Cutiee

It is a big, strong cat, similar to the Maine Coon breed, with long legs, a bushy tail, and a sturdy body. It is very good at climbing, partly because of strong claws. The lifespan is usually 14 to 16 years. Kidney and heart diseases have been reported in the breed. Specifically in this breed, complex rearrangements of glycogen branching enzyme (GBE1) can cause a perinatal hypoglycaemic collapse and a late-juvenile-onset neuromuscular degeneration in glycogen storage disease type IV.[citation needed] Eighteen-month-old Norwegian Forest cat. History Edit The Norwegian Forest cat is adapted to survive Norway's cold weather.[2][3] Its ancestors may include cold-adapted black and white British shorthair cats brought to Norway from Great Britain some time after 1000 AD by the Vikings, and longhaired cats brought to Norway by Crusaders c.14th century. These cats could have reproduced with farm and feral stock and may have eventually evolved into the modern-day Norwegian Forest breed.[4][5][6] The Siberian and the Turkish Angora, longhaired cats from Russia and Turkey, respectively, are also possible ancestors of the breed.[4] Norse legends refer to the skogkatt as a "mountain-dwelling fairy cat with an ability to climb sheer rock faces that other cats could not manage."[7] Since the Norwegian Forest cat is a very adept climber,[8][9] author Claire Bessant believes that the skogkatt folktale could be about the ancestor of the modern Norwegian Forest breed.[7] The name Norse skogkatt is used by some breeders and fancier organisations for the modern breed. Most likely the ancestors of the Norwegian Forest cat served as ships' cats (mousers) on Viking ships.[10] The original landrace lived in the Norwegian forests for many centuries, but were later prized for their hunting skills and were used on Norwegian farms,[11] until they were discovered in the early twentieth century by cat enthusiasts.[12] In 1938 the first organisation devoted to the breed, the Norwegian Forest Cat Club, was formed in Oslo, Norway.[13] The club's movement to preserve the breed was interrupted by World War II. Owing to cross-breeding with free-ranging domestic cats during the war, the Norwegian Forest cat became endangered and nearly extinct until the Norwegian Forest Cat Club helped the breed make a comeback by developing an official breeding program.[14][15] In the 1950s, King Olav V declared them the official cat of Norway.[16] Since the cat did not leave Norway until the 1970s, it was not registered as a breed in the Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe), the pan-European federation of cat registries, until Carl-Fredrik Nordane, a Norwegian cat fancier, took notice of the breed, and made efforts to register it.[13] The breed was registered in Europe by the 1970s, and in the American Cat Fanciers Association in 1994.[17] In 1978, it was recognized in Sweden as an official breed,[18] and in 1989, they were accepted as a breed in the United Kingdom by the Norwegian Cat Club of Britain.[19] The Norwegian Forest breed is very popular in Norway and Sweden. Since 2003, it has been the fifth most popular cat breed in France, where there are about 400 to 500 births per year.

The British Shorthair is the pedigreed version of the traditional British domestic cat, with a distinctively stocky body, dense coat, and broad face. The most familiar colour variant is the "British Blue", with a solid grey-blue coat, orange eyes, and a medium-sized tail. The breed has also been developed in a wide range of other colours and patterns, including tabby and colourpoint. British Shorthair British blue 2009 (cropped).jpg British Shorthair in the classic colour ’blue’. Other names British Blue (legacy) Origin United Kingdom Breed standards CFA standard FIFe standard TICA standard WCF standard FFE standard ACF standard ACFA/CAA standard CCA-AFC standard Domestic cat (Felis catus) It is one of the most ancient cat breeds known. In modern times, it remains the most popular pedigreed breed in its native country, as registered by the UK's Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF). A quarter of all kittens registered with the GCCF each year are British Shorthairs, making the British the most popular pedigree cat in the UK.[1] The breed's good-natured appearance and relatively calm temperament make it a frequent media star, notably as the inspiration for John Tenniel's famous illustration of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. The Cat Fanciers' Association profile reads: "When gracelessness is observed, the British Shorthair is duly embarrassed, quickly recovering with a 'Cheshire cat smile'."[2] History Edit The origins of the British Shorthair most likely date back to the first century AD, making it one of the most ancient identifiable cat breeds in the world.[3] These cats were imported by the Romans who kept them to keep the camps clear of snakes, mice and insects. These cats then interbred with the local European wildcat population. Over the centuries, their naturally isolated descendants developed into distinctively large, robust cats with a short but very thick coat, to better withstand conditions on their native islands. Based on artists' representations, the modern British Shorthair is unchanged from this initial type.