The Greek historian Herodotus reported that killing a cat was forbidden, and when a household cat died, the entire family mourned and shaved their eyebrows. Cat Location: Africa Asia Central-America Eurasia Europe North-America Oceania South-America. [3] Aristotle remarked in his History of Animals that "female cats are naturally lecherous." This cat and mouse behavior is due to an instinctive imperative to ensure that the prey is weak enough to be killed without endangering the cat. ", "The evolutionary basis for the feeding behavior of domestic dogs (, "The labyrinthine posture reflex (righting reflex) in the cat during weightlessness", "How does a cat always land on its feet? [130] In parts of North America, the presence of larger carnivores such as coyotes which prey on cats and other small predators reduces the effect of predation by cats and other small predators such as opossums and raccoons on bird numbers and variety. In 1917, the British zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock revised the genus Felis as comprising only the ones listed in the following table. [195] In the Western intellectual tradition, the idea of cats as everyday objects have served to illustrate problems of quantum mechanics in the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment. Felis catus domesticus was proposed by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. [172] The high level of similarity among the metabolism of mammals allows many of these feline diseases to be diagnosed using genetic tests that were originally developed for use in humans, as well as the use of cats as animal models in the study of the human diseases. [105]:208 Nose-to-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. According to Norman Davies, the assembled people "shrieked with laughter as the animals, howling with pain, were singed, roasted, and finally carbonized". [109] The cat's tongue has backwards-facing spines about 500 μm long, which are called papillae. The cat (Felis catus) is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. [46], Several ancient religions believed cats are exalted souls, companions or guides for humans, that are all-knowing but mute so they cannot influence decisions made by humans. Nonetheless, cats can still be injured or killed by a high fall. [179] Hairballs can be prevented with remedies that ease elimination of the hair through the gut, as well as regular grooming of the coat with a comb or stiff brush.
[71] At low light, a cat's pupils expand to cover most of the exposed surface of its eyes. The daily duration of sleep varies, usually between 12 and 16 hours, with 13 and 14 being the average. [82] Many cats also respond strongly to plants that contain nepetalactone, especially catnip, as they can detect that substance at less than one part per billion. [72] However, the domestic cat has rather poor color vision and only two types of cone cells, optimized for sensitivity to blue and yellowish green; its ability to distinguish between red and green is limited. [128], In Australia, the impact of cats on mammal populations is even greater than the impact of habitat loss. The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. Cats are rarely mentioned in ancient Greek literature. They fight over her, and the victor wins the right to mate.
After about 20 to 30 minutes, once the female is finished grooming, the cycle will repeat. The Animal Diversity Web team is excited to announce ADW Pocket Guides! [124][125] Cats use two hunting strategies, either stalking prey actively, or waiting in ambush until an animal comes close enough to be captured. [215] In Norse mythology, Freyja, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, is depicted as riding a chariot drawn by cats.
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