I’m usually writing about critters with either no legs, or more than 4. The Myna, and the otters were the only warm blooded animals on picmybug so far, but I felt it is time for a homage to the cat. There is a very close relationship to our beloved bugs of course. We all have seen our cats eating silverfishes, jumping spiders or flies. If available, geckos will be a welcome snack too, and so are tree lizards, butterflies and locusts, too. One could say cats are a threat to biodiversity. I would answer that habitat loss, biocides and global warming are much more of a threat.
Felis catus was described in 1758 by no one else but Carl Linnaeus. There isn’t much info about cats in his work. And the history of domestic cats is till date a bit of a mystery. A mystery that might recently have been solved. Read more here! There are 25 (!) synonyms for F. catus listed, I guess that is even more than you have nicknames for your cat!
The genus Felis contains seven species. They belong to the subfamily Felinae, family Felidae. The big cats are in the subfamily Pantherinae. Interestingly they all are under the suborder Feliformia, which they share with e.g. hyenas. I would have thought they are more dog-like (Carniformia). Again what learned.
It seems to be accepted recently, that the African wildcat, Felis sylvestris lybica is the common ancestor of our pet cats. We managed to breed them into 57 breeds, recognized by the International Cat Association (TICA). From Abyssinian to York Chocolate, cats are bred in so many colors, styles and sizes. The smallest might be Singapura, with 2kg, and the biggest the Maine Coon, with up to 11kg.
As a former cat owner, I can tell you that domestic cats come with very different characters, from shy to bold, and with nothing but real characters. I’m not sure if that is something they developed over the thousand years of co-existence with us, or if that is within any animal, but we just don’t see it in a seal or swan. We don’t get to know wild animals as much as we get to know our pet, right? So let’s not assume that wild animals don’t have personalities.
Experiences shape a cat’s character like they shape us, and since we have approx. 400 million domestic cats around, we could say their welfare is a bit of a mirror of our behavior. And so are dogs. There is room for improvement, I can tell you.
Also first hand I can tell that a cat is a wonderful friend, and family member. All the superstition around black cat are of course as ridiculous as most other superstition, hearsay or fantasy.
There are many cats around, and thus there are many words for it. A simple kitten will turn out to be a tom or a queen, and after the tom gets castrated, you’ll have a gib. But when you spay a queen, it leaves you with a molly, and if any of those appear in a group, you’re facing a clowder, or a glaring. I’m sure no one would understand what you have when you talk about a chowder of mollies.
And while there are many, and one in particular, who should be shown here, I’ll show this picture only. A young cat with no name and no home, which we try to find a home for currently. If you are in Singapore, and willing to adopt a perfect cat (that’s how we got to know it), please get in touch!
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