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The domesticated cat is a favorite companion animal with many people, and has been for centuries. The cat is a mammal and a carnivore. As a mammal, it is warm-blooded, has a skeleton, and a four-chambered heart; it gives birth to live young and suckles them. As a carnivore, the cat needs primarily meat and meat protein to survive; no cat can be a vegetarian.
There are no ordinary cats.
—COLETTE
There are about twenty-seven recognized pure breeds of shorthaired cats and seventeen breeds of longhaired ones. The most popular and common in households, however, is probably the mixed breed of common cat, who in actuality is as uncommon as the rest of the cat family. The lifespan of a non-pedigreed cat is normally longer than the life of a purebred cat. Whatever breed of cat a human cares for, that cat becomes part of the family, a loving companion, and a treasured friend.
The Origins of Cats
Scientists can’t seem to agree how many genera cats should be divided into; some textbooks give six genera while others give four. The only thing they do agree on is that cheetahs, with their non-retractable claws, should have a genus of their own (Acinony x ).94 The genus Panthera is given to the big cats that roar (lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, clouded leopard, and jaguar). The lynx, bobcat, and caracals belong to the genus Lynx. The small cats are placed in the genus Felis, with a couple of Asian cats undecided at this point.95 The domesticated cat comes from the Felis genus.
The Roman Linnaeus first gave the Latin name Felis catus to both the European wild cat and the domestic breeds. This definition continued until 1777, when the naturalist Schreber separated the two breeds, giving the wild cat the name Felis silvestris.
The European forest cat (Felis silvestris silvestris) may have interbred with very early domesticated cats who were brought to Europe. It ranges from Portugal and Britain in the west to Russia in the east. This cat has a sturdy body, a broad head, and a short bushy tail with a rounded tip. Its coat coloring is similar to the African wild cat—a washed-out tabby. It is very shy of humans and ferocious if caught; no one has ever managed to tame one of this species, even if taken as a kitten. Today, a subspecies of this wild cat is found in the central and northern mountainous forests of the Scottish Highlands.
Although protected as an endangered species, the wild cat’s numbers are in danger from illegal hunting.
The African wild cat (Felis silvestris libyca) is considered the most likely ancestor of the domesticated cat, which is known as Felis silvestris catus.
The African wild cat is also called the Egyptian cat or the Kaffir cat. It is generally found in the warm areas of Africa, Majorca, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Crete, Syria, Arabia, the Middle East, and as far as India and Turkestan. It is larger than the house cat (about three feet long) and has faint tabby stripes on its tawny or light gray fur; the fur is tipped with flecks of black. These markings consist of four fairly dark lines on the back, while the light paws are ringed with black almost the length of the leg. Its body is less stocky than the modern cat, its head more delicate, and its tail long and thin. It is quite docile for a wild cat and can be easily tamed. The eyes of the African wild cat are rimmed with a dark color.96 Its ear structure, both exterior and interior, seems to have developed for hearing in open spaces; this ear structure is basic in domesticated cats.
Pallas cat (Felis manul) comes from northern and central Asia. Because of its longhaired coat, some researchers believe it may have contributed to the ancestry of longhaired cats.97
The totally untamable European wild cat (Felis silvestris silvestris) probably interbred with domesticated cats when they were taken into Europe in the fourth century and may have contributed to the dark tabby markings. Before this, the cat had only the lighter markings of the African wild cat. This grayish brown European feline is about the size of the African wild cat, but has a wider face, longer fur, and a bushier and blunter tail with black rings.
Except for the lion and cheetah, which live in family groups, cats tend to be natural loners. Although we consider the domesticated cat to be tame, it is quite capable of reverting to a feral98 state and living in the wild without benefit of humans. Granted, the feral cat does not live as long as cats who are sheltered by humans; they die young of disease, malnutrition, and disaster.
Of all the cat family, the domesticated cat is also the most easily tamed, but doesn’t transfer its loyalty easily. Although some cats will socialize with most visitors to a household, this isn’t a trait that can be counted on. Almost all cats are highly discriminating about the humans with whom they associate. Some breeds of cats are noted for their attachment to a single human, disdaining all others.
