by: Vremde Kattan

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.