Cats, Domestic Cats, And House Cats History Revealed By Martin Marks

Cats, also referred as Felis catus, house cats and domestic cats are small, cute carnivorous mammals. For cat lovers around the world, who wish to know more about these adorable pets, below is a physiology of cats. To start with, studies reveal that around 69 billion of cats are present in the U.S. homes.

They are the second most favored pets after dogs. They can be interbred and have to be registered as pedigree pets. Human beings value cats very much for their superior companionship and capabilities to hunt rodents.

Researchers suggest that association of cats with human dates back some 9500 years ago. They believed that ancient Egyptians were first to domesticate cats, as they considered cats as religious animals. However, recent study shows that, people in other continents also domesticated cats around the same time.

Cats are expert predators and can hunt more than 1000 types of species. However, cats are easily teachable to obey commands. Some cats learn without training such as they can bolt the lock and work on simple mechanisms.

Their vocalizations vary and they use different body languages to communicate. The common vocalizations include meowing, hissing, grunting and growling.

Size And Skeleton Of Cats:

An adult domestic cat weighs about 4.5 -6.8 kilograms. Female feline weighs anywhere between 6 - 10 pounds, about 2.7 - 4.8 kilograms. The height of the cat is about 8 to 10 inches, which means they are around 20-25 centimeters in height.

The length of cat from its nose tip to the tail base averages between 18- 20 inches (46-51 centimeters) long. The size of the cats also depends on their skeleton size. The skeleton of the cat is very prominent. Their spines (backbone) have more bones because it supports the tail.

Their vertebral columns are not rigid as in human being. However, they are extremely flexible. This peculiar feature of flexibility helps them to bend their backs, twist, and twirl their bodies, so that they can squeeze through minimum gaps.

Secondly, a cat does not possess collarbone (Clavicle). If it had a collarbone, then it may not have been able to slip away through the narrow spaces. The skeleton of the cat is symmetrical and starts from the head region to entire body. The general structure of the cat's skeleton includes of three subunits.

The first skeletal subunit includes appendicular skeleton, which contains bones of fore limbs and hind limbs. The second subunit includes axial skeleton, which contains cranium, ribs, spine, and sternum. Third skeletal subunit is the visceral skeleton, which constitutes parts of other bodily organs such as ossicles (middle ear) and paws.

Functions Of Cat's Skeleton:

Cat's skeleton mainly carries out four functions. First, it supports and shields the body. Secondly, the bones work as levers to execute the muscular action. The skeleton also functions as the storehouse for phosphorous, calcium and other vital elements.

Lastly, cat's skeleton also serves as storage space for RBC (red blood cell), WBC (white blood cells) and fats.

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Cat Behavior And Cat Hunting Tendencies By Martin Marks

Imagine some sophisticated hunting machine and individuals will surely think of their beloved cats. Cats are natural hunters and they possess all the physical tools, and proficiencies, required to chase the prey. They have adequate speed, athleticism, flexibility, and killer instinct, which are essential characteristics of a sharp hunter.

However, cats are not born hunters, who kill for food. Instead, tracing, killing and hunting are learned behaviors. Possibility of hunger cannot drive or teach a feline to kill the prey. A feline may be a skilled mouse hunter and yet may never eat a mouse or wish to eat it anytime. They consider rat killing as a play.

Many domestic cats also are good rodent and bird hunters. However, they may not hunt them daily. If foods served by the pet owners are not adequate, cats hunt rodents or birds to gratify themselves.

Hunting Lessons:

Kittens develop the basic skills of chasing the prey right from their birth. They learn the skill of coordinating, chasing, and timing while playing. They become skilled in adjusting their speed with the speed of prey. They pounce on the prey by guessing the distance. Thus, playing enables the cats and kitten to learn and make judgments through experience.

As the kitten grows up, mother feline teaches the young cats to kill for eating. The first lesson involves bringing the dead prey at home and eating it in front of the young cats. Soon, they too join her. At the end of first lesson, mother cat brings the dead prey and places it in front of the kittens, so that they can eat it themselves.

However, most people who have cat in their house often see that female cat brings the prey and drops it in front or at the feet of the cat owner's child. This is particularly seen in spayed female cats, because by this way she tries to teach the lessons to human child, which otherwise she might have done for her own kittens.

The second lesson in hunting is bringing the dead prey partly in house. The female cat then finishes off the prey in front of her kittens. Later, she allows kittens to practice these skills and teach them to kill the wounded or slow prey.

Gradually, cats bring more kills at home until kittens become expert in these skills. Finally, kittens accompany the mother cats. They hunt, and slay the preys themselves.

Tendencies:

Cats are efficient hunters, but pet owners may have noticed that, their cats often torture their prey before slaying it. Some say it is because of lack of self-confidence in them. Cats are anxious that their preys are not dead completely and may fight back or bite them at any moment.

Domestic cats often get desired food to eat and their natural behavior to hunt is usually decreased considerably. As a result, cats play hunting by wiggling the toes, ears, and fingers of the humans. Thus, house cats chase the imaginary prey and they run up, down across the house, drapes, and tables and wrack things in this process.

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