Like humans and many other animals, the cat has an excellent internal clock. Cats prefer regularity in the schedules of their owners. In fact, they do better in orderly, predictable households. Cats who live with disorganized, unhappy families can even develop ulcers. Cats have a low tolerance to emotional stress.
This fixation with orderliness can play havoc during vacation, when the owner plans to sleep in and the cat is determined to keep the schedule as usual. Any cat owner can tell you that alarm clocks are optional, and be prepared for a week or two of upset when time is shifted to daylight savings and back.
The Body
Cats have amazing physical anatomy and characteristics. For example, cats have 244 bones in their skeleton, a bone structure vastly different from other mammals.99 The longest recorded body length of a domestic cat is 41.5 inches. The cat’s rounded head (large in proportion to its body), large forward-pointing eyes, and high brain case are the marks of a hunter. The seven vertebrae in its neck are much shorter than those of other animals. Since the cat only needs to digest meat, its intestines are short and simple.
Most cats are very intelligent, with an IQ far superior to other animals. In fact, a cat’s memory can be up to two hundred times more retentive than that of a dog. Their abilities astound scientists. However, cats exhibit their intelligence in their own way and at their own time and can’t be trained in the same manner as dogs. Dr. Leon Smith is convinced that cats can be taught to do almost any type of work, an idea shared by Andre Marcal, a leading animal researcher in France.100 However, most scientific training of cats seems to depend on the reward and punishment system, which many animal lovers personally oppose.
Its body is built for power and agility, from its narrow chest to its powerful hindquarters. When it crouches, it contracts two muscles: the hamstring (behind the thigh bone) and the tibialis (in front of the tibia and fibula bones).
The largest pure breed of domesticated cat is the Ragdoll, while the smallest is the Singapura. However, the difference in weight is seldom more than a dozen pounds, although I have had two mixed breed cats who were quite large—one weighing fourteen pounds, the other twenty-five.101 A Siamese may weigh as little as five pounds, but most cats weigh between seven and twelve pounds, unless they have very large bone structure.
The difference between the longest and shortest of facial profiles is only about two inches. The only other major difference between cats—besides coloring, facial shapes, and ears—is that a few cats have extra toes.
Unless there is a physical ailment that upsets the sense of balance, a cat has the remarkable ability to keep its balance in situations that would leave humans rigid with fear. Their ability to right themselves when falling, though, does not always keep them from harm. It all depends on the distance the cat falls, how it lands, and what it falls on. Some humans engage in the cruel practice of holding a kitten upside-down and dropping it, just to see how it will land. This can cause back injuries and certainly doesn’t do much for establishing love and trust.
This ability to fall on their feet comes from the cat’s flexing ability of the backbone; the primary reason for the flexibility is because the cat has five more vertebrae than humans. These extra vertebrae run back from the shoulder blades, giving the cat the ability to twist as much as 180 degrees.102 Like other animals who are good runners, the cat has practically no collarbone. Its shoulder blades lie along the side of the chest. As a result of this skeletal structure, the cheetah, for example, can increase its walking stride by as much as four and one-half inches.
A relaxed cat will breathe twice as fast as a human: twenty-five to thirty times a minute. Their heartbeat is also twice as fast at 110 to 140 times a minute. As a consequence, their half-pint of blood circulates completely through their body every eleven seconds. Because of this, cats are less likely than dogs or humans to have atherosclerosis or cerebral hemorrhages.
Cats have two blood types: A and B. These blood types are not the same as human blood groups. Most cats have A type blood. The white count of cats is much higher than that of humans; normally it is around 12,500. However, stress can quickly change the white count, as well as make the cat ill in other ways.
The tail of a cat can be long and thin or short, thick, and plume-like, depending on their hair length and the type of cat. Cats have marvelous control over this appendage, using it as a rudder when turning a corner at high speed or as a balance when walking on a narrow surface. It also comes in handy for keeping the nose warm or the light out of eyes when sleeping.
