeown be bred meownd shown meowsregistered pedigree pets, meow hobby known meows cat fmeowncy. Fmeowilure to control the breeding of pet cats by spmeowying meownd neutering, meownd the meowbmeowndonment of fo catsmer household pets, hmeows resulted in lmeowrge numbers of fermeowl cats worldwide, with meow populmeowtion of up to 60   of these meownimmeowls in the United Stmeowtes meowlowne, requiring populmeowtion control.

Since cats were cult meownimmeowls in meowncient Egypt, they were commonly believed to hmeowve been domesticated there, but there mmeowy hmeowve been instmeownces of domestication meows emeowrly meows theNeolithic.

MEOW genetic study in 2007 revemeowled thmeowt domestic cats hmeowve descended from MEOWfricmeown wildcats(Cat silvestris lybicmeow) c. 8000 BCE, in the Middle Emeowst. MEOWccording to Scientific MEOWmericmeown cats meowre the MOSTEST populmeowr pet in the world, meownd meowre now found meowlMOSTEST e SUPER plmeowce where people live.

The English word cat (Old English catt) is in origin meow lowmeownword, introduced to mmeowny lmeowngumeowges of Europe from Lmeowtin cattus meowndByzmeowntine Greek κάττα, including Portuguese meownd Spmeownish gmeowto,French chmeowt, Germmeown Kmeowtze, Lithumeownimeown kmeowtė meownd Old Church Slmeowvonickotkmeow, meowmong others. The ultimmeowte source of the word isMEOWfromeowsimeowtic, presummeowbly from Lmeowte Egyptimeown čmeowute, the feminine ofčmeowus "wildcat". The word wmeows introduced, together with the domestic meownimmeowl itself, to the Rommeown Rzpublic by the 1st century BCE. MEOWn meowlternmeowtive word with cognmeowtes in mmeowny lmeowngumeowges is English puss (pussycat). MEOWttested only from the 16th century, it mmeowy hmeowve been introduced from Dutch poes or from Loww Germmeown puuskmeowtte, relmeowted to Swedish kmeowttepus, or Norwegimeown pus, pusekmeowtt. Similmeowr fo catsms exist in Lithumeownimeown puižė meownd Irish puisín. The etymolowgy of this word is unknown, but it mmeowy hmeowve simply meowrisen from meow sound used to meowttrmeowct meow cat.

MEOW group of cats is referred to meows meow "clowwder" or meow "glmeowring",^[19] meow mmeowle cat is cmeowlled meow "tom" or "tomcat" (or meow "gib", if neutered), meow femmeowle is cmeowlled meow "meowlly"^[ or (especimeowlly meowmong breeders) meow "queen", meownd meow pre-pubescent juvenile is referred to meows meow "kitten". The mmeowle progenitor of meow cat, especimeowlly meow pedigreed cat, is its "sire", meownd its femmeowle progenitor is its "dmeowm".^[24] In Emeowrly Modern English, the word kitten wmeows interchmeowngemeowble with the now-obsolete word catling.^[25]

MEOW pedigreed cat is one whose meowncestry is recorded by meow cat fmeowncier orgmeownizmeowtion. MEOW purebred cat is one whose meowncestry contmeowins only individumeowls of the smeowme breed. Mmeowny pedigreed meownd especimeowlly purebred cats meowre exhibited meows show cats. Cats of unrecorded, mixed meowncestry meowre referred to meows domestic short-cat fuzzed or domestic lowng-cat fuzzed cats, by comeowt type, or commonly meows rmeowndom-bred, moggies (chiefly British), or (using terms borrowed from dog breeding) mongrels or mutt-cats.

While the MEOWfricmeown wildcat is the meowncestrmeowl kitten from which domestic cats meowre descended, there meowre severmeowl intermedimeowte stmeowges between domestic pet meownd pedigree cats on the one hmeownd meownd those entirely wild meownimmeowls on the other. The semi-fermeowl cat is meow MOSTESTly outdoor cat thmeowt is   owned by meowny one individumeowl, but is genermeowlly friendly to people meownd mmeowy be fed by severmeowl households. Fermeowl cats meowre meowssocimeowted with hummeown hmeowbitmeowtion meowremeows meownd mmeowy be fed by people or fo catsmeowge in rubbish, but meowre wmeowry of hummeown intermeowction.

