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Cats make excellent companions. They share the spotlight with dogs in the most popular pet arena. A cat can adapt to most home environments easily and can make itself comfortable in a small city apartment as well as a large country house. Although cats need care and affection, they are generally considered low-maintenance in... more »
Female cats reach sexual maturity between 6 and 9 months of age. However, kittens as young as 4 months occasionally become pregnant. Male cats mature a few months later than female cats, but both genders can reproduce before they reach their first birthday. more »
The female cat's estrogen level dramatically increases when she is old enough for her heat cycle to begin. Breeding won't take place without a heat cycle. Typically, female cats begin their heat cycles around five months of age. However, a five-month-old cat is much too young to carry a litter. It can be dangerous to her and her... more »
Feral cats are not owned or tamed and exist in the wild. They have been born from misplaced or deserted pets. Feral cats are often called "stray" or "alley" cats. These terms actually describe abandoned pets that were once domesticated. Most feral cats cannot be domesticated unless socialization begins in the early weeks of life. Many... more »
You're fairly certain your cat is expecting. It is a good idea to take her to a veterinarian and have her checked out and find out her approximate due date.
She will carry her litter for about two months before the big day arrives and the kittens are born. While your cat will do most of the work of birthing and caring for the... more »
Although cats are generally a low maintenance pet when compared to dogs, there is still a...
Adopting a cat can be more involved than you might think but armed with the right...
Animals must eat to live and some of them live just to eat. Dogs, cats, horses, cows,...
Fleas are an inevitable part of owning a pet. If your vet has recommended that you use...
Cat breeding may sound like a simple process of putting a male and female cat in the vicinity of one another, but responsible breeders know there... more »
When you have multiple cats, the cats typically develop a pecking order. It is also true that cats that live in multiple cat households tend to... more »
Cats have surpassed dogs in popularity as pets in modern times. But where did they originally come from, and who decided that they should be... more »
Polydactylism in cats is a naturally occurring, genetic condition where felines are born with six front toes. These special felines are found... more »
A cat's introduction to your household will set the foundation for their relationship with you and your family. You must do everything you can to... more »
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The cat (Felis catus), also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin and household pests. It has been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years"9500 years"> and is currently the most popular pet in the world.SciAm>
A skilled predator, the cat is known to hunt over 1,000 species for food. It can be trained to obey simple commands. Individual cats have also been known to learn on their own to manipulate simple mechanisms, such as doorknobs and toilet handles. Cats use a variety of vocalizations and types of body language for communication, including meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, squeaking, chirping, clicking, and grunting.Channel3000Meows> They are also bred and shown as registered pedigree pets. This hobby is known as cat fancy.
Until recently the cat was commonly believed to have been domesticated in ancient Egypt, where it was a cult animal."NYT"> A study in 2007 found that the lines of descent of all house cats probably run through as few as five self-domesticating African Wildcats (Felis silvestris lybica) circa 8000 BC, in the Near East.Driscoll /> However, in 2001, a domesticated cat that was buried 9,500 years ago was discovered in Cyprus.
Nomenclature and etymology
The word cat derives from Old English catt, which belongs to a group of related words in European languages, including Welsh cath, Spanish gato, Basque katu, Byzantine Greek kátia, Old Irish cat, German Katze, and Old Church Slavonic kotka. The ultimate source of all these terms is Late Latin catus, cattus, catta "domestic cat", as opposed to feles "European wildcat". It is unclear whether the Greek or the Latin came first, but they were undoubtedly borrowed from an Afro-Asiatic language akin to Nubian kadís and Berber kaddîska, both meaning "wildcat". read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat
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