Paws and Claws
The domesticated cat can walk easily along the narrow edge of a two-by-four piece of lumber, a traverse rod, or the head of your bed. Their feet are short, narrow in diameter, and have thin, light bones.
Also, a cat’s manner of walking allows its feet to land on almost the same print; the left and right paw prints line up right behind each other.
A cat’s feet are also without fur. The pads on the bottoms of the feet are like supple leather, enabling the animal to silently stalk, cushion landings, and stop suddenly in mid- run.
Except for the cheetah, members of the cat family have retractable front claws103 that are usually pulled into a fold of skin around each toe. The curved fore claws are kept razor sharp by scratching to remove the outer sheaths, which are shed from time to time. Compressed on each side and hooked, these claws are the perfect cutting tool.
The hind claws are not as curved as the fore claws but are thicker and very dangerous weapons in defense against attacking animals. Cats chew the sheaths off the hind claws. Since the hind toes are less flexible than the front ones, and the claws are curved all in one direction, cats frequently have difficulty getting down trees, although they are excellent climbers for going up.
Many people claim that the cat “hears” through the soles of its feet. They may be only slightly incorrect in this assumption, for a great many cats can predict the approach of earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, as evidenced from their behavior prior to the natural disaster. During World War II, many cats in Britain could detect danger before the air raid sirens went off. They also appear to be able to predict atmospheric pressure changes.
Some cats seem to have a homing ability, enabling them to find their way home over vast distances.104 These cats, like other animals, may have an unusual sensitivity to geomagnetic fields.
Cats don’t perspire as humans do and must pant to cool the body. However, they do perspire on the bare pads of their feet when they become upset, frightened, or overheated. The pads of the feet are the only place a cat has sweat glands.
Teeth and Jaws
Domesticated cats have the fewest teeth of all the carnivores. Cats have thirty teeth, twelve fewer than a dog, with a pair of large, long, and sharp canine teeth in each jaw. Their back teeth mesh first when the jaw closes, giving a shearing action to the bite. They have no grinding teeth and must tear their food into small pieces to eat it.
Domesticated cats seem to have inborn skill in knowing how to deliver a death bite to such creatures as mice, rats, and such; this skill is brought into practice usually by the mother teaching her kittens. Ordinarily one quick, deep bite at the nape of the neck will dispatch the prey. If it remains alive, the cat will shake it vigorously sideways until the prey is dizzy and can be killed. Sometimes, with such animals as shrews and moles, the cat will give the animal a series of closed-paw blows to kill it. The shrew in particular is extremely ferocious and has a disagreeable odor; it is very seldom that a cat will actually eat one.
If your cat has access to the outdoors, or if a mouse gets into the house, you may be presented with a gift of dispatched prey from time to time—sometimes even a live one. There is some debate on why this occurs or even if it is intentional. However, I’m certain that cat owners will agree that cats present these gifts for definite reasons. They may be offerings because the cat considers its human to be part of its family. Sometimes they are peace offerings after they have been scolded. But other times, I feel certain that the cat is full of unfailing hope that one day we will learn to hunt. A cat owner should never scold the cat who brings in its prey, for it is only following its natural instincts. The gift of prey also shows that the cat considers you worthy of being cared for. However well-fed the cat may be, it will hunt.
We had a black, silver, and buff tom for seventeen years whose name was Flash. As each of the grandchildren became old enough to walk, they were dutifully presented on more than one occasion with an injured but live mouse. We would hear Flash singing long before he came through the cat door, but he always managed to evade capture to drop the mouse directly in front of the baby. Then he would sit back and watch as the adults frantically raced around, trying to catch the mouse. The children, of course, were too young to be frightened, only vastly entertained by the suddenly active adults. The only prey Flash refused to share were lizards. He also had a policy that any mouse once within the house was mine, and he firmly refused to catch it.
Most naturally wild cats will pull off the feathers and at least most of the fur before they eat their prey. The domesticated cat, however, is more tolerant. They generally eat their prey, beginning with the head and leaving the gallbladder and stomach for the human to dispose of.
