The Everything Cat Book

Introduction

The cat. An animal of endless subtlety, elegance, and grace. Discriminating yet tender, stylish yet capable, the cat has fascinated and beguiled humans for thousands of years. Unlike the faithful, dutiful dog, whose motivations are plain for all to see, the cat has never been that easy to typecast. An independent, elusive, mysterious, refined, and unpredictable animal, the feline seems to pride itself on being capable of stepping back into its wild ways at a moment's notice.

Revered by the ancient Egyptians, feared and maligned by zealots during Europe's Middle Ages, respected and valued as a competent mouser and ratter, and treasured as a sublime companion by scores of different cultures throughout history, the cat has been and continues to be a provocative and absorbing subject of interest for many, including artists, doctors, psychologists, writers, scientists, philosophers, and everyday people like you and me.

But what are these quiet creatures really like? Why are they so fastidiously clean? What enables them to be such fantastic athletes? Why are they such efficient hunters? How do they perceive their world? Can they see and hear things that humans cannot? And why have they been so misunderstood by mankind at times? You'll find the answers to these questions and much more contained here.

If you've never had a cat before, you'll also learn all about acquiring and owning one. Anyone who has ever lived with a cat knows that ownership is arranged according to the cat's terms and not yours. Part of the charm of having a cat companion is being able to understand and share in the life of an animal that clearly appreciates the creature comforts of a warm, loving home, yet forever maintains a close kinship with all things wild and untamed.

Within these pages, you will find information on a wide range of topics about cats, including history, anatomy, psychology, common illnesses, health and dental care, breed differences, proper diet, breeding, and showing, as well as why it's so important to spay or neuter your cat if you're not intent on becoming a professional breeder.

Please remember that the health information in this book is designed for your reference only, and cannot substitute for professional advice from a veterinarian. Medical advances occur steadily, treatment protocols change, new vaccines are developed, and new diseases are discovered and conquered. As a pet owner, it is your responsibility to keep up with the changes that can impact your cat's health and well-being. Ongoing pet-owner education is important. Let this book be part of your cat-education foundation. Whether you are considering acquiring a cat, or you already have one and wish to know as much as possible about it, this book is an ideal reference for you. It isn't called The Everything® Cat Book for nothing!

So get started! Read and learn as much as you can about cats. Always remember, however, that your veterinarian is your best ally in this effort. Visit your vet on a regular basis and ask questions. This book and other fine references on the market similar to it can help arm you with enough basic knowledge to know what questions to ask. There's even a reading list in the back of this book for your easy reference. It's all up to you to become the best pet owner you can possibly be. Your cat deserves nothing less.

1 Understanding Cats

Wild cats have been around for perhaps millions of years, certainly longer than mankind. The prehistoric saber-toothed tiger was surely capable of taking down a woolly mammoth, just as lions and tigers today can kill large prey. Feline fossils dating back to the Pliocene age, approximately twelve to two and a half million years ago, show many similarities to modern-day cats. Today's domestic cats still stalk, leap, hunt, reproduce, and raise young in much the same way they did at the dawn of human civilization, with an ease and skill never lost through thousands of years of domestication.

The Long Process of Domestication

Domestication created far fewer anatomical and behavioral changes in cats than in animals such as the dog or horse. Perhaps this is because the cat has been domesticated for a far shorter period of time than the dog and other animals. All cats belong to the family Felidae, whose members have whiskers, eyes with slit irises, and retractable or semi-retractable claws, and who hunt prey and eat a meat-based diet.

Cats and humans did not begin their relationship until humans as a society discovered the benefits of practicing agriculture. Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures became so proficient at farming that they were able to amass surpluses of grain to be stored and used during times of emergency, or simply to be traded to others for a profit. For the first time, this grain surplus allowed communities to compile great wealth, and with it power. But with progress came problems. Rodents regularly raided the grain storage areas, depleting the grain and helping to spread a host of dangerous diseases throughout the human population.

At about this time, ancient cultures began relying on cats to help reduce or eliminate these pests. Here, then, was the likely genesis of the so-called domestication of the cat, nature's most efficient rodent controller.