[4] An early example of the "English type" Blue Shorthair, from Frances Simpson's Book of the Cat, 1903 Selective breeding of the best examples of the type began in the nineteenth century, with emphasis on developing the unusual blue-grey variant called the "British Blue" or "English type" (to distinguish it from the more fine-boned "Russian type"). Some sources directly credit UK artist, and pioneering cat fancier, Harrison Weir with the initial concept of standardising the breed. Others suggest a group of breeders may have been involved. The new British Shorthair was featured at the first-ever cat show, organised by Weir and held at the Crystal Palace in London in 1871, and enjoyed great initial popularity.[5] By the 1900s with the advent of the newly imported Persian and other long-haired breeds, the British Shorthair had fallen out of favour, and breeding stock had become critically rare by World War I.[6] At least partially to alleviate this, British Shorthair breeders mixed Persians into their bloodlines.[7] The genes thus introduced would eventually become the basis for the British Longhair. At the time, any long-haired cats produced were placed into the Persian breeding program.[8] As all cats with the blue colouration were then judged together as variants on a de facto single breed. The Blue Shorthair, outcrossings of the British with the Russian Blue were also common.[4] A young British Blue male showing the copper eyes typical of cats with 'blue' fur After the war, in an attempt to maintain the breed standard, the GCCF decided to accept only third-generation Persian/British Shorthair crosses.[citation needed] This contributed to another shortage of pure breeding stock by World War II, at which point the Persian and Russian Blue were reintroduced into the mix.[citation needed] British Shorthair breeders also worked with the French Chartreux, another ancient breed, which although genetically unrelated to the British Blue, is a very similar cat in appearance. Breeders worked to re-establish the true British type, and by the late 1970s, the distinctive British Shorthair had achieved formal recognition from both the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) and The International Cat Association (TICA).[4] According to the GCCF's 2013 registry data, it is once again the most popular pedigreed breed in its native country.[9]

Ask any cat person, and they’ll tell you why their cat is the cutest. For instance, my cat Margot has the softest, fluffiest fur, and the prettiest, roundest green eyes, and she makes the most adorable little mewing noises for attention. She’s just sooo cute! But it turns out, there’s a reason those particular features make me ga-ga for her. The science of cute (yes, it’s a thing) explains why cats are so cute, and why we want these meowing purring, scratching, pooping creatures to live in our homes. Advertisement Defining Cuteness Before we get into the specifics of cat cuteness, let’s talk about what “cute” means in general. If you look it up on Wikipedia, there’s actually a recognized set of characteristics that determine “cute,” all fitting under the German word kinderschema (source). They are: Big, forward-facing eyes Rounded ears Floppy limbs and unstable movements Soft, rounded body shape A large head compared to the rest of their body Human babies are the original source of these characteristics. Scientists theorize that appearing soft, vulnerable, and loveable is an evolutionary adaptation that ensures survival. In other words, babies are cute so that adults will take care of them! But it’s not just human babies who trigger our caretaking instincts; kittens, puppies, lambs, and other baby animals make us feel the same way. And so do adult mammals who retain their “kinderschema.”There’s a scientific term for that, too: neoteny, or “the retention of juvenile features in the adult animal.” Of course, not all adult cats have big heads or round eyes. But most of them have soft, rounded body shapes. They have fur that’s pleasing to touch. They make high-pitched, baby-like meows and comforting, rumbly purrs. Cats are chock full of cute characteristics that make humans want to take care of them. How your cat’s cuteness affects your brain As explained in this video from National Geographic, when the human brain recognizes the features of “cuteness” (whether in another human or in a cat) two things happen: The orbitofrontal cortex (the part of the brain responsible for decision making) springs into action, telling you to protect the cute creature The nucleus accumbens (the part of the brain also called the “pleasure center”) is activated and releases the feel-good hormone dopamine In other words, when you see your cat do something extra-cute, your brain simultaneously tells you to protect it and rewards you for doing so. That may explain why I still love my cute cat Margot even when she pees on my dirty laundry. It also explains why kittens, in particular, set off our “squee” response. Just picture a wide-eyed, round-bellied, soft, stumbling kitten. That adorable, helpless little thing! Don’t you just want to cuddle it and keep it safe? Yes, yes you do. Another term for all this: “cute cues.” As explained by the New York Times, “cute cues are those that indicate extreme youth, vulnerability, harmlessness, and need.” And people have a pretty low bar for cuteness, so anything that strikes us as even a little bit baby-like can elicit an “awww” response. How cats got so cute Some people think cats may have evolved to be cuter as they became domesticated in order to make people want to take care of them more. It makes sense, doesn’t it, that cats would become increasingly cute as they became increasingly dependent on human beings to survive? However, if you’ve lived with a cat, you know that sometimes their features can be downright brooding! So why are cats so cute, even if they aren’t wide-eyed and