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.