Kind of Cat

All cats, from large jungle cats to small house cats, belong to the cat family, Felidae, order Carnivora. This article discuses the domestic cat, Felis catus catus, a species indigenous to the Old World that includes such related forms as the European wildcat, F. catus sylvestris, the African wildcat, F. catus lybica, and perhaps some other distinct groups. The domestic cat is apparently not a separate species; there is evidence of hybridization and interfertility between it and the wild races.

Cats in History
The domestic cat has evolved as an urban scavenger and may have originated about 8000 ac, when nomadic humans settled into village life. From archaeological and anatomical evidence, however, it is impossible to distinguish wild from domestic types until New Kingdom times in Egypt. The cat was then bred by a religious cult and worshiped as a sacred animal, but this episode of cultism has perhaps been exaggerated, it was not critical in bringing about the domestication of the species. The Egyptians domesticated many species, and the cat may simply have been bred to protect granaries from rodents. Because cat mummies are so numerous, in fact, it has been suggested that the animals may sometimes have been killed for votive offerings.

The spread of domestic cats appears to have followed the pattern of progressive urbanization. Domestic cats row inhabit every continent except Antartica and most of the world's oceanic islands. Cats have inverted to a wild state in many habitats where they were not originally found.

Distribution of Cats
Cat populations range from sparse to more than 775 per km², depending on several factors. The largest populations exist in urban areas, especially in so called. Mediterranean climate, where opportunities abound for year round food and shelter. Only in certain regions such as Western Europe and North America are cats kept as pets in number sufficient to support such large, subsidiary industries as veterinary services, pet foods, welfare societies, and publications. Elsewhere, cats are tolerated but not regarded as pets.

The cat as scavenger
Apart from a decrease in cat body size, the most notable anatomical contrast between domesticated and wild cats is the increased intestinal length in the former. This may correlate with the domesticated cat's turning form chiefly predatory to chiefly scavenging habits, and the resulting reliance on a low protein diet; theoretically, increased small intestinal length would maximize absorption of amino acids. One study of the stomach contains of stray city cats revealed that only 3 percent of their diet comprised rodents, the balance was garbage. Many studies have been devoted to the question of the depredations of cats on birds. Cats would seem to have only a modest effect, and generalization are risky.

Cat Breeding Habits
The breeding cycle of cats is controlled by sensitivity to light. At equatorial latitudes, cats may breed throughout the year and have three or four litters. In temperate latitudes, they normally have one litter in the early spring and another in late summer. Domestic cats living under artificial light may breed at any time. Reproductive life begins at 7.5 moths and continues until an advanced age, 15 years or more. The gestation period is usually 63 days, and the average litter is four kittens.