round-featured? One possible answer: conditioning. Humans have been living alongside cats for hundreds of years. At this point, we’re used to thinking of them as cute, even the ones who are less baby-faced. In fact, according to British anthrozoologist John Bradshaw, author of the book Cat Sense, cats’ “rather unexpressive faces” may make humans want to protect them even more. Sound counterintuitive? Bradshaw says it’s all about projection: we humans come up with our own ideas about what a cat is thinking or feeling (source). And for many people, living in a society that values pets and makes cute cat videos go viral all the time, we often project vulnerability. In other words, cats are cute because humans decided they were cute. Cuteness is subjective Beyond the classic “characteristics of cute,” we humans and our brains can see cuteness in all sorts of features. It may simply be that we naturally assume smaller creatures need more care. Or maybe we’re just conditioned to think of cats as cute. Personal taste comes into play, too. After all, some people have different cuteness cues than others; it explains why some of us prefer smush-faced cat breeds and others go for sleek, pointy-eared cats. I’m conjecturing here, but given our brain’s response to “kinderschema” and our innate need to nurture, it seems possible that cuteness isn’t just a list of attributes. Cuteness is a matter of taste. And at the end of the day, you probably don’t need an explanation for why your cat is so cute. They’re cute because they’re yours, and because they’re cats, and because cats are just plain cute, darn it! Need Cat Sitting? Cats seem more independent than dogs, sure, but they need attention, play, and treats when you’re gone, too. Your great cat deserves great cat care. You’ve found the best cat name, so now it’s time to find them the perfect cat sitter.

Cats are common pets throughout the world, and their worldwide population as of 2007 exceeded 500 million.[185] Cats have been used for millennia to control rodents, notably around grain stores and aboard ships, and both uses extend to the present day.[186][187] As well as being kept as pets, cats are also used in the international fur trade[188] and leather industries for making coats, hats, blankets, and stuffed toys;[189] and shoes, gloves, and musical instruments respectively[190] (about 24 cats are needed to make a cat-fur coat).[191] This use has been outlawed in the United States since 2000 and in the European Union (as well as the United Kingdom) since 2007.[192] Cat pelts have been used for superstitious purposes as part of the practice of witchcraft,[193] and are still made into blankets in Switzerland as traditional medicine thought to cure rheumatism.[194] A few attempts to build a cat census have been made over the years, both through associations or national and international organizations (such as that of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies[195]) and over the Internet,[196][197] but such a task does not seem simple to achieve. General estimates for the global population of domestic cats range widely from anywhere between 200 million to 600 million.[198][199][200][201][202] Walter Chandoha made his career photographing cats after his 1949 images of Loco, an especially charming stray taken in, were published around the world. He is reported to have photographed 90,000 cats during his career and maintained an archive of 225,000 images that he drew from for publications during his lifetime.[203] Shows Main article: Cat show A cat show is a judged event in which the owners of cats compete to win titles in various cat-registering organizations by entering their cats to be judged after a breed standard.[204] It is often required that a cat must be healthy and vaccinated in order to participate in a cat show.[204] Both pedigreed and non-purebred companion ("moggy") cats are admissible, although the rules differ depending on the organization. Competing cats are compared to the applicable breed standard, and assessed for temperament.[204] Infection Main article: Feline zoonosis Cats can be infected or infested with viruses, bacteria, fungus, protozoans, arthropods or worms that can transmit diseases to humans.[205] In some cases, the cat exhibits no symptoms of the disease.[206] The same disease can then become evident in a human. The likelihood that a person will become diseased depends on the age and immune status of the person. Humans who have cats living in their home or in close association are more likely to become infected. Others might also acquire infections from cat feces and parasites exiting the cat's body.[205][207] Some of the infections of most concern include salmonella, cat-scratch disease and toxoplasmosis.[206] History and mythology Main articles: Cultural depictions of cats and Cats in ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped, and the goddess Bastet often depicted in cat form, sometimes taking on the war-like aspect of a lioness. The Greek historian Herodotus reported that killing a cat was forbidden, and when a household cat died, the entire family mourned and shaved their eyebrows. Families took their dead cats to the sacred city of Bubastis, where they were embalmed and buried in sacred repositories. Herodotus expressed astonishment at the domestic cats in Egypt, because he had only ever seen wildcats.