about cats

There are dozens of breeds of cat, some hairless or tailless as a result of mutations, and they exist in a variety of different colors. They are skilled predators and have been known to hunt over one thousand different species for food. They are also intelligent animals, and some can be trained or learn by themselves to manipulate simple mechanisms such as lever-handled doors and flush toilets (see Cat intelligence).

They communicate by calling ("meow" or "miaou"), purring, hissing, growling, chirping, clicking, grunting, and about a hundred other vocalizations and types of body language. Cats in colonies use a mix of vocalizations and body language to communicate with each other.

The cat's association with humans leads it to figure prominently in the mythology and legends of several cultures, including those of the ancient Egyptians, ancient Chinese, and Vikings. The medieval King of Wales, Hywel Dda (the Good) passed the first animal welfare legislation in the world by making it illegal to kill or harm a cat, with severe punishment for those who did. However, cats were also sometimes considered evil, for example being deemed unlucky or associated with witches in many medieval cultures.

Like some other domesticated animals, cats live in a mutualistic arrangement with humans. It's believed that the benefit of removing rats and mice from humans' food stores outweighed the trouble of extending the protection of a human settlement to a formerly wild animal, almost certainly for humans who had adopted a farming economy. Unlike the dog, which also hunt and kill rodents, the cat did not eat grains, fruits, or vegetables. A cat that is good at hunting rodents is referred to as a mouser.

The venerable simile "like herding cats" refers to the seeming intractability of the ordinary house cat to training in anything, unlike dogs. Despite cohabitation in colonies, cats are lone hunters. It is no coincidence that cats are also "clean" animals; the chemistry of their saliva, expended in frequent grooming, appears to be a natural deodorant. If so, the function of this cleanliness is to decrease the chance a prey animal will notice the cat's presence in time.

In contrast, dog's odour is an advantage in hunting, for a dog is a pack hunter; part of the pack stations itself upwind, and its odour drives prey towards the rest of the pack stationed downwind. This requires a cooperative effort, which in turn requires communications skills. No such communications skills are required of a lone hunter. It is likely this is part of the reason interacting with such an animal is problematic; cats in particular are labelled as opaque or inscrutable, if not obtuse, as well as aloof and self-sufficient. However, cats can be very affectionate towards their human companions, especially if they imprint on them at a very young age and are treated with consistent affection