Follow us on:
  • About
    • History
    • Collections
    • Uses
    • Meet the staff
    • Curator
  • On Display
    • Floor plan
    • Animal finder >
      • By Location
      • By Animal group >
        • Vertebrates
        • Invertebrates
    • Keys and information sheets >
      • Evolution and adaptation
      • Taxonomy
      • Diet
      • Social organisation and mating system
      • Ecosystems and habitats
  • Activities
  • Visit us
    • Tours
    • School visits
    • Find us
    • Get involved
  • Get in touch
    • Visitor feedback

Domestic Cat

Felis catus


Where is it found?

Picture
Picture
Near areas of human habitation across the globe.

Diet and foraging method

Picture
To kill prey, cats bite the back of the neck at the base of the skull, severing the spinal chord from the brain stem.
Picture
Picture

Key adaptations

They can jump five times their own height, and have no collar bone so can fit through narrow spaces. They have retractable claws, so can be retracted when walking, but used when hunting or for protection.

Social organisation and mating system

Picture
Solitary
Picture
Promiscuous

Did you know that...?

Domestic cats have around 30 vertebrae bones making them very flexible, and able to rotate half of their spine 180 degrees.

Taxonomy

Picture

Picture credits:

Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
"Tabby Pfaffengrund" by 3268zauber - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tabby_Pfaffengrund.JPG#/media/File:Tabby_Pfaffengrund.JPG
"Gato Barraña Galicia 2" by Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga Commons)(Lmbuga Galipedia) - http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Image:Gato_Barra%C3%B1a_Galicia_2.jpg. Self made. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gato_Barra%C3%B1a_Galicia_2.jpg#/media/File:Gato_Barra%C3%B1a_Galicia_2.jpg
"Six weeks old cat (aka) edit" by André Karwath aka Aka, edited by Fir0002 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Six_weeks_old_cat_(aka)_edit.jpg#/media/File:Six_weeks_old_cat_(aka)_edit.jpg

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.