Domestic Cat (Felis Silvestris Catus)

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Domestic Cat (Felis Silvestris Catus)
Domestic Cat (Felis Silvestris Catus)

Video: Domestic Cat (Felis Silvestris Catus)

Video: Domestic Cat (Felis Silvestris Catus)
Video: "Cats" Felis Silvestris Catus 2024, March
Anonim

The domestic cat is a carnivore that feeds almost exclusively on meat. In nature, its prey is small rodents and birds, reptiles, large insects and other animals. The cat is active both day and night, depending on the specific living conditions. It economically saves and spends its energy thanks to sleep, which accounts for a significant part of the time and is up to 12-16 hours. Domestic cats are more social than feral cats and can be found in family groups. The normal body temperature of a cat is between 38 and 39 ° C, with a heart rate of 140-220 beats per minute.

Habitat: within the human range (with rare exceptions).

Girl, adult cat and kitten lie on the bed, photo photograph
Girl, adult cat and kitten lie on the bed, photo photograph

Description: the domestic cat has a round head, short muzzle, wide jaws and sharp predatory teeth. The eyes are large, the ears are erect. There are special papillae on the tongue that help in drinking, eating and grooming the coat.

The coat is of a very different length, depending on the breed of the cat. Animals of short-haired cat breeds are slimmer and more active than long-haired ones. Most cats have 4 claws on their hind legs and 5 on their front legs. The claws on the front feet are usually sharper than those on the hind feet.

Binocular vision with an angle of coverage of 200 ° (in humans, only 180 °). The visual acuity of a cat is much superior to that of a human.

The color is very varied and includes a wide range of colors: black, white with many shades of red, fiery red, brown and gray. The cat can be of one color or have spots or shading of other colors on the main background. The color of the pupil is different: golden, green, orange, blue.

Size: average body length 50-75 cm, tail - 21-35 cm.

Weight: cats 4.1-6.4 kg, cats 2.2-4.5 kg. Some breeds, such as the Maine Coon or the Siberian cat, weigh up to 11-16 kg! Very small cats are also known, the weight of which was less than 1.8 kg.

Life expectancy: 12-16 years, maximum up to 20 years.

Cat's voice

The sounds made by a domestic cat are quite diverse: purring, rumbling, sniffing, hissing, screaming and howling.

Habitat: The domestic cat lives wherever humans live.

Enemies: in nature, foxes, gray wolves, owls, hawks and other large predators hunt a cat.

Food: The domestic cat is a carnivore that feeds almost exclusively on meat. In nature, its prey is small mammals (rodents) and birds, reptiles, large insects and other animals. Eats a small amount of vegetable feed.

Interested Thai cat, photo photography
Interested Thai cat, photo photography

Behavior: the cat is active both day and night, depending on the specific living conditions. It economically saves and spends its energy thanks to sleep, which accounts for a significant part of the time and is up to 12-16 hours. Moreover, the cat can fall asleep quickly in almost any situation.

The sense organs of the domestic cat are well developed. Cats can hear sounds up to 35-40 kHz, and humans can only hear up to 20 kHz. In cats with erect ears, each ear can move independently of the rest.

The scent of a domestic cat is fourteen times stronger than that of a human. cats have twice the number of sensitive olfactory cells in their noses. The organ of touch are vibrissae, which are located in four rows on the upper lip, several on each cheek, above the eyes and on the chin.

Sharp papillae located on the tongue allow the animal to separate meat from bones. These same papillae help the cat in caring for her hair.

Cats are capable of speeds up to 50 km / h over a short distance. They can easily jump from a place onto a vertical wall more than 2 meters. The cat is able to squeeze through any gap into which it can squeeze its head.

The cat's gait is quiet and careful. As the cat walks, the paws of the hind legs closely follow the trail of the front legs, which provides better support for the hind legs when they pass over rough terrain.

In a relaxed state, the claws hide in special covers made of leather and fur in the fingertips, which allows them to keep them sharp and allows them to silently chase prey.

The normal body temperature of a cat is between 38 and 39 ° C, with a heart rate of 140-220 beats per minute.

For a domestic cat, marking behavior is characteristic - animals rub their muzzle against various objects, incl. about a person.

Social structure: Domestic cats are more social than feral cats and can be found in family groups. Despite this, cats hunt separately.

Outdoor indoor cats sometimes form small colonies in areas where food sources are clustered, such as garbage cans or landfills. In such communities, a hierarchy is formed among animals.

Each cat or cat holds a certain territory, there are also "neutral" areas where cats meet and greet each other. On their territory, cats are usually aggressive towards other people's cats: at first they stare, hiss and growl, and then attack.

Fighting cats raise and rears their fur and arch their backs, thereby visually increasing their size. During a fight, cats make powerful slaps on the face and body with their front paws, and bite. Sexually mature cats engage in fights many times during their life, and they are easily distinguished by their numerous scars on the body, especially the muzzle. Cats, especially pregnant ones or with small kittens, also participate in fights for the territory, expelling all cats and cats from it.

Posing funny cat, photo photography
Posing funny cat, photo photography

Breeding: Tempest cats scream loudly, informing all local cats that she is ready to mate. The males caring for the female gather in a group, howl, mark the surrounding objects with strong smelling urine, and fight for the female. Winner - mates with a cat. The feline penis has a special bone directed backward, which, during mating, stimulates the female to ovulate and conceive. During estrus, a female can mate with several males and from them different kittens can be born. The female brings offspring 2-3 times a year. The male does not take part in raising the offspring.

Breeding season / period: year-round.

Puberty: cats at 5-7 months, cats at 4-9 months.

Pregnancy: lasts 63-65 days.

Offspring: the female gives birth to 3-8 blind helpless kittens. The eyes open on day 10. Lactation lasts up to 4 weeks. At 8-14 weeks, kittens become completely independent.

Benefit / harm to humans: in nature, domestic cats regulate the number of rodents. Cats are carriers of a number of diseases that are dangerous to humans, for example, rabies, cat scratch disease, internal parasites, etc.

Cats are the hosts of feline fleas that bite humans as well. Harm by destroying small birds and mammals.

Population / conservation status: The domestic cat is descended from the steppe (Libyan) cat. African feral cats were present in cities over 7,000 years ago; and were domesticated in Egypt about 4000 years ago.

Initially, man tamed the cat to help fight rodents, but perhaps the true domestication had a religious basis.

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