- For alternative meanings see cat (disambiguation).
The cat (also called domestic cat or house cat) is a small feline carnivorous mammal. Its scientific name is Felis silvestris catus or Felis silvestris domesticus, but the species is sometimes referred to as Felis domesticus or Felis catus. Felis catus is the more current species name.
The cat has been living in close association with humans (although never entirely domesticated as dogs are) since at least 3500 years ago, when the Ancient Egyptians routinely used cats to keep mice and other rodents away from their grain. Currently, the cat is one of the world's most popular household pets. A male cat is usually called a tom cat; a female cat is called a queen. A young cat is called a kitten (as are baby ratThis is an article about wild rats; for pet rats, see Fancy rat 50 species; see text Several subfamilies of Muridsinclude animals called rats. A rat is a small omnivorous rodent of the genus Rattus . Rats are mammals somewhat bigger than their relatives ts, rabbitRabbit usually refers to the European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus a native of southern Europe. It has been widely introduced elsewhere often with devastating effects on local biodiversity. Rabbits in the wild The European Rabbit is a small grey-brown mams, hedgehogFor the anti-submarine weapon see Hedgehog (weapon); for the mathematical concepts see hedgehog (curve) and hedgehog (metric). Atelerix Erinaceus Hemiechinus Mesechinus A hedgehog is any of a wide variety of small quilled mammals of the order Insectivoras, and squirrelSeveral, see text Squirrel is the common name for rodents of the family Sciuridae. In everyday speech in the English-speaking world it usually refers to members of the genera Sciurus and Tamasciurus''. These typical members of the family are tree squirrels). A cat whose ancestryGenealogy is the study and tracing of family pedigrees. This involves collecting the names of relatives, both living and deceased, establishing the relationships between them based on primary, secondary and/or circumstantial evidence or documentation, and is officially registered is called a purebred cat, a pedigreed cat, or a show catA show cat (also known as a purebred or pedigreed cat is one that has been judged to be close to the physical ideal for its breed standard at a cat show. Not all pedigreed cats are show cats, many are just pets but the ones with the best conformation and. The owners and breeders of show cats compete to see whose animal bears the closest resemblance to the "ideal" definition of the breed (see selective breeding). Less than one percent of the total feline population are purebred catsthe remaining 99% have mixed ancestry, and are referred to as domestic longhairs and domestic shorthairs. In the UK, non-purebred cats are sometimes known as moggies. In the U.S., a non-purebred cat is often called an alley-cat, even if it is not a stray.
