tortoiseshell cat: see cat.

tabby cat: see cat.

jungle cat: see lynx.

domestic shorthair cat: see cat.

coon cat, name for a breed of large domestic cats (also called Maine cats), for the coatimundi, and for the cacomistle.

cat bear: see panda.

cat, name applied broadly to the carnivorous mammals constituting the family Felidae, and specifically to the domestic cat, Felis catus. The great roaring cats, the lion, tiger, and leopard are anatomically very similar to one another and constitute the genus Panthera, which also includes the jaguar and, in some systems, the snow leopard. The clouded leopards, Neofelis, and the cheetah, Acinonyx, are big cats that, like the jaguar and snow leopard, do not roar. The medium-sized and small cats are classified by different zoologists in varying numbers of genera, but in the system most widely used at present they are all put in the single genus Felis, despite the great variation among them. Among these cats are the puma (or cougar), the lynx (including the bobcat), the ocelot, the jaguarundi, the serval, and many small species described by the name cat or wildcat, such as the golden cat and European wildcat, as well as the domestic cat. The small cats are generally ticked, striped, or spotted. Many of them can interbreed with the domestic cat, and some can be tamed if caught young.

Anatomy and Behavior

Of all the carnivores, cats are the most exclusive flesh-eaters and are the most highly adapted for hunting and devouring their prey. All cats have rounded heads, short muzzles, large eyes, sensitive whiskers about the mouth, and erect pointed ears. They have short, wide jaws equipped with long canine teeth and strong molars with sharp cutting edges. Their tongues are coated with sharp recurved projections called papillae that aid in drinking and grooming.

Cats have five toes on the forefeet and four on the hind feet. The fifth toe is set high on the forefoot and does not touch the ground during walking, but it is used in grooming and capturing prey. The ends of the toes bear strong, sharp, curved claws. In all but the cheetah the claws are completely retractile, being withdrawn into protective sheaths when not in use. This mechanism is a distinguishing feature of the cat family, although it occurs in a less developed form in some civets.

All cats, with the exception of the lynx and related species, have long tails which they use for balance. The musculo-skeletal system is extremely flexible, allowing cats to arch and twist their bodies in a variety of ways. Most cats have good vision and are able to see well in very dim light; their color vision is weak. Their sense of hearing is excellent and, at least in the small cats, can detect frequencies of up to 40,000 Hz or higher. The sense of smell is not as highly developed as in the dog; its keenness may vary from one species to another.

Cats are extremely agile; they can run faster than any other mammal for short distances and are remarkable jumpers. They are also good swimmers and members of many species appear to enjoy bathing. All are able to climb trees, but they vary in their behavior from almost exclusively terrestrial (e.g., the lion) to largely arboreal (e.g., the clouded leopards). Most cats stalk their victims with great stealth and silence; even the lion, which lives in open country, usually lies in concealment until it can pounce on its victim. Only the cheetah, the swiftest of all mammals, runs down its prey.

Most are more or less solitary, but cheetahs live in family groups and lions live in groups, called prides, of up to 30 individuals. Cats live in a wide variety of habitats, although they are most numerous in warm climates. Even a single species, such as the tiger, may range from cold northern regions to the tropics. All continents except Australia and Antarctica have native species.

Domestic Cats

Cats have been domesticated since prehistoric times, perhaps for 10,000 years; there is evidence (from a Neolithic grave on Cyprus) of some sort of association with humans dating back to the 8th cent. B.C. Cats have been greatly valued as destroyers of vermin, as well as for their ornamental qualities. The ancient Egyptian domestic cat, which spread to Europe in historic times, was used as a retriever in hunting as well as for catching rats and mice. It and the modern domestic cat, F. catus, are descended from Felis sylvestris lybica, the Near Eastern subspecies of the wildcat. The domestic cat can and does interbreed with the five subspecies of wildcat found in Eurasia and Africa. Cats were venerated in the ancient Egyptian and Norse religions, and they have also been the object of superstitious fear, especially in the Middle Ages, when they were tortured and burned as witches.