Wildcats

The African wildcat was fairly common to the North African area in ancient times; it was this species that in all likelihood the Mesopotamians and Egyptians first called upon for help with the rodent problem. A bit larger than today's house cat, these animals took to domestication fairly well, and served to drastically reduce the vermin population in and around the granaries and living areas. A feline of similar size also existed in Europe. This ancient European wildcat, probably comparable to today's Felis sylvestris, was shyer and more fierce than its African cousin, and did not take to domestication all that well. The Asian or Pallas's cat, Felis manul, may have possibly been domesticated by the ancient Chinese, and probably contributed genetically to the numerous longhaired Asian cat breeds we see today.

When Cats Were Gods

To the Egyptian farmers, the job of guarding the grain was so important that cats rose from being mere ratters to revered creatures, seemingly identified with Bastet (also called Bast), the Egyptian goddess of fertility and maternity who had the head of a cat. The population valued cats so strongly that the spread of cats outside of Egypt was severely restricted for many centuries. And in fact, for a time in history, the penalty for killing a cat was death.

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Thousands of unearthed cat mummies found by archeologists suggest that the Egyptians believed cats could enter the afterlife with people. X-rays of the mummies, however, reveal that some are skeletons of young cats with broken necks. So, it is not entirely clear whether the cats were sent to the afterlife with their deceased humans or used in ritual sacrifce. Regardless of the reason, it is evident that the Egyptians considered the cat's presence and role in the afterlife important.

It was not until Roman, Babylonian, and Phoenician sailors began transporting them to other areas of the known world that cats became popular in different regions and India, even making it as far East as Japan, where they still remain a much admired creature.

Once the African wildcat made its way to Europe and Asia, it no doubt interbred with the European wildcat and the Asian wildcat to produce different physical and behavioral qualities. Today's domestic kitty is most likely descended from these animals. Over the ensuing years, the cat has undergone some genetic manipulation, resulting in numerous cat breeds of varying shapes, sizes, weights, and colors. However, selective breeding of cats has not yet yielded the extreme variations in sizes and shapes that dog breeding has produced.

When Cats Were Witches

Toward the end of the Roman era and leading into the Middle Ages, cats slowly began to fall into disfavor, probably due to certain sects of religious zealots who believed there was a connection between felines and witchcraft. As the idea that cats were servants of witches and the devil became an all-too-prevalent European belief, religious leaders and commoners alike encouraged the elimination of cats. Cats were burned, sacrificed, tortured, and hunted by pet dogs, which by this time had become humanity's most favored domestic animal.

This undeserved malice toward cats ultimately proved to be a grave mis-judgment, however, as the Black Death swept across Europe in the fourteenth century in rodent populations that ran unchecked. Spread by fleas riding on the backs of infected rats, the plague was responsible for killing millions of people, and there weren't enough cats around to dispatch the main culprits. Virtually one-third of the European population succumbed to the dreaded illness. Fortunately, misguided religious prejudices against the cat were not strong enough to outweigh the value of an animal that could eliminate a flea-infested rat that otherwise could mean sure death.

Cats as Companions

By the seventeenth century, the cat was fully back in favor, partly because of a growing artistic respect for feline grace and beauty and partly due to a new appreciation of the animal's cleanliness—a condition that became more respected by the population as new discoveries were made about germs and the way disease spreads. Aristocrats and artists enjoyed taking cats as their pampered pets, and began to selectively breed them for certain traits, including coat length, color, and overall size.

Cats were brought to the Americas by Spanish, French, and English sailors and settlers, again primarily as a safeguard against shipboard grain-thieving rodents. Although not as widely persecuted as in medieval Europe, the cat did suffer somewhat in New England during the brief but dramatic witch-trial period. Fortunately, that era faded quickly, and today the cat outnumbers the dog as the most popular companion animal in the United States.

The Cat's Primary Senses

Cats have five primary senses. Understanding how those senses function, and how cats use them, is crucial to understanding how cats perceive their world.