Cats require more fat and protein than dogs—almost four times as much (which is why they should never be fed dog food). However, they do not require as much as many people think. Cats need about thirty percent protein in their diet; the cat foods with up to fifty and sixty percent protein are unnecessary.105 The old belief that cats crave and must have fish is also wrong. Spoiled fish or certain types of fish can cause diseases; it is best to get a commercial cat food that has some fish in it. And, contrary to the newest fad going around, cats cannot live on a vegetarian diet; they will become very sick and die a painful death. As carnivores, they naturally must have protein in their diet.
Although milk is a source of protein, a great many adult cats don’t have the necessary enzymes to digest it; instead it gives the cat diarrhea. Besides, too much calcium fed to kittens can cause bone disease.
The Ears
The ears of a cat are extremely sensitive, far more sensitive than the ears of humans or dogs. They dislike loud sounds, probably because it causes them pain. They hear about two octaves higher than humans do; their higher level of hearing is also better than that of a dog. In fact, they can hear sounds up to 100,000 cycles per second, the pitch of mouse noises.106
Experiments have shown that cats can distinguish between sources of sounds when the sounds are as close as three inches apart. With all this ultra-sensitive and discriminatory hearing, any cat owner knows that they can also ignore you whatever the distance.
Some cats seem to prefer women to men. Perhaps this is because the typical female voice is much higher pitched and closer in quality to that of the cat itself. The cat’s ears are very flexible. When determining the source of a sound, the cat can either turn its head or one or both ears. This movement allows the cat to use the ears as funnels, directing the sound onto the eardrum. Sometimes, this ear-twisting movement reminds one of independent radar screens as they adjust singularly and then together to determine what is causing the noise. They can also hear another cat walking on carpet, even if the cat is not in view.
The long hair inside the cat’s ears enables it to catch the tiniest vibrations in the air. This alerts it to movements it hasn’t even seen.
Cats react to certain sounds more than others. A cat can be totally relaxed or asleep, but if it hears the sounds of birds on TV or stereo, it will be awake in a second, looking for the birds it is certain are in the house. The meow of a cat on TV may bring it to investigate, either ready to fight or full of curiosity. Some music will send a cat into a panic, while other renditions will send it off to sleep.
I have a CD titled “Lunar Goddess” that has real wolves howling on it. The first time I played it, Callisto circled the room at high speed, hair raised, eyes big, belly to the floor, and growling. After that first experience, she now indignantly leaves the room if that particular music is played.
Fur and Whiskers
Even the hair on cats is more than it seems at first glance. This fur coat insulates the cat in both hot and cold weather, protects its skin from scratches and scrapes, carries its odor, and is another part of its sensory apparatus. Wild cats basically have two layers of hair: a warm layer of down hair underneath and a resilient outer coat.
Most cats have three types of hair in their coat; however, there are a few breeds that have only two, like the wild cats, and a few that have only one. The long hairs on a domesticated cat’s fur are called primary or guard hairs; these hairs grow from individual follicles. There are two types of secondary hairs—awn hairs and down hairs—which grow in groups. Awn hairs are usually medium in length and rather bristly tipped. The down hairs are the shortest and are usually very fine and sometimes crinkled. A cat can have as many as 200 hairs per square millimeter of skin.
There are about seven to twenty-five touch spots per square centimeter of skin on a cat. This sensitivity causes the cat’s skin to ripple when the fur is disturbed, such as flicking drops of water onto the cat.
The whiskers of a cat are known as vibrissae. They are of varying lengths and grow on the upper lip, under the chin, over the eyes, and on the cheeks; they are also found on the backs of the forelegs. These whiskers are so sensitive that they don’t need to touch something to know it is there. Using the vibrissae, the cat can detect tiny variations in the air currents that flow around solid objects. The vibrissae or whiskers are aids to vision and hearing. They also help the cat determine how close its body is to something in the dark.
The loose skin on the back, and especially on the back of the neck, is generally five times thicker than the skin on the legs. In fact, on old, unneutered toms the skin on the back of the neck can be as much as a quarter of an inch thick. This looseness and thickness of skin enables the cat to escape predators instead of getting a body grip, the predator ends up with a mouthful of loose skin. This looseness allows the cat to twist and rake at the eyes with its claws.
