Cat
What is a Cat?
The cat (Felis catus) is a domestic species of small
carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family
Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to
distinguish it from the wild members of the family.
Cats are commonly kept as house pets
but can also be farm cats or feral cats; the feral cat ranges freely and
avoids human contact.
Domestic cats are valued by humans for companionship
and their ability to kill rodents. About 60 cat breeds are recognized by
various cat registries.
The cat is similar in anatomy to the other felid
species: it has a strong flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp teeth, and
retractable claws adapted to killing small prey like mice and rats. Its
night vision and sense of smell are well developed.
Cat
communication includes vocalizations like
meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting as well
as cat-specific body language. Although the cat is a social species, it is a solitary hunter. As a
predator, it is crepuscular, i.e. most active at dawn and dusk. It can
hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as
those made by mice and other small mammals.