The cat is similar in anatomy to the other felid species: it has a strong flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp teeth, and retractable claws adapted to killing small prey like mice and rats. Its night vision and sense of smell are well developed. Cat communication includes vocalizations like meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting as well as cat-specific body language. Although the cat is a social species, it is a solitary hunter. As a predator, it is crepuscular, i.e. most active at dawn and dusk. It can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small mammals.[7] It also secretes and perceives pheromones.[8]
Female domestic cats can have kittens from spring to late autumn, with litter sizes often ranging from two to five kittens.[9] Domestic cats are bred and shown at events as registered pedigreed cats, a hobby known as cat fancy. Population control of cats may be achieved by spaying and neutering,
but their proliferation and the abandonment of pets has resulted in
large numbers of feral cats worldwide, contributing to the extinction of
entire bird, mammal, and reptile species.[10]
The domestic cat is a member of the Felidae, a family that had a common ancestor about 10–15 million years ago.[41]
The genus Felis diverged from other Felidae around 6–7 million years ago.[42] Results of phylogenetic research confirm that the wild Felis species evolved through sympatric or parapatric speciation, whereas the domestic cat evolved through artificial selection.[43] The domesticated cat and its closest wild ancestor are diploid and both possess 38 chromosomes[44] and roughly 20,000 genes.[45] The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) was tamed
independently in China around 5500 BC. This line of partially
domesticated cats leaves no trace in the domestic cat populations of
today.[46]