The Nose, Tongue, and Scenting Abilities
Around the nose, the skin is lightly furred. The cat’s nose has nineteen million nerves just for smelling, compared to the human’s five million.107 This area, plus the nose itself, is extremely sensitive to temperature changes. The upper lip itself can detect an increase in warmth of less than two degrees and an increase in coolness of less than one degree.
Dr. Hans Precht, a German animal expert, discovered that it is possible to tell the temperature of a room by the way a cat is curled when sleeping. In a room under fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit, a cat will be tightly curled with its tail completely over its nose; at sixty to sixty-five degrees, the cat will be semi-curled, with its nose uncovered; at seventy degrees and above, the cat will be stretched out completely.
The cat’s tongue is an amazing organ. It curls inward when the cat drinks, forming a little spoon; every four or five laps, the cat will swallow the liquid. The tongue is thin and pliant at the edges, but thickens in the center. It is also covered with dozens of little rough projections with hooked ends extending backward. These rough protrusions can rasp meat off bones and remove loose fur.
Scientists say that cats have only four tastes: sweet, sour, salt, and bitter. They can also detect the difference between plain water and other liquids. Some cats develop tastes for specific foods.
Traditionally, cats are supposed to like catnip, and some say valerian. However, in 1963 scientists discovered that cats inherit the catnip response, which explains why some cats are crazy about the herb and others ignore it. Cats can detect the odor of catnip108 in the air in as little as one part per billion. Most cats will roll in the catnip and inhale its odor to get their temporary “high.” However, once in a while a cat will carefully select one leaf and eat it.
All cats have a peculiar habit of opening their mouths and wrinkling their noses when they detect certain odors. This reaction is called flehmen. Many people think this is caused by the odor itself, as when humans smell something disagreeable. However, this isn’t true. The cat has an auxiliary scent gland far back on the roof of the mouth called the Jacobson’s organ. This organ is connected to two different parts of the hypothalamus, while the olfactory cells of the nose are connected to a different part of the brain.
When a cat flehms, it starts by smelling or licking an object, often a sex gland, then raising its head and inhaling through the mouth. The lips pull back and the nose wrinkles, giving an expression of disgust. At the same time the tongue flicks against the roof of the mouth, depositing the odor on the duct of the Jacobson’s organ. This helps the cat to analyze any substance that might be of significance to it.
Cats have also been known to snore. The snore may only be a tiny buzzing like rattle, just at the edge of your hearing, or a noise loud enough to wake you from a sound sleep. As with humans, a cat’s snore is very individual.
The Eyes
The eyes of a cat can be round, almond-shaped, or anywhere in between. Cat’s eyes are the largest of any mammal in relation to their body size. Although they can’t see in total darkness, as alluded to in folklore, they can see in darkness that would leave a human blind and bumping into things. Their pupils can contract to as little as a bare slit or expand to such an extent that only a tiny rim of color is showing. When opened to their fullest, the eye allows all possible light to enter. Any night hunter will have larger eyes than other carnivores.
As sharp as their eyesight appears to be, cats are farsighted. They see better between seven and twenty feet than up close, such as within a few inches.
The cat has a third eyelid called the haw or nictitating membrane. This thin, whitish lid is situated at the inner corner of the eye. It is automatically activated to protect the eye from damage and to lubricate the corneal surface by evenly distributing tears.
Scientists are beginning to change their opinion about cats being colorblind; at one time they said cats only saw in shades of gray. Any cat owner can tell you that cats can distinguish between colors if they want to.
One year I bought our grandson’s birthday gifts and left them in a bright red plastic bag until they could be delivered. Beowulf wanted in that bag in the worst way. Finally, when he was out of the room, I placed it on top of a tall bookcase. As soon as he came back, however, he looked around and immediately spotted the bag.
