All About Cats

Cats are the members of the Felidae family of canivorous mammals. Lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, African wild cat are the members of the cat family. Their closest relatives are civets, hyenas and mongooses. However, what we generally recognize as cat is the domestic or the house cat.

The association between cats and humans dates back to between 7000 to 4000 years ago. From being dragged into satanic ritual beliefs, Halloween and unlucky black cat tags to being cute, caring and loyal companions, cats have seen it all. Cats have also been associated with bad omens, death and witchcraft. On the other hand there have been cultures like Vikings who worshipped the Goddess Freya, the goddess of fertility, who was closely associated to cats.

Cat appears in the Vietnamese and Chinese Zodiac systems. They are highly respected in Islam since it is believed that Prophet Mohammed approved domestication of cat. Feeding a cat is regarded as a great deed in Islam. Ancient Egyptians hailed cats as embodiment of their Goddess Bast. In many of the pyramids, mummified cats were found in the thousands. This signifies the importance of cat for the ancient Egyptians.

Today, there are dozens of breeds of cat that are domesticated. As for your cat vocabulary, a group of cat is clowder, male cat is tom, female cat is queen and the cute little baby cat is called kitten.

An average cat weighs between 2.5 to 7 kgs. And live for 15 to 20 years. However, you can ensure a longer life for your pet cat by getting it spayed or neutered and getting all the necessary vaccinations done.

Cats are extremely intelligent. They communicate effectively through purring, hissing and gestures. Thanks to the 32 muscles in their ear, they have a sharp sense of hearing. Cats can conserve their energy by sleeping for long durations. Cats mostly land on their feet. They have a very good sense of balance and have great flexibility. They use their tail to regulate the angular momentum during their flight in a fall. They walk on their toes. They can also manipulate their walk in such a way that they make minimum sound and leave negligible tracks.

Cats have very superior eyesight and senses which are matched by no other animal. They have very good nocturnal eyesight. They have a field of view of 200 degrees. Their whiskers assist them in navigation. Surprisingly cats cannot taste sugary food because they have faulty sweet receptors.

Cats are fussy eaters. They are known to eat grass, leaves, shrubs and houseplants but they'll eat only the specific food which they get used to. Whatever they are, they are some of the most popular pet around the world. So much so that they outnumber dogs as pets in USA.