Afternoon Tea is arguably the best contribution the British have made to cuisine. A lovely tradition My upcoming new book will provide all you need to know, whether. MSN Health and Fitness has fitness, nutrition and medical information for men and women that will help you get active, eat right and improve your overall wellbeing. The domestic cat is believed to have evolved from the Near Eastern wildcat, whose range covers vast portions of the Middle East westward to the Atlantic coast of Africa. BackgroundObservational cohort studies and a secondary prevention trial have shown an inverse association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and. In looking at my reading choices over the past couple of months, I have realized that I have GOT to add some more middle grade books into my reading diet! Changes in Diet and Lifestyle and Long-Term Weight Gain in Women and Men. Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Dr.P.H., Tao Hao, M.P.H., Eric B. Cat - Wikipedia. The domestic cat. They are often called house cats when kept as indoor pets or simply cats when there is no need to distinguish them from other felids and felines. There are more than 7. Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with a strong flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. Cat senses fit a crepuscular and predatory ecological niche. Cats can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small animals. They can see in near darkness. Like most other mammals, cats have poorer color vision and a better sense of smell than humans.
Cats, despite being solitary hunters, are a social species and cat communication includes the use of a variety of vocalizations (mewing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting), as well as cat pheromones and types of cat- specific body language. Failure to control the breeding of pet cats by neutering, as well as the abandonment of former household pets, has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, requiring population control. Cats have been known to extirpate a bird species within specific regions and may have contributed to the extinction of isolated island populations. Within this family, domestic cats (Felis catus) are part of the genus. Felis, which is a group of small cats containing about seven species (depending upon classification scheme). Erxleben in 1. 77. The earliest evidence of felines as Egyptian deities comes from a c. BC. In comparison to dogs, cats have not undergone major changes during the domestication process, as the form and behavior of the domestic cat is not radically different from those of wildcats and domestic cats are perfectly capable of surviving in the wild. This limited evolution during domestication means that hybridisation can occur with many other felids, notably the Asian leopard cat. Two main theories are given about how cats were domesticated. In one, people deliberately tamed cats in a process of artificial selection as they were useful predators of vermin. An alternative word with cognates in many languages is English 'puss' ('pussycat'). Attested only from the 1. Dutchpoes or from Low Germanpuuskatte, related to Swedishkattepus, or Norwegianpus, pusekatt. Similar forms exist in Lithuanian pui. The etymology of this word is unknown, but it may have simply arisen from a sound used to attract a cat. The male progenitor of a cat, especially a pedigreed cat, is its . A purebred cat is one whose ancestry contains only individuals of the same breed. Many pedigreed and especially purebred cats are exhibited as show cats. Cats of unrecorded, mixed ancestry are referred to as domestic short- haired or domestic long- haired cats, by coat type, or commonly as random- bred, moggies (chiefly British), or (using terms borrowed from dog breeding) mongrels or mutt- cats. While the African wildcat is the ancestral subspecies from which domestic cats are descended, and wildcats and domestic cats can completely interbreed (being subspecies of the same species), several intermediate stages occur between domestic pet and pedigree cats on one hand and entirely wild animals on the other. The semiferal cat, a mostly outdoor cat, is not owned by any one individual, but is generally friendly to people and may be fed by several households. Feral cats are associated with human habitation areas and may be fed by people or forage for food, but are typically wary of human interaction. Conversely, very small cats, less than 2 kg (4 lb), have been reported. In the Boston area, the average feral adult male will weigh 4 kg (9 lb) and average feral female 3 kg (7 lb). Attached to the spine are 1. When it overpowers its prey, a cat delivers a lethal neck bite with its two long canine teeth, inserting them between two of the prey's vertebrae and severing its spinal cord, causing irreversible paralysis and death. These are vital in feeding, since cats' small molars cannot chew food effectively, and cats are largely incapable of mastication. They walk directly on their toes, with the bones of their feet making up the lower part of the visible leg. This also provides sure footing for their hind paws when they navigate rough terrain. Unlike most mammals, when cats walk, they use a . This trait is shared with camels and giraffes. As a walk speeds up into a trot, a cat's gait changes to be a . This keeps the claws sharp by preventing wear from contact with the ground and allows the silent stalking of prey. The claws on the