The eyes of a cat are very large in relation to the rest of the head, and they glow with an exotic light at night. This night shine is different in cats according to the color of their eyes. Cats with gold to copper-colored eyes will reflect a yellow-green or blue-green shine, while those with blue eyes will reflect red. The paranoid witch hunters and their church supporters believed that this night shine was a reflection of the fires in hell. Other old tales say that this night shine is really luminous jewels inside the cat’s head.
This night shine or eye shine is caused by light reflecting off the guanin on the back of a cat’s eyes. Guanin are the masses of tiny metallic-like particles coated on the lining at the back of the eye. When struck by light, the guanin particles amplify and brighten any picture focused on the retina. After a certain amount of time, these particles retreat into their cells and the eye shine ceases.
Night shine as seen from the eyes of a bobcat.
Purring
There is an old folk tale about how cats got their purr. Once a princess had to spin 10,000 skeins of linen thread in thirty days or her true love would die. She asked three cats to help her. By working day and night, the job was finished on time and the princess united with her love. The reward to the cats was their purr, an imitation of the spinning wheel’s whirring sound.
Cats usually purr when they are contented with life and feel safe. However, some cats also purr when they are frightened or badly hurt.109 Newborn kittens use their mother’s purring as a kind of homing beacon so they can find her if they stray from the nest. The kittens learn to purr by imitating her.
A biomedical research team at Tulane University discovered that the cat’s purr doesn’t come from the voice box and diaphragm, as previously thought, but from the muscles around this voice box. The purring, which sounds like a rolled R, only comes from the mouth and nose of the cat although it vibrates through the chest. Almost all wild cats can only purr when they inhale, but domestic cats can purr when they inhale and exhale.
The purr is a very individual thing; each cat’s purr is distinctive in tone, loudness, and when it chooses to do this. Some cats rarely purr, while others purr most of the time. As to loudness, I have had cats you couldn’t hear purr and knew they were purring only when you put your hand on them. But our cat Flash sounded like a diesel truck shifting gears when going up a hill. If Flash wanted you to get up, there was no way you could sleep through his purring. He had his purr refined into an art form, but he rarely talked to you unless he felt he had something to gripe about.
People think that cats purr only when they are contented. However, the purr is also used during other situations to let you know the cat wishes your company or help. A sick cat will sometimes purr to let the owner know it needs help. Mother cats purr to let their kittens know it is time to eat. Cats often purr when they lie beside the owner who is not feeling well. Sometimes cats will purr to themselves when they are left alone.
Breeding and Territory
In anatomy and behavior, the domesticated cat has remained very close to the form of its ancestors. Most of the changes it has undergone are superficial. The coat color, hair length, and size (now slightly smaller than wild cats) have been modified, for example. The domestic cat is the only member of the cat family that lives and breeds freely within human societies. 110
The breeding cycle is another change; wild cats only breed once in the spring. Domestic cats can breed several times a year. Small felines can breed before they are a year old, while the big cats usually don’t have the first litter until they are three years old.111 It is possible that a litter of kittens may have more than one father.
It takes sixty-five days for the unborn kittens of a domestic cat to develop enough to be born.112 The gestational period for the big wild cats is 115 days. Newborn kittens are helpless, huddling together for warmth and depending on the mother’s licking action to enable them to urinate and defecate. They are also blind and deaf for over a week; all kittens have blue eyes when they are born. Although domestic kittens are independent at three months of age, those in the wild may stay with their mother for up to two years. The domestic mother will usually wean her kittens at about six to eight weeks, while wild cubs take twice as long. Kittens begin to practice their prey-catching stalking and pouncing when they are about three weeks old. The most important part is the neck-bite, which cats use to kill rodents and other small prey. Using each other or small objects for practice, they gradually become more adept at hunting skills. If their mother is a hunter and has access to the outdoors, she will probably bring the kittens an injured but live rodent and further teach them the refined skills of hunting and killing prey.
An invitingly furry cuddle of cats.
Determining the sex of a small kitten can be difficult, even for those who are very familiar with cats. I have had success using an old formula called “the dot and dash.” If you lift the kitten’s tail, you will see what looks like a dot and dash. With female kittens the dot and dash are farther apart than on males. Since female cats can become pregnant before they are a year old, and males can be sexually active, it is best to have females spayed and males neutered at around six months of age.
