Cats, small, mainly carnivorous animal, Felis catus, member of the family Felidae, popular as a household pet, and valuable for killing mice and rats. Like other members of the cat family, the domestic cat has retractile claws; keen hearing and smell; superb night vision; and a compact, muscular, and highly flexible body. Cats possess excellent memory and exhibit significant aptitude for learning by observation and experience. The natural life span of a domestic cat is around 14/15 years.

The cat's claws are designed for catching and holding prey. The sharp, hooked, retractile claws are sheathed in a soft, leathery pocket at the end of each toe, and are extended for fighting, hunting, and climbing. The cat marks its territory by scratching and scenting trees or other objects; its claws leave visible scratch marks, and the scent glands on its paw pads leave a scent mark. The cat's teeth are designed for biting, not for chewing. Its powerful jaw muscles and sharp teeth enable the cat to deliver a killing bite to its prey.

The cat's vision is principally adapted for hunting, especially at night. It has excellent night vision; extensive peripheral vision; and binocular vision, which allows it to accurately judge distances. The cat's daylight vision is not as good as that of humans; cats see movement much more easily than detail, and are thought to see only a limited range of colours. The cat's hearing is very sensitive. It can hear a wide range of sounds, including those in the ultrasonic range. Its ears are less sensitive to lower frequencies, which may explain why some domestic cats are more responsive to female voices than to male voices. The cat can turn its ears to focus on different sounds.

The cat has a highly cultivated sense of smell, which plays a essential role in finding food and in reproduction. Many of the social signals of domestic cats take the form of scents; for example, male cats can seemingly smell a female cat who is receptive to male cats from a distance of hundreds of metres or yards.

The cat's whiskers, or vibrissae, are extremely susceptible to the slightest touch, and are used for testing obstacles and sensing changes in the environment. In extremely dim light, a cat may feel its way by using its whiskers.

Reproduction, The domestic cat usually reaches puberty at around nine or ten months of age. A sexually mature female cat goes into heat, several times a year; during this time, she is both receptive to, and attractive to, male cats. The gestation period of the cat is about 65 days; the average litter consists of 4 kittens. Kittens are born blind, deaf, and helpless. Their eyes open at 8 to 10 days of age, and they begin to be weaned about 6 weeks after birth.

Coat Colours, The domestic cat's original coat colour was probably greyish-brown with darker tabby stripes, a colour that provides excellent camouflage in a variety of environments. All other coat colours and patterns are the result of genetic mutations; for example, solid coat colours such as black and blue are the result of a gene that suppresses tabby stripes; an orange coat is the result of a gene that transforms black pigment to orange; and a solid white coat is the result of a gene that completely suppresses all formation of pigment.

Cat Breeds, About 40 varieties, or breeds, of domestic cats are recognised internationally. Although the various cat breeds often differ dramatically in coat length and overall look, they vary less in size than do dog breeds. The smallest cat breeds weigh about 5 to 7 lb. when full grown; the largest weigh about 15 to 20 lb. So far, attempts to develop miniature or giant domestic cat breeds have been unsuccessful.

Breed Origins, Many domestic cat breeds, including the Maine coon, Manx, Russian blue, and Siamese, began as a naturally-occurring variety of domestic cat native to a specific geographic area. Others, such as the Himalayan, are man-made breeds, the result of generations of careful breeding for a desired look. Some relatively new breeds, including the curly-coated Rex breeds, the hairless Sphinx, the fold-eared Scottish fold, and the curl-eared American curl, began with a genetic mutation and were then developed by selective breeding into a distinct breed.

The Care of Cats, Cats are known for their ability to fend for themselves in the wild, but household pets, dependent on human beings for care and feeding, require considerable attention. Educational materials on the care of cats and responsible cat ownership are available through bookstores and local humane societies.

Although cats have a reputation for being relatively independent, domestic cats require love and attention from their owners. A balanced daily diet, such as that provided by high-quality commercial cat food, is essential for health and longevity, as is a regular supply of fresh water. Regular cleaning of litter pans is necessary to prevent disease; some cats will refuse to use a badly soiled litter pan. Cats' claws should be trimmed frequently. To prevent damage to furniture, cats that live indoors should be provided with a scratching post, preferably covered with a rough material such as sisal rope. Cats use their tongues to clean their coats, and they normally swallow any loose hair. All cats, even shorthaired cats, should be brushed weekly to remove loose hair; this will help prevent hair balls from forming in their stomachs. A few longhaired breeds, such as the Persian and the Himalayan, require daily combing to prevent their long, soft fur from matting.

Neutering or Spaying, Every year hundreds of thousands of unwanted domestic cats and kittens are destroyed because homes cannot be found for them. To avoid contributing to this problem, a cat should be altered (surgically treated to make it incapable of reproducing) unless it is a registered, pedigreed member of a responsible breeding program. A female cat is spayed (altered by removing the uterus and ovaries); a male cat is neutered (altered by removing the testicles). Cats that have been altered are healthier and easier to live with. Unaltered females may be susceptible to uterine infections and ovarian cysts; unaltered cats of both sexes may mark their territory by spraying urine. Some veterinarians recommend altering cats as young as 12 weeks of age, while others recommend waiting until the animal reaches sexual maturity (at six to ten months of age). Current veterinary research indicates that early altering has little negative effect on a cat's health; a low-quality diet, however, can cause serious urinary tract problems.

History and Legend, Cats became objects of worship in Egypt because of their ability to keep down the rodent population in Egypt's economically important grain fields along the Nile. The Egyptian cat goddess Bast, depicted as having the body of a woman and the head of a cat, was the goddess of love and fertility as well. Egyptian cats were also used for sport by their owners. Attached to leashes, these animals hunted birds for the family table; a boomerang flung by the master brought the birds down and the cats, unleashed, would retrieve them. Because they were economically useful and were believed to ensure many children for a family, cats were so revered that they were mummified and buried either with their owners or in specially determined cemeteries. Despite Egyptian laws that forbade the removal of the sacred cats, Phoenician sailors smuggled them out of the country. Cats were traded along with other treasures from the Middle East and in antiquity could be found throughout the Mediterranean area. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Romans were the first to bring cats to the British Isles.

The value of cats as predators was recognised and appreciated in the mid-14th century when a rat-borne plague, known as the Black Death, struck the population of Europe. Generally during the Middle Ages, however, cats were feared and hated. Because of their nocturnal habits, they were believed to consort with the devil. This association with witchcraft has been responsible for many acts of cruelty toward cats through the centuries. The Renaissance, in contrast, was the golden age for cats. Almost everyone had one, from members of royal families and their staffs to the peasantry.

In India cats often played an important part in religious or occult ceremonies. In South America the Inca revered sacred cats; cats are represented in pre-Columbian Peruvian artefacts. Cats continue to be worshiped as deities in countries such as Thailand and China.