Cats vary considerably in size; males commonly weigh 9 to 14 lb (4.1-6.4 kg) and females 6 to 10 lb (2.2-4.5 kg). They have coats of varying length and a wide variety of colors: black, white, and many shades of red, yellow, brown, and gray. A cat may be solid-colored or have patches or shadings of a second color. An extremely common pattern, probably derived from wild ancestors, is tabby: a red, brown, or gray background, striped with a lighter shade of the same color. The tortoiseshell pattern is a mixture of red, yellow, and black patches. The calico pattern is similar, but with large patches of white.

Recognized Breeds

Besides the common house cat, with its natural variation, the species F. catus includes recognized breeds with characteristics maintained by breeders and fanciers through selective mating. Breeds are established when particular traits breed true for several generations; the known lineage of an animal is called its pedigree. Cat fanciers' associations set standards, establish pedigrees, and conduct cat shows. There are seven such associations in the United States, one in Canada, and one in Great Britain. The short-haired breeds are in general more slender and active than the long-haired.

The long-haired breeds are the Persian and Himalayan; angora is an old term denoting any long-haired cat. Persians may be black, white, or any of a great variety of colors, including calico, tortoiseshell, tabby, and cameo (cream with red shadings). The Himalayan breed resulted from the crossing of a Siamese with a Persian cat; Himalayans have the stocky bodies and long hair of Persians, with Siamese coloring.

All other breeds are short-haired. Abyssinians have long bodies and ruddy brown coats with ticking (marking on each hair) of darker brown or black. They are thought to be the most unchanged descendants of the ancient Egyptian domestic cat. Siamese are slender cats with almond-shaped blue eyes, and white, cream, or fawn-colored coats with brown or gray areas, called points, on the feet, tail, ears, and face. Show Siamese are divided according to color of their coats and markings into seal-, chocolate-, blue-, lilac-, and red-point types. Burmese are small, muscular, roundheaded cats with medium to dark brown coats. Manx are tailless cats of various colors; their hind legs are longer than their forelegs, so that the rump is elevated. They probably arose by mutation on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, although tailless cats also occur in the Orient. The Russian Blue has bright green eyes and an evenly blue-gray coat, distinguished for having two layers of short, thick fur. The Rex is a recent breed resulting from mutation and is the only curly-haired cat. Its short, woolly coat may be any color. Domestic shorthair is also a recognized category in American cat shows; cats of this group differ from the common household cat only in having known parentage for at least two generations.

The Maine coon cat is a non-pedigreed strain of large domestic cats found in Maine and believed to be descended from Persians; coon cats weigh up to 25 lb (11.3 kg). Maltese does not connote a breed but is a name applied indiscriminately to gray cats. In 2006 an American biotechnology firm began selling cats that did not have the glycoprotein that causes an allergic response in humans; the animals had been selectively bred from cats that naturally lacked the allergen.

Classification

Cats are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Felidae.

cameo cat: see cat.

calico cat: see cat.

angora cat: see cat.

Siamese cat: see cat.

Russian Blue cat: see cat.

Rex cat: see cat.

Persian cat: see cat.

Manx cat: see cat.

Maltese cat: see cat.

Maine coon cat: see cat.

Kit-Cat Club, London political and literary club, active c.1700-1720. The membership of some four dozen included leading Whig politicians and London's best young writers. Among them were Charles Seymour, 6th duke of Somerset; Sir Robert Walpole; Thomas Pelham-Holles, duke of Newcastle; William Congreve; Joseph Addison; Sir Richard Steele; and Sir Godfrey Kneller, who did portraits of the members. The club was the center of opposition during Queen Anne's Tory ministry (1710-14).

Himalayan cat: see cat.

Cat Island: see San Salvador, island.

CAT scan [computerized axial tomography], X-ray technique that allows relatively safe, painless, and rapid diagnosis in previously inaccessible areas of the body; also called CT scan. An X-ray tube, rotating around a specific area of the body, delivers an appropriate amount of X radiation for the tissue being studied and takes pictures of that part of the internal anatomy from different angles. More recent scanners have a stationary X-ray tube and use deflecting coils and special reflectors to position the X-ray beam. A computer program is then used to form a composite, readable image. CAT scanning has revolutionized medicine, especially neurology, by facilitating the diagnosis of brain and spinal cord disorders, cancer, and other conditions. Ultrafast CT, or electron beam CT, is able to take pictures in a tenth of a second. It is useful in creating images of moving parts, such as the heart, without blurring.