Vision

Of the five senses, perhaps the most extraordinary is the cat's eyesight, superbly equipped for nighttime hunting. One distinctive feature of the cat's eye is a reflective surface behind the retina known as the tapetum lucidum, the real secret to why cats can see so well in near darkness. This mirror-like apparatus reflects back onto the retina any light not absorbed the first time around, causing the cat's eyes to glow eerily in the dark. This single physical trait, which no doubt seemed otherwordly to an illiterate population, probably accounts for why the cat has been viewed with such awe and mystery throughout the ages. The tapetum lucidum allows cats to use much more of the available light than humans can. They cannot see in total darkness, but they can get around just fine in what to human eyes is pitch black. A clock-radio display or even the clock on a microwave oven or VCR provides your cat with enough light to move through your dark house at night.

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Do cats see in color?

More than thirty years ago, scientists proved through careful experimentation that cats can, in fact, see some colors. However, the scientists also concluded that color response in cats is not a necessary ability and not part of their normal behavior. Cats seem to be able to distinguish reds and blues, but have a harder time with greens, shades of white, and yellows.

Although cats see better at night than humans do, they do not see quite as sharply as people do. Humans have an indented area in the center of our retina called the fovea, which has a higher concentration of cones than the rest of the retinal surface. This allows humans (and other animals active primarily by day) to more accurately gauge the position of a stationary object. Cats do not see individual items as sharply, but they detect even the slightest movement much better than we do. This is why their normal prey—mice and other rodents—evolved the strategy of freezing motionless to avoid detection. Cats have superior peripheral (side) vision as well.

Cats also tend to be farsighted and cannot focus well on objects closer than twenty-five to thirty inches away. This suits a predator that needs to spot its prey from great distances, and not right under its nose. The feline eye sacrifices up-close visual acuity in order to excel at spotting crafty prey on the run.

Protecting the outer surfaces of the cat's eyes are the upper and lower eyelids, and between them (at the inner corner near the bridge of the nose) is the nictitating membrane, sometimes called the third eyelid. This lid automatically closes from the lower inside edge of the eye to the upper outside, affording an additional level of protection for the cat's most valuable sense.

Hearing

Cats have evolved excellent hearing, a result of the need to detect the almost ultrasonic sounds of the small rodents that typically become their dinners in the wild. Cats can hear sounds nearly two octaves higher than those humans are capable of perceiving. This is significantly higher than even the dog's hearing abilities.

The cat's external ear, or pinna, can be moved independently through an arc of about 180 degrees. This gives cats the ability to pinpoint the origin of a sound with great accuracy. The appearance of the pinna can vary somewhat according to species and breed. Those originating from warmer climates tend to have larger ears that radiate heat well and detect prey that may be far across an arid desert plain. Those breeds originally from colder climates normally have smaller ears, a feature that helps minimize the loss of body heat.

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The cat's ears do more than just gather and interpret sounds. The vestibular apparatus, located in the inner ear, is responsible for the cat's balance and spatial orientation. Combined with the cat's athletic prowess, this structure gives the cat its well-known righting refex, allowing the animal to turn in mid air while falling and, in most cases, land on all four feet. However, cats do not always escape injury from falls. On the contrary, veterinarians treat enough trauma from such mishaps to dub the condition high-rise syndrome.

Smell

The feline sense of smell is the first sense newborn kittens use. Blind for the first two weeks of life, kittens can nevertheless unerringly find their mother's nipple through smell alone. Each kitten tends to go to one particular nipple, at least during the early part of the nursing process, suggesting that its sense of smell is discriminating enough to distinguish one nipple from another.

Although cats do have much better scenting ability than humans, they do not rely on smell as a primary method for locating prey, preferring instead to use their superior vision and hearing. The sense of smell in cats seems to be most important for locating other cats either for mating or territorial concerns.

Cats, and many other mammals, have an extra scenting device called the vomeronasal (or Jacobson's) organ, located just above the hard palate in the mouth. This small cylindrical organ is thought to be involved in the scenting and analysis of sex-related smells, particularly by males scenting out females in heat (estrus). A curious practice shared by many mammals, the flehmen response involves pumping odor molecules up into the vomeronasal organ by rapidly panting through the mouth. While flehming, the cat curls back its upper lip and bars the teeth in a wide sneer. The presence of a female cat's urine typically initiates this peculiar-looking response in an intact tom (male) cat.

