Have you ever needed to know very important information about your cat? Well, this paper will be able to help you out. It will tell the origin and history of the animal. You will also learn how the animals got here and that they basically brought themselves over here to settle down and domesticate. It will tell you how they have evolved. It will also tell the important roles they play in society and any other interesting information you will need to know.
Cats have been around for a very long time. On the island of Cyprus in 1983, archaeologists found a cat’s jawbone that they seem to have found dated back to about 8,000 years ago. They have done research and have found that they have been domesticated more than 8,000 years ago because they don’t think humans would have brought them over by boats. On Cyprus in 2004, they have found a buried cat that they think was even older than 8,000 years ago, so they pushed back the finding date another 1,500 years. All domestic cats have evolved from the Middle Eastern wildcats. They now recently believe they had been domesticated over 12,000 years ago based on recent studies.
Cats only became useful to people when they began to settle down. When they started having grain stores, mice came around. The cats were very happy to have mice as prey and cats soon began to get rid of the pests which made the people very happy. Carlos Driscoll said, “We think what happened is that the cats sort of domesticated themselves.” They said that the cats sort of invited themselves in and adapted to their new environment. Since then, they have reproduced and have made over a dozen new breeds of house cats. There are 90 million domesticated cats in the U.S. There is around 34% of cats in homes here in the United States.
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Cats are the smallest member of the family felidae. The site says, “Like all felids, domestic cats are characterized by supple low-slung bodies, finely molded heads, long tails that aid in balance, and specialized teeth and claws that adapt them admirably to a life of active hunting.” I think this is very helpful because they aren’t as big as dogs so they can’t protect as easy. They use their hisses and bodies to intimidate people to being scared of them and to protect their humans.
For awhile now cats have been associated with human cultures. They have played a role in religion and witchcraft for awhile now. The word cat was only mentioned in the apocryphal Letter of Jeremiah in the Bible. They named a cat headed goddess Bast or Bastet. In Egypt, they had mouse mummies that were a source of food for cats while they also found cat mummies too. Cats have been linked to witchcraft with thinking that there are too many cats to count. Throughout times, they have said that cats are the most mistreated animals. For a long time they have thought that black cats have supernatural powers and are related to witches. Another interesting thing is that cats have been familiar figures in nursery rhymes.
The average weight of a housecat is about 6-10 pounds. Non pedigreed cats can weigh up to 28 pounds. The average length of a male cat is about 28 inches for males and about 20 inches for females. Cats are carnivores, they have a simple gut, and the small intestine is about three times the length of the body. Cats skin has a dermis and an epidermis that fights off infections very fast. The site says, “Tiny erector muscles, attached to hair follicles, enable the cat to bristle all over. Thus, although the cat is a relatively small animal, it can frighten enemies by arching its back, bristling, and hissing.”
Cats have very large and developed brains. Cats run or walk by moving the front and back first leg on one side then the other front and back leg on the other side. They are so coordinated that they almost always land on their feet no matter how they are dropped. Cats also don’t have any flat crowned teeth so they cannot chew up their food.
Instead of chewing it up it just cuts it up for them so they can swallow their food. Their teeth are basically nonfunctional and their mouth doesn’t meet when it is closed.
Cats are normally nocturnal, their retinas are very sensitive to light, and are covered by guanine and that causes the eye to shine very bright at night when light is put on them. The website says, “Cats have a third eyelid, or nictitating membrane, commonly called the haw. Its appearance is used frequently as an indicator of the cat’s general state of health.”
The website says, “The cat has a subtle repertoire of facial expressions, vocal sounds, and tail and body postures that express its emotional state and intentions.” They use their scent glands to specify different odors. It also says, “The tongue of all cats, which has a patch of sharp, backward-directed spines called filiform papillae near the tip, has the appearance and feel of a coarse file; the spines help the cat to groom itself.” Domestic cats purr unlike how lions roar. Purring is a way of showing pleasure or contentness and also can represent a cat that is injured and is in pain.
Some behavioral problems of cats are peeing outside of the litter box which can be from organic causes, claw curtains or furniture, licking or grooming other felines or their human companions which can be caused by trying to relax or when a cat is taken away from its mother too soon or they are malnourished. The website also says, “Pica—a hunger for nonnutritive substances—may be a symptom of the need for more roughage in the diet or of feline leukemia or other health problems.” This could cause the cat to vomit after eating, it could be caused by a hairball, a food allergy, organic causes, or feline leukemia.
Cats have many uses in society. Some of the uses include being a family household animal, being used in research, testing and teaching. In 2016, they used 18,898 cats were used in those types of research. Since 2015, that was a 5% decrease of animals used in researches and a 75% decrease since 1974. Of the Animal Welfare Act-covered species used in research in 2016, 2.3% of them were cats. Since 1974, the amount of animals used in research has decreased by almost 25,000 cats. They have also been used in researches for neurological studies for vision and hearing. These tests are used to study immunodeficiency diseases. The website says, “Most cats used in research are purchased from Class A dealers, licensed breeders that sell “purpose-bred” cats specifically for research, in part because the National Institutes of Health (NIH) implemented a policy prohibiting the procurement of cats from Class B dealers using NIH grant funds beginning in FY2012” They spent about $475-$2,500 to buy each animal.
In closing, cats have many uses in their life. They can be companion animals for people to love and take care of, they can be guide cats or for people with mental health problems, they can be used in research, and they have made their ways over here and since then it has changed our lives. Cats are the most owned pets throughout the world. They used to help to keep rats out of peoples workplaces back in the day and it really helped them to be successful.
Works Cited
- “Cats in Research.” National Anti-Vivisection Society, www.navs.org/what-we-do/keep-you-informed/science-corner/animals-used-in-research/cats-in-research/#.W9HS22hKjrc.
- Fox, Michael W. “Cat.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1 May 2018, www.britannica.com/animal/cat.
- Zax, David. “A Brief History of House Cats.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 30 June 2007, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-house-cats-158390681/.
