Mary Allen
Our domestic cats are usually just called cats. They come in all different colors and with short or long hair. They are descended from the African wild cat and belong to the cat family and thus to the mammals. So they are closely related to the lion, the tiger, and many other species.
Humans have kept house cats for 10,000 years. In the beginning, the reason was probably that cats catch mice. Mice eat not only grain but almost any food they can find in a house. People are therefore happy about a cat that ensures that there are fewer mice.
But many people also like to keep a cat as an animal to pet. In ancient Egypt, cats were even worshiped as gods. Cat mummies were found. So some cats were prepared for life after death just like pharaohs and other important people.
What are cats good at?
Cats are hunters and can move very quickly. Some cats can do up to 50 kilometers per hour. That’s as fast as a car driving in a city. Cats don’t see broadly like horses, only what’s in front of them. A cat sees six times better than a human in the dark. Even more astounding, however, is their hearing. Hardly any other mammal has such a good one. The cat can turn its ears and listen to a certain place.
Cats can smell a little worse than dogs. They have an excellent sense of touch. The long hairs around the mouth are called “tactile hairs” or “whiskers”. They have very sensitive nerves at the bottom. They perceive whether a passage is too narrow or just enough.
Cats have a particularly good sense of balance. This allows them to balance well over branches. In addition, they are absolutely free from giddiness. If they do fall somewhere, they can very quickly roll over onto their stomachs and land on their paws. Cats don’t have collarbones. This makes their shoulders more flexible and they cannot injure themselves even in the event of a crash from a great height.
How do cats behave?
Cats are predators. They mostly hunt alone because their prey is small: mammals such as mice, birds, and sometimes insects, fish, amphibians, and reptiles. For climbing and hunting, they use their claws, which are usually hidden in their paws.
It used to be thought that cats mostly lived alone. You see that differently today. Where there are several cats, and they live peacefully together in groups. These consist of related females with their small and larger young. It just doesn’t tolerate too many males in a group.
How do domestic cats have their young?
Some breeds are ready to breed after half a year, while others take up to two years. The males are called tomcats. You can smell if a female is ready for it. Usually, several tomcats fight for a female. In the end, however, the female determines which tomcat is allowed to mate with her.
A female cat carries her kittens in her belly for nine weeks. During the last week, it is looking for a place to give birth. This is often their favorite person’s room. The first time a cat gives birth to two to three kittens, later up to ten. Of so many, however, a few usually die.
The mother feeds her young animals with her milk for about a month and keeps them warm. After about a week they open their eyes. But they can only see really well after about ten weeks. Then they explore the immediate surroundings, later the wider ones. The mother also teaches the young to hunt: she brings live prey to the nest for the young to hunt for. Kittens should be able to stay with their mother and siblings for about three months to ensure their healthy development.