Who were first to domesticate cats?
Approximately when were cats first domesticated?
When did cats begin to regain their former place as companion?
Describe the two domestication theories
Name and describe the four periods of domestication
What is the loose area of skin at the back of the neck called?
What is the typical weight of a cat?
How many octaves can cats hear?
What is the reflective layer of cells beneath the retina called and what does it do?
Where are a cat's whiskers located?
Are female cats more likely to fight than male cats?
When are cats most active?
What must a new cat do before it is accepted into a cat colony?
What do ears lying flat against the head possibly indicate?
Name and describe the three vocal pattern categories
Define 'idiosyncratic' sounds
How many odour sensitive cells are in a cat's nose?
How does the tail help cats when hunting?
Why are cats able to pass through any space where they can fit their heads?
Who denounced the admiration of cats as pagan worship and in defiance of god?
The Egyptians
4000 - 5000 years ago
The 17th century
1. People deliberately tamed cats through selective breeding for their vermin hunting ability. 2. Cats were tolerated be people and diverged from their wild relatives through natural selection.
1. The Period of Competition (prior to 7000 B.C.) – Characterized by wild cats competing with hunter-gatherer humans for birds and small mammals. 2. The Period of Commensality (7000 B.C. – 4000 B.C.) – Characterized by semi-domestic cats feeding on vermin around and within early villages. 3. The Period of Early Domestication (4000 B.C. – 3000 B.C.) – Characterized by the confinement of cats to cult status. 4. The Period of Full Domestication (3000 B.C. – Present) – The popularization of cats and the diffusion of cats from Egypt.
The scruff
4 - 5 kg
Over 10 octaves
The tapetum lucid reflects incoming light; thus allowing a cat to reuse the same light more than once
Around the nose, on the checks and lips, and above the eyebrows
No, males are more likely to fight than females
From dawn — dusk
Rub up against superior members of the group to mix scents
Anxiety or fear
Murmur patterns indicating a calm, friendly state; vowel patterns indicating a need or desire for something (such as food); and loud, strained, intense sounds associated with aggression or mating
Idiosyncratic sounds are sounds particular to an individual cat
Over 200 million
As a result of cats being unable to see still objects, cats may swish their tail to mesmerize still prey. Moving the tail initiates the slightest movement of the prey, thus allowing the cat to see it
A cat’s forelimbs are attached to the shoulder by free-floating clavicle bones
Pope Innocent VIII
