| IT'S A CATS' LIFE   Robert
  D. Morritt   Availability             Cats make wonderful companions so
  in tune with nature. They have  strong, flexible  bodies, quick reflexes, sharp
  retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. They  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 and have a better sense of smell
  than humans.  Despite being solitary
  hunters, cats are a social species, Cats have a rapid breeding rate. Failure
  to control the breeding of pet cats by neutering, and the abandonment of
  former household pets, has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide,
  requiring population control.  Cats
  were cult animals in ancient Egypt, they were commonly believed to have been
  domesticated there and may have been domesticated as  early as the
  Neolithic period (around  9500 years ago.)   A recent genetic study  concluded that domestic cats are
  descended from African wildcats (Felis
  silvestris lybica) c. 8000 BC, in the Near East. Cats are the most
  popular pet in the world, and are now found in almost every place where
  humans reside,   |