About Cats

Cats in the modern world - one of the most loved or even adored pets. They came to a man's dwelling 6 thousand years ago. Their relative domestication occurred in ancient Egypt about 4 thousand years BC, where cats were sometimes deified. The man has attracted the attention of this little predator since he started farming. The fact is that grain-filled barns invariably attracted to themselves mouse packs, and mice are species food of cats.

Today, scientists believe that the distant ancestor of a domestic cat is a Libyan or spotted cat, an African relative of the European wild forest cat. The domestic one has the same long and narrowed tail at the end, like the Libyan one, and the tail of the wild European is equally thick both at the base and at the end.

However, not immediately cats and people began to live in harmony. In ancient times man hunted them to get meat for food and skins for clothes. Only when people noticed how cleverly this predator dealt with harmful rodents, they appreciated this wonderful animal. And the man began to tame the cat, taking it to his dwelling. So gradually from the wild beast, she turned into a cute pet. It happened about 5000 years ago, much later than sheep, cows and dogs were tamed.

Currently, Egyptian cats are still very similar to wild African, which for centuries have been either striped or spotty. Standard is considered to be the color characteristic of wild cats, that is, the gray color with dark stripes. The hair then contains two types of pigment: yellow and black, and they give a characteristic color for most. Animals with other colors are considered mutant.

The first change in color in cats occurred in North Africa around 500 BC, then black specimens appeared. Later on, animals of red color began to appear, with white spots on the chest and belly, with white paws and chins. The characteristic dark spots in Siamese cats are also the result of a mutation. Presumably about 300 years ago in England appeared widespread now spotted color. Selection work led to the receipt of black color of blue, and of red - cream.

In cats, there are three blood groups, designated as A, B, and AB. The most common type is A, which has all pets of oriental origin: Siamese, Oriental, Burmese, etc. and many more breeds: Russian blue, Norwegian forest, Scottish Fold, Maine, Sphinx, almost all Persian, Abyssinian, Somali, most exotic, British and Cornish Rex. The rest of the cats have group B, and the group AB is very rare.

A healthy cat has a body temperature in the range of 38 to 39.5 ° C, and the kittens are slightly higher. The pulse is normal from 110 to 140 beats per minute. But in food, these animals are real gourmets. They prefer slightly warmed food, the temperature of which is approximately equal to the temperature of their body. Too much temperature difference can even spoil the cat's appetite. This is due to the fact that they naturally hunt warm-blooded animals in nature, and instincts make themselves felt.

For thousands of years, cats are especially addicted to eating mice, the concepts of cat and mouse have become inseparable. This is a purely physiological explanation. For good growth and excellent quality of cat hair, sulfur and sulfur-containing acids (cystine, cysteine ​​and methionine) are necessary. There are plenty of sulfur in the mouse skin, so cats eat mice directly with fur.

The dictionary for communication in domestic cats is very diverse. They are capable of the most incredible intonations, issuing meowing, purring, snorting, and wild cries during the mating season are simply inimitable. Depending on the mood, intonations have their own shades. In addition to voice, the tail takes active part in communication. The angry cat sharply twists its tail in all directions, pressing its ears and warning howling. At such a time, it is better not to approach it, because the reaction is instantaneous.

Many, probably, more than once observed the sleeping twitching of paws, tail, ears in sleeping pupils. At such moments, it seems that in a dream this furry predator is pursued by someone or runs away from danger himself. However, studies have shown that sleep in cats is similar to the human. That is, the movements of the muscles do not mean the emergence of a dream, rather the reverse. During the dream, the animal lies very calmly. Encephallogram of a sleeping cat shows the phases of her sleep, when large amplitudes are replaced by a dentate line, then the animal sees a dream. But, alas, it is impossible to know its contents.