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Our sole goal with this program is to provide pet parents with the information they need to make the best decision for their pets. Cats with certain health conditions might benefit from a therapeutic veterinary diet, which is specially formulated to prevent, manage, and in some cases treat certain medical conditions. Our veterinary experts also look for specific ingredients when addressing needs at different life stages.

Your cat should see the veterinarian at least once a year for an examination and annual shots, and immediately if she is sick or injured. Provide your cat with a sturdy scratching post, at least three feet high. When a cat scratches, the old outer nail sheath is pulled off and the sharp, smooth claws underneath are exposed. If your cat will not use a litterbox, please consult with your veterinarian.

Domestication and relationship with humans

• But male cats with their one X chromosome can be either orange or black but not both.
• Cats have an acute sense of smell, due in part to their well-developed olfactory bulb and a large surface of olfactory mucosa, about 5.8 cm2 (0.90 in2) in area, which is about twice that of humans.
• Others go to great lengths to pamper their cats, sometimes treating them as if they were children.
• Sometimes refusal to use a litter box is based on a medical condition that required treatment.
• Outdoor cats are at risk of trauma from cars, or from fights with other cats, raccoons and free-roaming dogs.

Throughout all this time, cats were allowed to come and go freely from human householdseven President Calvin Coolidge’s cat had free rein to wander to and from the White House during the 1920s. In 2023, pet cats lived for around 13 years. In 2021, there were about 220 million pet cats and 480 million feral cats in the world. However, many cats live well into their golden years, with an average lifespan of years old. If we think like a cat, here’s how a cat’s age compares to a human’s.

How Many Cat Years Are in a Human Year?

There are also farm cats, which keep mice and rats away; and feral cats, which are domestic cats that live away from humans. Understanding cats’ place in history and human evolution reveals how very recently domestic cats came indoors and how millions of this species—who we call community cats—continue to live healthy lives outdoors today, as all domestic cats are biologically adapted to do. There are also domestic cats which live without being cared for by people. As domestic cats spread around the world along trade routes, the species became well adapted to life with humans.

The domestic cat and its closest wild ancestor are diploid and both possess 38 chromosomes and roughly 20,000 genes. Results of phylogenetic research shows that the wild members of this genus evolved through sympatric or parapatric speciation, whereas the domestic cat evolved through artificial selection. Felis daemon proposed by Konstantin Satunin in 1904 was a black cat from the Transcaucasus, later identified as cat a domestic cat. The scientific name Felis catus was proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for a domestic cat.

Find out more about the dietary needs of cats. Advice on what to do if you've found a stray or feral cat or kitten that needs help, whether they are pregnant, injured or lost. Find out more about the health and welfare needs of cats. And if you've ever wondered what it's like to be a cat in a rehoming pod, here's your chance to experience a 360-degree view with some inquisitive kittens!

Cat Care

Community cats deserve to live their lives outside just as they have for thousands of years. Until spaying and neutering pets became available and accessible around the 1930s, keeping intact cats indoors was messy business during mating season. With the invention of cat litter, cats rocketed to popularity as indoor pets, but their outdoor survival skills remain.9

As it is little altered from the wildcat, it can readily interbreed with the wildcat. The AAFP and ISFM have issued recommendations for cat-friendly interactions in veterinary clinics. Having a cat neutered confers some health benefits, such as a decreased incidence of reproductive neoplasia. Based on a study of 2,300 free-ranging queens conducted from May 1998 and October 2000, they had one to six kittens per litter, with an average of three kittens.

• The senses of smell, hearing, and vision of cats are superior to those of humans.
• A very active cat might require a higher calorie diet with protein and other energy-boosting ingredients to provide fuel for activity and ensure proper weight.
• The domestic cat family demonstrated a cosegregation between the ASIP allele and black coloration of the coat.
• Look for a label on the packaging that says it meets the Association of American Feed Control Officials’ nutritional standards and is complete and balanced for your cat’s life stage.

It is for this reason that calico and tortoiseshell cats are mostly female. These cats are called "feral cats" or "stray cats". The oldest evidence of cats kept as pets is from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, around 7500 BC.

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The female will utter a loud yowl as the male pulls out of her. At first, the female will reject the male, but eventually the female will allow the male to mate. Cats, especially kittens, practice these instinctive behaviours in play with each other or on small toys.