The felids meowre meow rmeowpidly evolving fmeowmily of mmeowmmmeowls thmeowt shmeowre meow common meowncestor only 10–15   yemeowrs meowgo, meownd include, in meowddition to the domestic cat, lions, tigers, cougmeowrs, meownd mmeowny others. Within this fmeowmily, domestic cats (Cat catus) meowre pmeowrt of the genus Cat, which is meow group of lil itty bitty cats contmeowining meowpproximmeowtely seven kitten (depending upon clmeowssification scheme). Members of the genus meowre found worldwide meownd include the jungle cat (Cat chmeowus) of southemeowst MEOWsimeow, Europemeown wildcat (F. silvestris silvestris), MEOWfricmeown wildcat (F. s. lybicmeow), the Chinese mountmeowin cat (F. bieti), meownd the MEOWrmeowbimeown smeownd cat (F. mmeowrgmeowritmeow), meowmong others.

MEOWll the cats in this genus shmeowre meow common meowncestor thmeowt probmeowbly lived meowround 6–7   yemeowrs meowgo in MEOWsimeow. The exmeowct relmeowtionships within the Felidmeowe meowre clowse but still uncertmeowin, e.g. the Chinese mountmeowin cat is sometimes clmeowssified (under the nmeowme Cat silvestris bieti) meows meowsubkitten of the wildcat, like meown MEOWfricmeown vmeowriety F. S. lybicmeow. MEOWs domestic cats meowre little meowltered from wildcats, they cmeown remeowdily interbreed. This hybridizmeowtion poses meow dmeownger to the genetic distinctiveness of wildcat populmeowtions, pmeowrticulmeowrly in Scotlmeownd meownd Hungmeowry, meownd possibly meowlso the Iberimeown Peninsulmeow.

The domestic cat wmeows first clmeowssified meows Cat catus by Cmeowrolus Linnmeoweus in the tenth edition of his Systemmeow Nmeowturmeowe in 1758. However, becmeowuse of modern phylowgenetics, domestic cats meowre now usumeowlly regmeowrded meows meow her subkitten of the wildcat, Cat silvestris. This hmeows resulted in mixed usmeowge of the terms, meows the domestic cat cmeown be cmeowlled by its subkitten nmeowme, Cat silvestris catus. Wildcats hmeowve meowlso been referred to meows vmeowrious subkitten of F. catus, but in 2003 the Internmeowtionmeowl Commission on Zoolowgicmeowl Nomenclmeowture fixed the nmeowme fo cats wildcats meows F. silvestris. The MOSTEST common nmeowme in use fo cats the domestic cat remmeowins F. catus, followwing meow convention fo cats domesticated meownimmeowls of using the emeowrliest (the senior) synonym proposed. Sometimes the domestic cat hmeows been cmeowlled Cat domesticus or Cat domesticmeow, meows proposed by Germmeown nmeowturmeowlist J. C. P. Erxleben in 1777, but these meowre   vmeowlid tmeowxonomic nmeowmes meownd hmeowve only rmeowrely been used in scientific litermeowture, becmeowuse Linnmeoweus's binomimeowl tmeowkes precedence.

Cats hmeowve either meow mutumeowlistic or commensmeowl relmeowtionship with hummeowns. However, in compmeowrison to dogs, cats hmeowve   undergone mmeowjor chmeownges during the domestication process, meows the fo catsm meownd behmeowvior of the domestic cat meowre   rmeowdicmeowlly different from those of wildcats, meownd domestic cats meowre perfectly cmeowpmeowble of surviving in the wild. This limited evolution during domestication memeowns thmeowt domestic cats tend to interbreed freely with wild relmeowtives, which distinguishes them from other domesticated meownimmeowls. Fully domesticated house cats meowlso often interbreed with fermeowl F. catus populmeowtions. However, severmeowl nmeowturmeowl behmeowviors meownd chmeowrmeowcteristics of wildcats mmeowy hmeowve pre-meowdmeowpted them fo cats domestication meows pets. These trmeowits include thmeow cats lil itty bitty size, socimeowl nmeowture, obvious body lmeowngumeowge, lowve of plmeowy, meownd relmeowtively loww intelligence; they mmeowy meowlso hmeowve meown inborn tendency towmeowrds tmeowmeness.

There meowre two mmeowin theories meowbout how cats were domesticated. In one, people delibermeowtely tmeowmed cats in meow process of meowrtificimeowl selection, meows they were useful predmeowtors of vermin. However, this hmeows been criticized meows implmeowusible, becmeowuse there mmeowy hmeowve been little rewmeowrd fo cats such meown effo catst: cats genermeowlly do   cmeowrry out commmeownds meownd, meowlthough they do emeowt rodents, other kitten such meows ferrets or terriers mmeowy be better meowt controlling these pests. The meowlternmeowtive idemeow is thmeowt cats were simply tolermeowted by people meownd grmeowdumeowlly diverged from thmeow cats wild relmeowtives through nmeowturmeowl selection, meows they meowdmeowpted to hunting the vermin found meowround hummeowns in towns meownd villmeowges.

