Cats

Domestic Cat

The cat (or domestic cat, house cat) is a small carnivorous mammal. It is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to destroy vermin. A skilled predator, the cat is known to hunt over 1,000 species for food. Intelligent, the cat can be trained to obey simple commands, and has been known to teach itself to manipulate simple mechanisms

The trinomial name of the domestic cat is Felis silvestris catus. Its closest pre-domesticated ancestor is believed to be the African wild cat, Felis silvestris lybica.[1] Humans have developed several dozen breeds of cat, in a variety of colours.

The word cat derives from Old English catt, which belongs to a group of related words in European languages, including Latin cattus, Welsh cath, Byzantine Greek κάττα, Old Irish cat, and Old Church Slavonic kotka. The ultimate source of all these terms, however, is unknown.[6] However, it may be linked to the ancient Nubian kadis and the Berber kadiska.

Despite being solitary hunters, cats are a social species and use a variety of vocalizations, pheromones and types of body language for communication. These include meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting.[9] They are also bred and shown as registered pedigree pets. This hobby is known as cat fancy.

Until recently the cat was commonly believed to have been domesticated in ancient Egypt, where it was a cult animal." A study that year found that the lines of descent of all house cats probably run through as few as five self-domesticating African Wildcats (Felis silvestris lybica) circa 8000 BC, in the Near East. The earliest direct evidence of cat domestication is a kitten that was buried with its owner 9,500 years ago in Cyprus.

Cat's Breeds