Wild and Domestic Cats
by vremde kattan
http://www.strangecats.com
The Egyptians were the first to domesticate the cats. That
was about five hundred years ago and the first pet cat was
probably the African wildcat. These cats were slightly
larger than the domestic cats of today and they were used
to protect Egypt's granaries from mice and other rodents.
The forefather of the cat is believed to be the Miaci. The
Egyptians realized that a cat if brought up within a family
had no fear of humans and was more valuable as a protection
against rodents at home. The domestic cat is more easy
going and has no need to be as alert as the wildcat.
Consequently, the brain of the domestic cat is thirty
percent smaller than its wild counterpart!
All cats, wild and domesticated, share a common ancestor.
Fifty million years ago the Miacis lived in trees hunting
other animals. This creature, extinct for tens of millions
of years, is probably the forefather of cats, but is also
thought to be the common ancestor of modern dogs, bears,
foxes and other similar predators. Some ten million years
further on, the Dinicitis stalked the earth, and he looked
even more like the wild and domestic cats we recognize
today.
There are generally three sizes of cats in the wild- the
large, medium and small. The small cats are normally kept
as pets and are a breed of the African wildcat. The medium
cats are the Bobcat and the Asian Golden Cat.
The large cats are the most remarkable. People mistakenly
believe the lion to be the largest. The largest cat is the
tiger. The tiger often weighs more than 700 pounds and is a
man-eater. It is found in the swamps and the tropical
climate of Asia. This wonderful species is, however, an
endangered one.
Big cats also count amongst their number the fastest land
animal, the cheetah. Though they are strictly sprinters,
they can't be beat over the quarter mile and peak at sixty
miles an hour.
Lions are unusual in the cat world because they are very
sociable animals. They form prides of extended families
unlike any other cats, hunting and living together. Even
domestic cat mothers only look out for their offspring for
so long after birth...
One characteristic, which is common to all cats, is that
they love to sleep. They seem to prefer sitting and
digesting food rather than hunting for it. They sleep for
over sixteen hours a day.
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