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,
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