Here Kitty, Kitty!

Have you ever wondered where our domestic cats come from? Most scientists believe they are descendants of the African wildcat, Felis lybica lybica. The African wildcat is mostly sandy-grey with stripes on its tail, legs, and sides. The domestic cat’s scientific is Felis catus. The original cats probably volunteered to hang around humans instead of us domesticating them. They helped us by hunting mice around our houses and grain storage areas. Variations were spread around the world on ships because the sailors kept them on the ship to keep the mice populations down. Now you can find them all around the world.

Killing mice on ships was a good thing, but on many islands the cats have killed many of the rare creatures that live there. It is very important that we are careful where we take them.

House cats are meat eaters, just like their bigger cousins. They sleep 13-16 hours a day. They love to lick themselves to stay clean. It’s called grooming. Cats can turn their ears backwards so they can hear animals all around them. They can meow and purr, but domestic cats don’t roar. They have toes with retractable claws to help them climb. Their whiskers help them sense things and measure the openings of small places. A cat mother can give birth to 4-6 kittens in a litter. They are born with their eyes closed and cannot hear. They are entirely dependent on their mother for several months. Did you know that a group of cats is called a clowder? That’s a funny name.

There are many varieties of cats now. They can range from the simple black cat to the sophisticated Himalayan, to a cat called a “sphinx” that is completely hairless! Here is a chart with just a few. Your Papaw is not really a cat person, but I do think the Himalayan cats look pretty cool. 

 Which type of cat do you like? I hoped you liked our cat talk today.

Love Papaw

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestication_of_the_cat  &  Google AI