Taste

The cat's tongue is covered with small, backward-facing, hook-like structures called papillae, which the cat uses to remove material from the bones of a kill as well as for grooming itself. All cat lovers have probably felt the papillae's raspiness when licked by a kitty. The papillae along the front, back, and sides of the tongue contain the cat's taste buds, which, according to research, can detect salty, acidic, and bitter tastes, but not sweetness, a sensation that only animals that tend to eat sugar-laden carbohydrates seem to possess. Pure carnivores like the cat do not need to sample sweets, unlike their sugar-craving human companions.

Touch

The cat's sense of touch conveys much information about its world, from how bird feathers feel in its mouth to the comfort of a warm bed at night. The cat's skin is peppered with many touch receptors. Perhaps this is why most cats love to be pet, and why some cats can be overstimulated by too much petting. Even the lightest tap will evoke a response, often an automatic arching of the back, followed by a rubbing action against your leg or hand, your cat's way of saying, Yeah, that's the spot. More of that please.

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Cats are fast. Just watch how quickly they can swat at a toy or an unfortunate mouse. A result of the evolution of lots of fast-twitch muscle fibers, cats can move not only quickly, but also silently and deftly. They also can move with deliberate slowness, especially when stalking prey.

The whiskers (or vibrissae) are located on the muzzle, elbows, and eyebrows of the cat. Emerging from nerve bundles directly routed to the brain, the whiskers can transmit pertinent information about the cat's immediate environment. As they are able to pivot at the skin's surface, the cat can move them around voluntarily when necessary. For example, a cat that is holding a mouse or bird in its mouth will almost always have its whiskers pointing down and forward, in direct contact with the unfortunate victim. By doing so, the cat can tell if the prey is still alive and possibly getting ready to bite or struggle for freedom.

Because whiskers impart information about all aspects of the cat's environment, they should never be trimmed. It has been said that cats use their whiskers to gauge whether a narrow crawlway is wide enough for them to slip through. Perhaps the most unique attribute of whiskers is their ability to sense minute changes in air currents around the cat. Solid objects such as a table or desk create subtle disturbances in the surrounding air that the feline's whiskers detect. This allows the cat to maneuver over and around objects even in near darkness.

Sleeping and Hunting Habits

Cats sleep a lot, usually about fourteen to eighteen hours a day, broken down into many small catnaps rather than one long sleep period. No one knows for sure why cats sleep so much, although it may be related to the intense activity level required for hunting prey during the waking hours. Kittens, especially, go wild for hours and then zonk out for two-thirds of the day. The development of portions of the kitten's brain is also known to occur only during sleep. Whatever the reason, understanding your cat's psyche means respecting its need to sleep undisturbed for somewhat lengthy periods, so make sure your kitty has a nice warm, comfy bed all its own in a quiet, out-of-the-way location.

Of course, your cat will probably be wide awake at three o'clock in the morning, pawing and meowing at you, wondering why you won't get up and play. This is because cats are, by nature, nocturnal, creatures that hunt primarily at night. Fortunately, they do have the ability to adjust their schedules to ours.

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If your cat gets up too early and prowls during the night, engage in some interactive playtime before bedtime. This will help your cat expend some of that excess energy before turning in. Many cats sleep peacefully all night on their owner's bed and faithfully awaken their owners in the morning, when it's time to be fed.

Domestic cats have a hunting style that most closely reflects the leopard's and wildcat's stalking and climbing habits. When stalking, the cat crouches and creeps forward silently, with pupils wide and eyes fixed intently on its prey. Muscles tensed for instant action, tail twitching in anticipation, the cat prepares to pounce, wriggling its rear, then springing with claws extended. The front paws strike with deadly accuracy, pinioning the prey, and one well-placed death bite quickly ends the struggle.

Other cats' hunting habits vary widely, from the cheetah's full-bore speed on the open plains to the tree-friendly forays of the ocelot. The fishing cat is unique in that it prefers to hunt in the water, using its webbed feet and compact, strong body to swim after its prey. In general, most domestic cats seem to loathe water, and avoid it at all costs.

