In-depth cat product reviews, behavior guides, and vet-written education on symptoms, diseases, and more.

Did you know that cat not even a century ago, few cats lived entirely indoors at all? Community cats live full, healthy lives in their outdoor homes. If you live in New York City and are hoping to adopt from us, check out the cats available at our Adoption Center. Polydactyl cats have six, seven, or sometimes even more.

• As long as they are not competing for limited food resources, they can form close-knit groups that are usually composed of the mother cat and her kittens and related females.
• ©2026 This website is owned and operated by Cliverse Media DAO LTD.
• This helps explain why cats are very flexible.
• The Cat-Book Poems, a document dating from the Ayutthayan period (1351–1767) in Ayudhya, Siam (now in Thailand), contains illustrations and descriptions of various cats.
• The cat (Felis catus), also called domestic cat and house cat, is a small carnivorous mammal.

Cat Age Chart: Cat Years to Human Years Calculator

They should not be confused with standardized breeds with similar names, such as the British Shorthair and Oriental Longhair. Some registries such as the Cat Fanciers' Association allow for domestic short hairs and domestic long hairs to be registered for the purpose of outcrossing. Also, "Colourpoint Longhair" refers to different breeds in other registries. As of 2023, the International Cat Association (TICA) recognizes 75 standardized breeds, the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 45, the Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) recognizes 50, the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) recognizes 45, and the World Cat Federation (WCF) recognizes 69.

• During the Late Miocene and early Pliocene, machairodontines were the dominant cats and large mammalian predators across Afro-Eurasia and North America, with ancestors of living cats generally being small at this time.
• Everyone believes their cat is a special little creature.
• Central and South American cats have a haploid number of 18, possibly due to the combination of two smaller chromosomes into a larger one.
• A hairball is a small amount of fur that is vomited up by animals when it becomes too big.
• Outdoor cats are more likely to become infested with fleas or ticks, as well as contract infectious diseases.
• 🐛 (SubwayNav) Assign width to SubwayNav for Custom Page specific issue

Signs of a Sick Cat or Dog

They will also need access to clean water, meat-based cat food and regular grooming, as well as private access to a litter tray, which should ideally be replaced once a week. For instance, why does my cat only care for whole wheat bread while ignoring white bread? There's still so much we don't know about cats and their behaviors.

The domestic cat hunts and eats over a thousand species, many of them invertebrates, especially insects. This can be seen in the difference in body and vocal language it uses with the human, when compared to how it communicates with other cats in the household, for example. Not only males will fight; females will also fight over territory or to defend their kittens, and even neutered cats will defend their (smaller) territories aggressively.

We hope you and your family enjoy the NEW Britannica Kids. A newborn kitten is about 3 inches (8 centimeters) long. A female may have two to three litters a year. Many hunt and eat small animals, including birds, mice, and rabbits. Other breeds, including the Persian, have long, thick coats.

Dominant and recessive genes

Outdoor cats are more likely to become infested with fleas or ticks, as well as contract infectious diseases. Outdoor cats are at risk of trauma from cars, or from fights with other cats, raccoons and free-roaming dogs. Most cats stay relatively clean and rarely need a bath, but you should brush or comb your cat regularly. Factors such as age, activity level and health make a difference in what and how much a cat should eat. We recommend purchasing high-quality, brand-name kitten or cat food.

Because ovulation is not always triggered, females may not get pregnant by the first cat which mates with them. Cats only mate when the female cat is "in heat". House cats have also been known to teach themselves to use lever-type doorknobs and toilet handles. Although cats can have many different colourings, they genetically can only have two coat colours, orange and black. The carpal pad is also found on other cats and on dogs. Most cats have five claws on their front paws, and four on their rear paws.