The correct word for a group of cats is clowder, an old dialect word for clutter. But a group of kittens is called a kyndyll or kindle of cats. This probably comes from the old verb “to kindle,” which means “to give birth to young.” Personally, I’ve always referred to a friendly group of cats as a “cuddle of cats.”
Grown domesticated cats look upon their human’s home as their nest and their territory long after they are kittens. They also look on their human owners as pseudo-parents and sometimes as siblings. This idea of territorial rights often causes problems when bringing new cats into a household. You can expect a period where the old cats will dislike the new ones, whatever you do. Be prepared for about two weeks of everybody hating each other.
Cats use their claws for more than defense or repelling unwanted attention. Remember, cats seldom scratch anyone they don’t mean to scratch. As every cat owner knows, they go through spells of scratching that can instantly shred furniture, have the curtains hanging in ribbons, or make a hole in a cardboard box full of computer paper. This type of scratching is a natural instinct to mark territory. The scratches themselves are a territorial sign to other felines just as the urine spray markings are, but the scent glands between the toes reinforce this marking. Some cat owners have their felines declawed to prevent major damage to belongings. Carefully cutting the very tips of the claws with nail clippers can p revent most, if not all, of scratching damage. Also, providing your cats with a sisal scratch-pole or other types of scratchers will allow the cat to satisfy its natural scratching instinct without causing damage to the furniture.
Diseases and Illnesses
A healthy domesticated cat can live from ten to twenty years of age, although a few live even longer. The record is held by a British tabby who died in 1957 at the age of thirty-four.
Although cats have excellent resistance to hardening of the arteries and most infections, they are very susceptible to bacterial contamination of wounds. They also can suffer from allergies, arthritis, asthma, cancer, cataracts, diabetes, diarrhea, eczema, parasitic infections, toothaches, urinary tract problems, and diseases caused by viruses (the most dreaded and deadly).
The top virus infection is known as cat distemper, feline enteritis, or feline panleukopenia. At least half of the infected cats die of this gastrointestinal illness. It shows up every year in the US, being worse between December and February. The most serious and deadly virus disease is rabies, which can easily be prevented by vaccination. The virus is transmitted by an infected animal through the saliva. However, people are more likely to get rabies from a dog than from a cat.
Leukemia (cancer of the blood) is two and one-half times more common among cats than humans. Unfortunately, there is no cure. It can, however, be prevented by vaccination. One problem with leukemia is that you can get what appears to be a perfectly healthy cat. Unless you have the animal tested for leukemia—a prerequisite before vaccination for this disease—you have no way to know until the cat becomes inexplicably ill.
One of the big complaints by some people is that cats can give you cat scratch fever. This disease, which usually appears as fever and redness and swelling of scratches, is wrongly named because you can get this fever without being bitten or scratched by a cat.
Like humans, cats are susceptible to upper respiratory infections caused by viruses. These are usually feline pneumonitis, rhinotracheitis, and picornavirus infection, and they also can catch colds. The expression “sick as a cat” is an appropriate description of a cat with a cold, who can be as miserable as we are with the same illness.
A great many cat diseases can be prevented by vaccinations given by your veterinarian. You should take it for yearly check-ups and the appropriate vaccinations. You should also be aware that if you allow your cat to roam freely outdoors, you are taking chances of them catching diseases, including a form of AIDS for which there is no cure, from other cats.
Allowing a cat outdoors also exposes it to other hazards. It can be killed by cars, malicious humans, or dogs; get infected bites from other cats or wild animals; or pick up a number of intestinal parasites, not to mention the ever-present flea, who carries the tapeworm. In cold weather a cat can also suffer frostbite on its ears, feet, tail, and face within a short period of time.
Cat Welfare
Many cats are accidentally poisoned because their owners are careless. Two of the worst poisons are disinfectants and pesticides, especially poisons used to kill mice and other vermin. Any weed killer, furniture spray, insect killer, or disinfectant that can get onto a cat’s fur and be licked off will cause a painful death. One of the most deadly poisons is common antifreeze; cats like the flavor, and it only takes a tiny amount to kill a cat. Chocolate can also be deadly to a cat.