Predation is what many people like least about cats. Even worse for some owners are those occasions when their outdoor cat drags home a dead bird or mouse and deposits the corpse on their doorstep. This instinctive behavior demonstrates that the cat counts you in as part of its family. That's because mother cats teach their kittens how to recognize and hunt prey by bringing dead or stunned animals to the nest for them to play with. For the rest of their lives, the kittens' play behavior is a rerun of what they learn in the nest and serves as practice to keep their skills honed.

So, the next time your cat delivers an offering to your doorstep, don't take offense and punish it for behaving like a normal, efficient predator. Your cat is just being a cat. To prevent predation, simply keep your cat indoors and let it prey on stuffed catnip mice instead.

How Cats Communicate

To truly understand your cat, you need to know how it communicates. Cats express their feelings, intentions, desires, and attitudes through a complex mix of posturing, vocal, and marking behaviors. The sounds they make, the body postures they assume, and the places they mark with scent all play a role in telling the world just how they feel and what they want.

Body Language

Body language plays a significant role in cat-to-cat communications, and certainly in cat-to-human communications as well. So, as an owner, you need to understand how to interpret what your cat is trying to tell you. The following list tells you what your cat is communicating to you with each of its body parts.

TheEverythingCatBook-6 Tail: A straight-up tail with a bit of movement to it usually denotes an alert, contented attitude; this is a cat that is ready to be friendly, yet is actively curious about its environment. If the cat is lying down and has a relaxed tail, then it is in an easygoing mood. If the tail lowers itself slightly and begins to lash back and forth, it usually means worry or anger is building. A downward arched tail is a distinct warning. The tail of an angry or frightened cat will also bristle.

TheEverythingCatBook-6 Ears: When a cat's ears are held in an erect, slightly outward position, the cat is usually in a happy, curious mood. When the openings of the ears are rotated forward, it means that the cat is on the alert about something, perhaps a mouse rustling in the grass. If the ears face backward, it normally denotes worry; this cat is on the defensive. If the ears are erect with the openings facing backward, it usually means it's ready to fight. Finally, if the ears are plastered flat against the cat's head, it means the cat is frightened and probably ready to defend itself or run away.

TheEverythingCatBook-6 Whiskers: If the whiskers are spread out and pointing forward, the cat is alert and ready for action. If bunched together and out to the sides the cat is most likely relaxed and open to companionship. If they're plastered to the sides of the cat's face, the cat is surely scared and ready to run or defend itself.

TheEverythingCatBook-6 Eyes: If your feline stares intently at someone or something, it usually means it is either very interested or somewhat threatened. A prolonged stare means, Watch out. If a staring cat begins to blink or avert its eyes, it is generally signaling submission. A cat that is relaxed and calm usually has its eyelids slightly lowered, whereas, a fearful cat's eyes will be wide open with pupils dilated, even though the available light might not warrant it.

TheEverythingCatBook-6 Posture: If the cat's whole back is arched and all its hair is bristling, you know it is scared and ready to rumble. Cats that rub their bodies against you are normally happy and content. If a cat flops over on its back, it can mean that it is being playful and happy and wants a tummy rub, a posture that often demonstrates great trust. However, if this same cat has its four paws brandished stiffly in the air, it may mean for you to stay away. This is a classic posture that cats assume when escape from a predator is impossible and a fight it out mentality is engaged.

TheEverythingCatBook-6 Kneading: A cat that rubs its body against you or kneads its paws into you is not only being affectionate, but also somewhat possessive of you. The latter action is a behavior left over from kittenhood when the little ones kneaded at their mother's teats to stimulate milk production. Your cat's gently touching you with its paw also denotes affection, but a swat with that same paw is telling you to back off.

TheEverythingCatBook-6 Facial expressions: The cat's face, though not nearly as expressive as a dog's, nonetheless communicates emotion. A constantly flicking tongue denotes worry, whereas, an open-mouthed pant can mean exhaustion, sickness, or fear. If a male cat has a strange sneering look on its face while panting (the flehmen response), it may mean that it is scenting a female in heat or some other unusual odor.

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Experts tend to believe that cats see their human caretakers as parents or siblings rather than owners because most cats never truly grow up while in the animal/human relationship. Rather, they tend to retain certain