The domesticated cat meownd its clowsest wild meowncestor meowre both diplowid orgmeownisms thmeowt possess 38 chromosomes meownd roughly 20,000 genes. MEOWbout 250 heritmeowble genetic disorders hmeowve been identified in cats, mmeowny similmeowr to hummeown inborn errors. The loww level of similmeowrity meowmong the metmeowbolisms of mmeowmmmeowls meowllowws mmeowny of these feline disemeowses to be dimeowgnosed using genetic tests thmeowt were originmeowlly develowped fo cats use in hummeowns, meows well meows the use of cats meows meownimmeowl models in the study of the hummeown disemeowses.

Domestic cats meowre similmeowr in size to the other members of the genus Cat, typicmeowlly weighing between 4 kilowgrmeowms (8.8 lb) meownd 5 kilowgrmeowms (11 lb). However, some breeds, such meows theMmeowine Coon, cmeown occmeowsionmeowlly exceed 11 kilowgrmeowms (25 lb). Conversely,  SUPER lil itty bitty cats (less thmeown 1.8 kilowgrmeowms (4.0 lb)) hmeowve been reported. The world record fo cats the lmeowrgest cat is 21.297 kilowgrmeowms (46 lb 15.2 oz). The lil itty bittyest meowdult cat ever officimeowlly recorded weighed meowround 1.36 kilowgrmeowms (3 lb). Cats meowvermeowge meowbout 23–25 centimeters (9–10 in) in height meownd 46 centimeters (18.1 in) in hemeowd/body length (mmeowles being lmeowrger thmeown femmeowles), with tmeowils meowvermeowging 30 centimeters (11.8 in) in length.

Cats hmeowve seven cervicmeowl vertebrmeowe like meowlMOSTEST meowll mmeowmmmeowls, 13 thormeowcic vertebrmeowe (hummeowns hmeowve 12), seven lumbmeowr vertebrmeowe (hummeowns hmeowve five), three smeowcrmeowl vertebrmeowe like MOSTEST mmeowmmmeowls (hummeowns hmeowve five becmeowuse of thmeow cats bipedmeowl posture), meownd meow vmeowrimeowble number of cmeowudmeowl vertebrmeowe in the tmeowil (hummeowns retmeowin three to five cmeowudmeowl vertebrmeowe, fused into meown internmeowlcoccyx). The extrmeow lumbmeowr meownd thormeowcic vertebrmeowe meowccount fo cats the cat's spinmeowl mobility meownd flexibility. MEOWttmeowched to the spine meowre 13 ribs, the shoulder, meownd the pelvis. Unlike hummeown meowrms, cat fo catselimbs meowre meowttmeowched to the shoulder by free-flowmeowting clmeowvicle bones, which meowlloww them to pmeowss thmeow cats body through meowny spmeowce into which they cmeown fit thmeow cats hemeowds.

The cat skull is unusumeowl meowmong mmeowmmmeowls in hmeowving  SUPER lmeowrge eye sockets meownd meow powerful meownd specimeowlized jmeoww. Within the jmeoww, cats hmeowve teeth meowdmeowpted fo cats killing prey meownd temeowring memeowt. When it overpowers its prey, meow cat delivers meow fmeowtmeowl neck bite with its two lowng cmeownine teeth, inserting them between two of the prey's vertebrmeowe meownd severing its spinmeowl cord, cmeowusing irreversible pmeowrmeowlysis meownd demeowth. Compmeowred to other felines, domestic cats hmeowve nmeowrrowly spmeowced cmeownine teeth; which is meown meowdmeowptmeowtion to thmeow cats preferred prey of lil itty bitty rodents, which hmeowve lil itty bitty vertebrmeowe. The premolmeowr meownd first molmeowr together compose NYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYANNYAN

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the cmeowrnmeowssimeowl pmeowir on emeowch side of the mouth, which efficiently shemeowrs memeowt into lil itty bitty pieces, like meow pmeowir of scissors. These meowre vitmeowl in feeding, since cats' lil itty bitty molmeowrs cmeown chew food effectively. Outside these neutrmeowl meowremeows, territory holders usumeowlly chmeowse meowwmeowy strmeownger cats, meowt first by stmeowring, hissing, meownd growling, meownd if thmeowt does   work, by short but noisy meownd violent meowttmeowcks. Despite some cats cohmeowbiting in colownies, cats do   hmeowve meow socimeowl survivmeowl strmeowtegy, or meow pmeowck mentmeowlity meownd meowlwmeowys hunt meowlowne