Burmese cat: see cat.

Abyssinian cat: see cat.

Breed of domestic cat. Show standards call for a sturdily built cat with strong-boned legs, a round head, round eyes, and ears that are rounded at the tips. The coat must be short and may be of almost any colour or pattern. Some colours, such as blue cream, are infrequently found in shorthairs; others, such as tabby (stripes and mottled patterns in silver, brown, blue, and red), are common.

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or sabre-toothed cat

Any of the extinct cat species forming the subfamily Machairodontinae. They had two long, bladelike canine teeth in the upper jaw. They lived from 36.6 million years ago to about 10,000 years ago, arising in North America and Europe and spreading to Asia, Africa, and South America. The best-known, the short-limbed Smilodon of the Americas, was bigger than the modern lion. Its “sabres,” which grew to 8 in. (20 cm) long, were used to stab and slash prey, including the mastodon, whose pattern of extinction paralleled their own.

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or house cat

Domesticated carnivore (Felis catus) that retains many characteristics of the larger wild cats but differs in coat and size. Breeds are either shorthaired (e.g., Siamese) or longhaired (e.g., Persian). Domestic cats are usually white, black, yellow, or gray and sometimes have markings of a different colour. A pattern of dark stripes or swirls on a lighter background is called tabby. Males may reach lengths of 28 in. (71 cm), and females are usually about 20 in. (51 cm) long. Weights generally vary from 6 to 10 lb (2.5 to 4.5 kg), though nonpedigreed cats may weigh up to 28 lb (13 kg). The most closely related wild species are the North African wildcats (including Felix lybica). Valued for their mouse and rat hunting, which protected farmers' grain supplies, cats were being domesticated in ancient Egypt by 1500 BC. The Cat Fanciers' Association now recognizes about 37 breeds.

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Rare species of marten (Martes pennanti, family Mustelidae) found in northern forests of North America. The fisher is related to weasels and is similarly shaped. It has a bushy tail, tapered muzzle and low, rounded ears. Adults are usually 20–25 in. (50–63 cm) long, excluding the 13–17-in. (33–43-cm) tail, and weigh 3–15 lb (1.4–6.8 kg). Fishers hunt on the ground and in trees, attacking various rodents and other animals; they also eat fruits and sometimes nuts. It has been trapped for its valuable brownish black fur.

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(born Feb. 17, 1890, East Finchley, Middlesex, Eng.—died July 29, 1962, Adelaide, S.Aus., Austl.) British statistician and geneticist. As statistician for an agricultural research institute, he investigated the linkage of genes for different traits. To avoid unintentional bias in selection of materials used in experiments, he introduced the principle of randomization. It states that before an experimental effect can be attributed to a given cause or treatment, the experiment must be repeated on control units of the material and that all material used in experiments must be selected at random from the whole population it intends to represent. He also developed the concept of the analysis of variance, a statistical procedure used to design experiments that answer several questions at once.

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(born Feb. 27, 1867, Saugerties, N.Y., U.S.—died April 29, 1947, New Haven, Conn.) U.S. economist best known for his work in the field of capital theory. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University. As a professor at Yale (1892–1935), he examined the relationship between changes in the quantity of money and the general level of prices. He also promoted the concept of the “compensated dollar”—a dollar of constant purchasing power, defined in terms of an index of commodity prices rather than in terms of a given weight of gold. Seealso price index.

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(born Feb. 17, 1890, East Finchley, Middlesex, Eng.—died July 29, 1962, Adelaide, S.Aus., Austl.) British statistician and geneticist. As statistician for an agricultural research institute, he investigated the linkage of genes for different traits. To avoid unintentional bias in selection of materials used in experiments, he introduced the principle of randomization. It states that before an experimental effect can be attributed to a given cause or treatment, the experiment must be repeated on control units of the material and that all material used in experiments must be selected at random from the whole population it intends to represent. He also developed the concept of the analysis of variance, a statistical procedure used to design experiments that answer several questions at once.

