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IT'S A CATS' LIFE

 

Robert D. Morritt

 

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          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,