You should also never give a cat acetaminophen, alcohol, or aspirin. These substances can kill. So can carelessly dropped prescription drugs, especially those used to treat heart conditions. Any other prescription or over the counter medication used by humans should be treated as a poison to cats. Even such things as shaving lotions, coffee, suntan lotions, and fingernail polish remover are very dangerous.
Several houseplants are also dangerous. Daffodil, dieffenbachia (dumb cane), Easter lily, English ivy, holly, iris, mistletoe, oleander, philodendron, and rhododendron are toxic to cats and other animals. Growing oat grass for your cat will give it something to nibble on besides your plants, but is not a cure-all. The best method is simply to not have any dangerous plants around.
If you suspect your cat has eaten some poisonous substance, don’t wait. Get it to the veterinarian immediately!
A few of the danger signals of a sick cat are vomiting, blood in the stool, a swelling or tenderness in the abdomen, a warm dry nose, refusal to eat or drink, listlessness, crying when urinating, or the unnatural appearance of the third eyelid. It is normal for cats to vomit on occasion, particularly if they have eaten grass. However, if any of these symptoms last more than twenty-four hours, you should immediately take the cat to a veterinarian. Even though many vets will recommend that you take the cat’s temperature by inserting a thermometer into the rectum, I prefer to use a digital ear thermometer. If you carefully work the thermometer into the ear canal, you should be able to get an accurate reading. The normal temperature for a cat is about 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Leaving for vacation or a necessary out-of-town trip makes it imperative that you consider the welfare of your cats while you are gone. Never leave your cat home alone for more than three days, and only if you put out several dishes of food and water. It is better to find a cat-loving sitter who gets along with your cats, and have them stay at your house or check on your cats frequently. Barring this, consider a kennel, preferably one that doesn’t take in dogs; barking dogs leave cats with the feeling that a pack is just around the corner and could get them at any moment.
If you are thinking of taking your cat along on your trip, please consider that most cats don’t like to travel, aren’t fond of cars or strange places, and are apt to slip out the first open door and be lost forever.
94. The cheetah also has a longer nose than other cats, so it can breathe easily when holding prey.
95. Muriel Beadle, The Cat.
96. One wonders if the ancient Egyptian women lined their eyes with dark kohl in imitation of this cat.
97. There are also other researchers who claim this is an impossibility.
98. “Feral” means a domesticated animal who reverts to a wild state.
99. The skeletons of larger cats are similar to that of the domestic cat. The number of bones in the tail varies according to the species.
100. David Greene, Your Incredible Cat.
101. The heaviest domestic cat on record was a male tabby from Australia who weighed forty-seven pounds when he died in 1986. The lightest cat was a Siamese cross who weighed just one pound and twelve ounces at two years old.
102. Zoologist Milton Hildebrand says that these extra vertebrae increase the cat’s speed when running.
103. A cat’s claws are made of keratin, the same substance that forms human nails.
104. Sheila Burnford, The Incredible Journey.
105. A good source of information on the subject of proper cat feeding is your veterinarian.
106. Over fifty years ago, Drs. Morin and Bachrach discovered that a certain note would cause younger cats to defecate and older ones to become excited; Gary Brodsky, The Mind of the Cat.
107. David Alderton, Pockets Cats.
108. The active ingredient in catnip which attracts cats is nepetalactone.
109. Some scientists think that perhaps this purring when scared or injured is a cat’s way of recalling kitten-hood, when the mother purred to her babies and kept them safe.
110. The cheetah can be tamed, although it never loses its wild nature. For 1,000 years, in India and the Middle East, the cheetah was used for hunting, especially in the pursuit of gazelles.
111. One tabby cat from Texas had a total of 420 kittens. The oldest cat to have kittens was recorded in 1987 as having two kittens at the age of thirty; Pockets Cats.
112. The average litter of a domestic cat is four or five kittens. However, the record is held by a Burmese who had nineteen in one litter.