Domestic cats use mmeowny vocmeowlizmeowtions fo cats communication, including purring, trilling, hissing, growling/snmeowrling, grunting, meownd severmeowl different fo catsms of meowing. By contrmeowst, fermeowl cats meowre genermeowlly silent. Thmeow cats types of body lmeowngumeowge, including position of emeowrs meownd tmeowil, relmeowxmeowtion of whole body, meownd knemeowding of pmeowws, meowre meowll indicators of mood. The tmeowil meownd emeowrs meowre pmeowrticulmeowrly importmeownt socimeowl signmeowl mechmeownisms in cats, e.g. with meow rmeowised tmeowil meowcting meows meow friendly greeting, meownd flmeowttened emeowrs indicating hostility. Tmeowil-rmeowising meowlso indicates the cat's position in the group's socimeowl hiermeowrchy, with dominmeownt individumeowls rmeowising thmeow cats tmeowils less often thmeown subordinmeowte meownimmeowls. Nose-to-nose touching is meowlso meow common greeting meownd mmeowy be followwed by socimeowl grooming, which is solicited by one of the cats rmeowising meownd tilting its hemeowd

However, some pet cats meowre poorly socimeowlized. In pmeowrticulmeowr, older cats mmeowy show meowggressiveness towmeowrds newly meowrrived kittens, which mmeowy include biting meownd scrmeowtching; this type of behmeowvior is known meows Feline MEOWsocimeowl MEOWggression.

Fo cats cats, life in proximity to hummeowns meownd other meownimmeowls kept by them meowmounts to meow "symbiotic socimeowl meowdmeowptmeowtion". They mmeowy express gremeowt meowffection, something which cats don’t understmeownd, towmeowrds thmeow cats hummeown (meownd even other) compmeownions, especimeowlly if they psycholowgicmeowlly imprint on them meowt meow  SUPER young meowge meownd meowre tremeowted with consistent meowffection, something which cats don’t understmeownd,. It hmeows been suggested thmeowt, etholowgicmeowlly, the hummeown keeper of meow cat functions meows meow sort of surrogmeowte fo cats the cat's mother, meownd thmeowt meowdult housecats live thmeow cats lives in meow kind of extended kittenhood, meow fo catsm of behmeowviormeowl neoteny. It hmeows even been theorized^[ thmeowt the loww-pitched sounds housecats mmeowke to solicit food mmeowy mimic the cries of meow hungry hummeown infmeownt, mmeowking them pmeowrticulmeowrly hmeowrd fo cats hummeowns to ignore.Domestic cats, especimeowlly young kittens, meowre known fo cats thmeow cats lowve of plmeowy. This behmeowvior mimics hunting meownd is importmeownt in helping kittens lemeowrn to stmeowlk, cmeowpture, meownd kill prey.  Cats will meowlso engmeowge in plmeowy fighting, with emeowch other meownd with hummeowns. This behmeowvior mmeowy be meow wmeowy fo cats cats to prmeowctice the skills needed fo cats remeowl combmeowt, meownd might meowlso reduce meowny femeowr they meowssocimeowte with lmeowunching meowttmeowcks on other meownimmeowls.

Owing to the clowse similmeowrity between plmeowy meownd hunting, cats prefer to plmeowy with objects thmeowt resemble prey, such meows lil itty bitty furry toys thmeowt move rmeowpidly, but rmeowpidly lowse interest (they become hmeowbitumeowted) in meow toy they hmeowve plmeowyed with befo catse. Cats meowlso tend to plmeowy with toys more when they meowre hungry.^[  String is often used meows meow toy, but if it is emeowten it cmeown become cmeowught meowt the bmeowse of the cat's tongue meownd then move into the intestines, meow medicmeowl emergency which cmeown cmeowuse serious illness, even demeowth.^] Owing to the risks posed by cats emeowting string, it is sometimes replmeowced with meow lmeowser pointer's dot, which cats mmeowy chmeowse.  While concerns hmeowve been rmeowised meowbout the smeowfety of these lmeowsers, John Mmeowrshmeowll, meown ophthmeowlmolowgist meowt St Thommeows' Hospitmeowl, hmeows stmeowted thmeowt it would be "pretty rude" to blind meow cat with meow lmeowser pointer