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(born Feb. 27, 1867, Saugerties, N.Y., U.S.—died April 29, 1947, New Haven, Conn.) U.S. economist best known for his work in the field of capital theory. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University. As a professor at Yale (1892–1935), he examined the relationship between changes in the quantity of money and the general level of prices. He also promoted the concept of the “compensated dollar”—a dollar of constant purchasing power, defined in terms of an index of commodity prices rather than in terms of a given weight of gold. Seealso price index.

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(born April 9, 1758, Dedham, Mass.—died July 4, 1808, Dedham, Mass., U.S.) U.S. essayist and Federalist politician. He graduated from Harvard College in 1774 and taught school for five years before turning to the law; he was admitted to the bar in 1781. Supporting the creation of a strong central government, Ames argued for ratification of the new U.S. Constitution at the Massachusetts constitutional convention. He became known for his uncompromising advocacy of the rights of property and his protective attitude toward commercial interests, which he defended in trenchant writing and commanding speech. In 1788 he defeated Samuel Adams for a seat in the first session of the U.S. House of Representatives; he was reelected three times. His eloquent support of the treaty negotiated by John Jay to preserve peace with England (1794) convinced the House to pass an enabling appropriation.

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(born April 9, 1758, Dedham, Mass.—died July 4, 1808, Dedham, Mass., U.S.) U.S. essayist and Federalist politician. He graduated from Harvard College in 1774 and taught school for five years before turning to the law; he was admitted to the bar in 1781. Supporting the creation of a strong central government, Ames argued for ratification of the new U.S. Constitution at the Massachusetts constitutional convention. He became known for his uncompromising advocacy of the rights of property and his protective attitude toward commercial interests, which he defended in trenchant writing and commanding speech. In 1788 he defeated Samuel Adams for a seat in the first session of the U.S. House of Representatives; he was reelected three times. His eloquent support of the treaty negotiated by John Jay to preserve peace with England (1794) convinced the House to pass an enabling appropriation.

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Any of 15–20 species of long-bodied, short-legged carnivores (family Viverridae) found in Africa, southern Europe, and Asia. Catlike in appearance, civets have a thickly furred tail, small ears, and pointed snout. Civets are commonly buff or grayish, with black spots or stripes or both. They range in length from 16 to 34 in. (40–85 cm), excluding the 5–26-in. (13–66-cm) tail, and in weight from 3.3 to 24 lbs (1.5–11 kg). Civets mark territories with a greasy, musklike secretion (called civet) stored in a pouch under the tail; civet is sometimes used in the manufacture of perfumes. Usually solitary, civets feed on small animals and on vegetable matter. Five species are considered in possible danger of extinction.

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or cat bear or bear cat

Long-tailed nocturnal raccoonlike carnivore (Ailurus fulgens, family Procyonidae) that inhabits high mountain forests in the Himalayas and adjacent eastern Asia. It is 20–26 in. (50–65 cm) long, excluding the 12–20-in. (30–50-cm) bushy, faintly ringed tail. It weighs 6–10 lbs (3–4.5 kg) and has soft, thick, reddish brown fur. The face is white, with a red-brown stripe from the eyes to the mouth. It eats plants, especially bamboo, and fruits and insects. Though an agile climber, it mostly feeds while on the ground.

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Breed of stocky, round-headed domestic cat that has a long, silky coat (many colours possible), large round eyes, snub nose, and thick ruff. The breed is often referred to as the longhair.

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Breed of domestic cat believed to have come from the Isle of Man. Affectionate, loyal, and courageous, the compact Manx is distinguished by its taillessness and hopping gait. The rump is distinctly higher than the shoulders because the hind legs are longer than the forelegs. The Manx may be born with a tail, but ideally it should be tailless. The double coat may be any of several colours.

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Breed of domestic cat, presumably of Asian origin. Compactly built, it has a small, rounded head and wide-set, round, yellow eyes. The short, finely textured, glossy coat darkens as it matures from milk-chocolate to a rich sable brown and is paler on the underside; the ears, face, legs, and tail may be darker. The tapered tail may be kinked near the tip.

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