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Popularity Of Cats And Cat Family
By chetan gupta, Fri Dec 9th
Cats outnumbered dogs by millions as house pets in USA , UK andmany countries of Europe. In USA alone, there are about sixtymillion cats kept as pets. In USA, thirty seven percent ofhouses are having at least one pet cat. In UK about twenty fivepercent of houses are having at least one pet cat. In Australia,twenty six percent of houses are having at least one pet cat.There are more than seven million pet cats in UK. In Canada,there are about five million domestic cats. There are about fivehundred million pet cats in the world. Cats are also widelydomesticated in other parts of the world such as Russia,Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, Israel, Japan, SouthAfrica, all European Countries and many other countries of theworld. In India also, many people are keeping cats as pets. Theearliest ancestor of the cat was the miacis, which lived overfifty five million years ago. The miacis had a long body andtail, short legs and looked somewhat like a weasel. The ancestorof all domestic cats is African wild cat. All domestic cats aremembers of same species, Felis Catus. African wild cats werefound in fossil form as early as thirty eight million years ago.Cats are one of the oldest mammals on the earth. The cat familyincludes large members such as Lion, Tiger , Leopard , Cheetah ,Cougar, Jaguar, Panther and Lynx. Other small members of catfamily include European wild cat, Kodkod, Pampas cat, Geoffroy'scat, Tiger cat, Puma, Ocelot, Bobcat, Jaguarundi, Margay, Andeanmountain cat, Leopard cat, Jungle cat, cat, Pallas'scat, Rusty-spotted cat, Marbled cat, Bay cat, Iriomote cat,Temminck's golden cat, Flat-headed cat, Chinese desert cat, Sandcat, Caracal, African wild cat, Serval, African golden cat andBlack-footed cat. There are about forty different species ofwild cat. The domestic cat is one of the species of cat. Thesand cat found mainly in Africa burrow into the sand to protectthemselves from the heat of the sun during the day. Many wildcats also live in caves. The cat found in India andPakistan finds
most of its prey in the water. The cat isexcellent swimmer. The cat catches fishes, frogs andreptiles and feeds on them. The Cheetah is the world's fastestmammal. The Cheetah can run up to speed of seventy miles an hourover short distances. A cheetah may also pursue a prey for aconsiderable distance, as much as 5.5 kilometers. The Puma orPanther or Cougar is a sandy colored cat which is an excellentclimber and can get up into the lower branches of trees with onegraceful leap. The cats have developed their own camouflage,their coats blending to their environment and suited to theirhabitat. For example, the sand cat has a pale ticked coat whichblends admirably into its surroundings. Other examples ofcamouflage are Bay cat, Pampas cat and Clouded Leopard cat. Catslove to sit in high places. The life span of a pet cat variesfrom about fifteen to twenty years but some pet cats live formore than thirty years. The average life span of an outdoor catis from two to three years whereas the average life span of anindoor cat is about twenty years. Neutered cats live longer thannon neutered ones, partly because they have less desire to roam.Outdoor cats die earlier as compared to indoor cats due to lackof treatment of diseases, parasites, cruel people, roadaccidents, pesticides, dogs, strong poisons like rat poisons.Most USA cat experts like Cat Fancier's Association and humaneorganisations are continually trying to reach the public withthe message that keeping a cat indoors protects him from diseaseand other means of danger. A pet cat of England died at the ageof thirty six years. For downloading cat movies, catscreensavers and cat desktop mate on your computer visit thewebsite http://www.whataboutcats.com/. About the author:I am owner and webmaster of website http://www.catswelfare.org.Iam working in SPCA Mumbai for the past seven years.I am also acat dentist.
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