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BASIC KNOWLEDGE
1) Where does the cat come from?
Cats have been around almost as long as humans. Don't just think about your little pussycat at home. Lions, tigers, panthers and leopards are also cats. But let's talk about domestic cats instead. They've been roaming around knocking over objects for thousands of years and are living proof that the earth is not flat. And why is that? If it were flat, cats would have knocked everything over long ago. Cats have lived among us for more than 10,000 years, but where did they actually come from? Evidence suggests that cats were domesticated about 12 000 years ago: More than 8,000-year-old cat remains have been discovered on Cyprus, buried individually or together with humans, and all the evidence suggests that cats were not native to the island. I'm sure we're talking about domesticated (or at least somehow tamed) cats, because nobody would have liked to have a wild and aggressive cat on board a ship for weeks or months. Cats seem to have appeared all over the world at different times, perhaps due to sea voyages across the oceans or because they evolved from different wild species. In Africa and Asia, cats seem to have appeared near humans about 4000 to 5000 years ago. Humans began to domesticate the African wild cat and the Asian leopard cat, mainly for rat control. Chinese culture particularly revered them as a symbol of good luck and therefore created unique cat sculptures and images. Even today, one of the most well-known Feng Shui symbols for luck and wealth is the Maneki Neko cat. We will talk about this in more detail later. I don't know exactly when the cats reached Europe, but it was quite easy to get from Asia to Europe.
Even from Africa, so they found their way at some point. Eventually, the cats reached North and South America together with the European settlers. There they developed the same partnership as the ancient peoples when they started to farm, and so the whole story repeated itself.
I can say that cats had a common origin and found their way around the world together with their human partners. I just wonder why my cats don't even like to leave the house these days.
Cats in history
The ancient Egyptians are the most famous people who worshipped cats as gods. They had cat cemeteries where the little four-legged creatures were mummified and buried with full honours. They even went so far as to murder anyone who disrespected or killed a cat. The ancient Romans and the people of the Far East also had great respect for cats. People in medieval Europe, on the other hand, associated cats with demons and were afraid of them.
Nowadays, cats are mostly kept as companions, but some still see their use in granaries. They are also the superstars of many movies, comics and TV shows, especially since some of them are very intelligent and can learn a lot of tricks.
2) Coexistence between humans and cats
Since dogs were so efficient as hunting companions, it is obvious that they were domesticated first. Thousands of years ago, when the first peoples settled down and began to develop agriculture, cats proved very efficient at keeping rat populations under control, including the diseases they spread. They were also excellent at driving rats and mice out of granaries. More than helpful was that cats were excited by all the readily available food attracted to stored grain, so food supplies were much less at risk with cats around. No wonder my grandparents also liked having their cats around, but didn't feed them that often. A well-fed cat doesn't have the same hunting instinct and can get lazy with all the comfortable lifestyle.
Basically, the cats invited themselves to a feast and then most of them stayed. And that's further proof that all owners know that no one really owns a cat. I've always known that they choose their homes and their people, not the other way around. I'm sure Hades did. How many cats actually come to you when you call them on the street, do you think? Over time, the relationship became more complicated. In the Middle Ages, people considered cats to be devilish creatures or companions of witches, so their lives became much more difficult in Europe. When people started hunting them, the cat population decreased significantly.
Funnily enough, this coincided with the spread of diseases, especially the Black Plague, which was transmitted by fleas in the fur of rats. As there were not enough cats to keep the rat populations under control, they began to roam freely. It was only between the 16th and 17th centuries that the reputation of cats improved and they were once again seen as loving companions. Wealthy people began to keep exotic specimens such as Persian or Angora cats. One of them was Queen Mary Antoinette, who loved her white Turkish Angoras. They were allowed everywhere in her chambers, even on the tables.
During the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette's cats were sent on a ship to flee France to escape the angry crowds. However, she did not manage to escape and was eventually beheaded. The ship set sail without her and took the cats to Maine, USA. There they mingled with the native cats and another famous breed, the Maine Coon, was born. Over time, people noticed that some cats were more docile than others and began breeding these specimens to create the many breeds we know today.
3) Mating and reproduction
The females are polyoestrus, which means they have several oestrus cycles a year, lasting about 21 days. Their usual mating season is from early February to August.
They reach sexual maturity between 5 and 10 months, males between 5 and 7 months. There are slight differences depending on the breed, but this is the average. The vet can give you accurate information about your cat depending on the breed and individual development. Remember that all creatures are different, just like us humans. During heat, more than one male is attracted to the female. The males fight for their right to mate with her, and the stronger of them gets the nod for his mate. Although I have often seen the females reject the males at first, they eventually allow them to mate.
Immediately after mating, the female starts cleaning her vulva. During this time, she fights off any male that tries to mate with her. When she has finished cleaning, which usually takes between 20 and 30 minutes, she is ready to mate again. This is because the female may not have been impregnated by the first male. Also, cats are super-fertile, which means they usually mate with more than one male when they are in heat. Therefore, several kittens in a litter can have different fathers. I had wondered how it could be that a mackerel female and a red male have black or white kittens. This seems to be the answer!
Pregnancy usually lasts about 65 days, and the kittens are give birth to 1 to 6 kittens. As a rule, litters of 4-5 kittens are not uncommon. Female cats can have up to three litters per year, but again I have rarely seen more than 1 - 2 in a single cat. Usually the first litter is smaller than the following ones, with a female giving birth to only 1 - 2 kittens. Wait, I was just talking about litters, but what exactly is a litter? Quite simply, it is the kittens born from a cat at one time. With dogs, we call them that too. The queen weans her kittens at 6 to 7 weeks of age, which means she stops suckling them and giving them solid food. The mother starts weaning at about 4 weeks of age, and this process usually takes another 4 weeks or so until the kittens stop suckling altogether. During the last stages of pregnancy and throughout the nursing period, it is best to feed the mother special food for baby cats or pregnant cats. This will provide her and the kittens with all the nutrients they need for healthy development and nutritious milk production. This is also the food the kittens need to eat when the cat weans them. They will continue to suckle, as the change in diet should go smoothly.
Castration
Neutering involves removing the cat's sexual organs to prevent unwanted reproduction. It is a simple surgical procedure usually performed between 6 and 9 months of age, but I have also seen vets perform the procedure earlier, between 3 and 6 months of age. My vet recommended that I neuter my cats as late as possible (10 - 12 months) so that they can develop fully. However, I had to do it a little earlier because they started marking the house with scent marks. Believe me, you don't want to have to smell that scent in the house!
4) The cat - male and female
Male and female cats usually look the same, with the males usually being slightly larger than the females. The male is known as a tomcat unless he is neutered. Neutered males are also called gibs. The female cat is called a queen if she is not neutered, or a molly if she is neutered.
A fun fact about looks:
You know those beautiful calico cats (when the coat is at least three colours)? Well, it turns out that most of them are females. Male calicos are very rare. Cats are territorial animals, and I have noticed this especially in the feral cat colonies in my city. They all have fixed territories, with those of the males being larger than those of the females. The territory of a sexually active male usually overlaps with the territories of several females so that he can reproduce. In addition, I could observe that the females cooperate in raising cubs and foraging, just like female lions in the wild. You can see immediately that there is one dominant female who dominates the others. Speaking of aggressiveness, males are usually more aggressive than females, especially males. I have never once seen two males fighting over the mating of a female....
