Dog
Cat
- This article deals with the domestic feline. For other uses, see Cat (disambiguation) or Cats (disambiguation).
| Domestic cat[1] | |
|---|---|
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| Cats | |
| Conservation status | |
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Domesticated
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: |
Animalia |
| Phylum: |
Chordata |
| Class: |
Mammalia |
| Order: |
Carnivora |
| Family: |
Felidae |
| Genus: |
Felis |
| Species: | F. catus |
| Binomial name | |
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Felis catus (Linnaeus, 1758)[2] |
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| Synonyms | |
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Felis catus domestica (invalid junior synonym)[3] Felis silvestris catus[4] |
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The cat (Felis catus), also known as the domestic cat or housecat[5] to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and ability to hunt vermin and household pests. Cats have been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years,[6] and are currently the most popular pet in the world.[7] Owing to their close association with humans, cats are now found almost everywhere on Earth. Their adaptability, rapid breeding rate, and predatory instincts make them effective hunters. In some locations, cats have affected indigenous animal populations; this has led them to be classified as an invasive species in some areas. Many problems are caused by the large number of feral cats worldwide, with a population of up to 60 million of these animals in the United States alone.[8] Failure to control the breeding of pet cats by spaying and neutering and the abandonment of former household pets cause the development of such feral colonies.
Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with strong, flexible bodies, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. As nocturnal predators, cats use their acute hearing and ability to see in near darkness to locate prey. Not only can cats hear sounds too faint for human ears, they can also hear sounds higher in frequency than humans can perceive. This is because cats' usual prey (particularly rodents such as mice) make high frequency noises. Cats' hearing has therefore evolved to pinpoint these faint high-pitched sounds. This is also helped by that fact that cats' ears are equipped with more than a dozen muscles that enable them to swivel 180 degrees toward the source of sounds. Cats rely more on smell than taste, and have a vastly better sense of smell than humans.
Despite being solitary hunters, cats are a social
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Domestic dog Fossil range: 0.015–0 Ma Pleistocene – Recent |
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|---|---|
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| Dogs | |
| Conservation status | |
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Domesticated
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: |
Animalia |
| Phylum: |
Chordata |
| Class: |
Mammalia |
| Order: |
Carnivora |
| Family: |
Canidae |
| Genus: |
Canis |
| Species: |
C. lupus |
| Subspecies: | C. l. familiaris |
| Trinomial name | |
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Canis lupus familiaris |
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| Synonyms | |
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The dog (Canis lupus familiaris[1]) is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The domestic dog has been one of the most widely kept working and companion animals in human history.
The word "dog" may also mean the male of a canine species,[2] as opposed to the word "bitch" for the female of the species.[3]
The dog quickly became ubiquitous across world cultures, and was extremely valuable to early human settlements. For instance, it is believed that the successful emigration across the Bering Strait might not have been possible without sled dogs.[4] Dogs perform many roles for people, such as hunting, herding, protection, assisting police and military, companionship, and, more recently, aiding handicapped individuals. This versatility, more than almost any other known animal, has given them the nickname "Man's best friend" in the western world. Currently, there are estimated to be 400 million dogs in the world.[5]
Over the 15,000 year span that the dog had been domesticated, it diverged into only a handful of landraces, groups of similar animals whose morphology and behavior have been shaped by environmental factors and functional roles. As the modern understanding of genetics developed, humans began to intentionally breed dogs for a wide range of specific traits. Through this process, the dog has developed into hundreds of varied breeds, and shows more behavioral and morphological variation than any other land mammal.[6] For example, height measured to the withers ranges from a few inches in the Chihuahua to a few feet in the Irish Wolfhound; color varies from white through grays (usually called "blue'") to black, and browns from light (tan) to dark ("red" or "chocolate") in a wide variation of patterns; coats can be short or long, coarse-haired to wool-like, straight, curly, or smooth.[7] It is common for most breeds to shed this coat.