fore feet are typically sharper than those on the hind feet. They may extend their claws in hunting or self- defense, climbing, kneading, or for extra traction on soft surfaces. Most cats have five claws on their front paws, and four on their rear paws. More proximally is a protrusion which appears to be a sixth . This special feature of the front paws, on the inside of the wrists, is the carpal pad, also found on the paws of big cats and dogs. It has no function in normal walking, but is thought to be an antiskidding device used while jumping. Some breeds of cats are prone to polydactyly (extra toes and claws). Cats have minimal ability to sweat, with glands located primarily in their paw pads. A cat's body temperature does not vary throughout the day; this is part of cats' general lack of circadian rhythms and may reflect their tendency to be active both during the day and at night. However, some of these products still fail to provide all the nutrients cats require. A proposed explanation is that cats use grass as a source of folic acid. Another proposed explanation is that it is used to supply dietary fiber, helping the cat defecate more easily and expel parasites and other harmful material through feces and vomit. Unlike some big cats, such as tigers, domestic cats have slit pupils. However, this appears to be an adaptation to low light levels rather than representing true trichromatic vision. They can hear higher- pitched sounds than either dogs or humans, detecting frequencies from 5. Hz to 7. 9,0. 00 Hz, a range of 1. Cats' hearing is also sensitive and among the best of any mammal. Cats also have a distinct temperature preference for their food, preferring food with a temperature around 1. These provide information on the width of gaps and on the location of objects in the dark, both by touching objects directly and by sensing air currents; they also trigger protective blink reflexes to protect the eyes from damage. In the wild, a higher place may serve as a concealed site from which to hunt; domestic cats may strike prey by pouncing from a perch such as a tree branch, as does a leopard. During a fall from a high place, a cat can reflexively twist its body and right itself using its acute sense of balance and flexibility. An individual cat always rights itself in the same way, provided it has the time to do so, during a fall. The height required for this to occur is around 9. Cats without a tail (e. Manx cats) also have this ability, since a cat mostly moves its hind legs and relies on conservation of angular momentum to set up for landing, and the tail is little used for this feat. In the early 1. 98. Vaccinations are available for many of these diseases, and domestic cats are regularly given treatments to eliminate parasites such as worms and fleas. For example, the painkiller paracetamol (or acetaminophen, sold as Tylenol and Panadol) is extremely toxic to cats: even very small doses need immediate treatment and can be fatal. Pine- Sol, Dettol/Lysol or hexachlorophene). The daily duration of sleep varies, usually between 1. Some cats can sleep as much as 2. While asleep, cats experience short periods of rapid eye movement sleep often accompanied by muscle twitches, which suggests they are dreaming. Outside these neutral areas, territory holders usually chase away stranger cats, at first by staring, hissing, and growling, and if that does not work, by short but noisy and violent attacks. Despite some cats cohabiting in colonies, they do not have a social survival strategy, or a pack mentality, and always hunt alone. In particular, older cats may show aggressiveness towards newly arrived kittens, which may include biting and scratching; this type of behavior is known as feline asocial aggression. Ethologically, the human keeper of a cat may function as a sort of surrogate for the cat's mother. The high- pitched sounds housecats make to solicit food may mimic the cries of a hungry human infant, making them particularly hard for humans to ignore. The tail and ears are particularly important social signal mechanisms in cats. Tail- raising also indicates the cat's position in the group's social hierarchy, with dominant individuals raising their tails less often than subordinate animals. Post- nursing cats often purr as a sign of contentment: when being petted, becoming relaxed. The mechanism by which cats purr is elusive. The cat has no unique anatomical feature that is clearly responsible for the sound. However, felids of the Panthera genus (tiger, lion, jaguar, and leopard) also produce sounds similar to purring, but only when exhaling. These contain keratin which makes them rigid. Some cats, particularly longhaired cats, occasionally regurgitate hairballs of fur that have collected in their stomachs from grooming. These clumps of fur are usually sausage- shaped and about 2–3 cm (0. Hairballs can be prevented with remedies that ease elimination of the hair through the gut, as well as regular grooming of the coat with a comb or stiff brush. In such cases, most fights are won by the heavier male. Neutering will decrease or eliminate this behavior in many cases, suggesting that the behavior is linked to sex hormones. They may also vocalize loudly and bare their teeth in an effort to further intimidate their opponent. Fights usually consist of grappling and delivering powerful slaps to the face and body with the forepaws as well as bites.
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