[208] Ancient Greeks and Romans kept weasels as pets, which were seen as the ideal rodent-killers. The earliest unmistakable evidence of the Greeks having domestic cats comes from two coins from Magna Graecia dating to the mid-fifth century BC showing Iokastos and Phalanthos, the legendary founders of Rhegion and Taras respectively, playing with their pet cats. The usual ancient Greek word for 'cat' was ailouros, meaning 'thing with the waving tail'. Cats are rarely mentioned in ancient Greek literature. Aristotle remarked in his History of Animals that "female cats are naturally lecherous." The Greeks later syncretized their own goddess Artemis with the Egyptian goddess Bastet, adopting Bastet's associations with cats and ascribing them to Artemis. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, when the deities flee to Egypt and take animal forms, the goddess Diana turns into a cat.[209][210] Cats eventually displaced weasels as the pest control of choice because they were more pleasant to have around the house and were more enthusiastic hunters of mice. During the Middle Ages, many of Artemis's associations with cats were grafted onto the Virgin Mary. Cats are often shown in icons of Annunciation and of the Holy Family and, according to Italian folklore, on the same night that Mary gave birth to Jesus, a cat in Bethlehem gave birth to a kitten.[211] Domestic cats were spread throughout much of the rest of the world during the Age of Discovery, as ships' cats were carried on sailing ships to control shipboard rodents and as good-luck charms.[50] Several ancient religions believed cats are exalted souls, companions or guides for humans, that are all-knowing but mute so they cannot influence decisions made by humans. In Japan, the maneki neko cat is a symbol of good fortune.[212] In Norse mythology, Freyja, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, is depicted as riding a chariot drawn by cats.[213] In Jewish legend, the first cat was living in the house of the first man Adam as a pet that got rid of mice. The cat was once partnering with the first dog before the latter broke an oath they had made which resulted in enmity between the descendants of these two animals. It is also written that neither cats nor foxes are represented in the water, while every other animal has an incarnation species in the water.[214] Although no species are sacred in Islam, cats are revered by Muslims. Some Western writers have stated Muhammad had a favorite cat, Muezza.[215] He is reported to have loved cats so much, "he would do without his cloak rather than disturb one that was sleeping on it".[216] The story has no origin in early Muslim writers, and seems to confuse a story of a later Sufi saint, Ahmed ar-Rifa'i, centuries after Muhammad.[217] One of the companions of Muhammad was known as Abu Hurayrah ("father of the kitten"), in reference to his documented affection to cats.[218] The ancient Egyptians mummified dead cats out of respect in the same way that they mummified people[4] Ancient Roman mosaic of a cat killing a partridge from the House of the Faun in Pompeii A 19th-century drawing of a tabby cat Superstitions and rituals Some cultures are superstitious about black cats, ascribing either good or bad luck to them Many cultures have negative superstitions about cats. An example would be the belief that encountering a black cat ("crossing one's path") leads to bad luck, or that cats are witches' familiars used to augment a witch's powers and skills. The killing of cats in Medieval Ypres, Belgium, is commemorated in the innocuous present-day Kattenstoet (cat parade).[219] In mid-16th century France, cats would be burnt alive as a form of entertainment. According to Norman Davies, the assembled people "shrieked with laughter as the animals, howling with pain, were singed, roasted, and finally carbonized".[220] James Frazer wrote that "It was the custom to burn a basket, barrel, or sack full of live cats, which was hung from a tall mast in the midst of the bonfire; sometimes a fox was burned. The people collected the embers and ashes of the fire and took them home, believing that they brought good luck. The French kings often witnessed these spectacles and even lit the bonfire with their own hands. In 1648 Louis XIV, crowned with a wreath of roses and carrying a bunch of roses in his hand, kindled the fire, danced at it and partook of the banquet afterwards in the town hall. But this was the last occasion when a monarch presided at the midsummer bonfire in Paris. At Metz midsummer fires were lighted with great pomp on the esplanade, and a dozen cats, enclosed in wicker cages, were burned alive in them, to the amusement of the people. Similarly, at Gap, in the department of the Hautes-Alpes, cats used to be roasted over the midsummer bonfire."[221] According to a myth in many cultures, cats have multiple lives. In many countries, they are believed to have nine lives, but in Italy, Germany, Greece, Brazil and some Spanish-speaking regions, they are said to have seven lives,[222][223] while in Arabic traditions, the number of lives is six.[224] The myth is attributed to the natural suppleness and swiftness cats exhibit to escape life-threatening situations.[citation needed] Also lending credence to this myth is the fact that falling cats often land on their feet, using an instinctive righting reflex to twist their bodies around. Nonetheless, cats can still be injured or killed by a high fall.

A few attempts to build a cat census have been made over the years, both through associations or national and international organizations (such as that of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies[195]) and over the Internet,[196][197] but such a task does not seem simple to achieve. General estimates for the global population of domestic cats range widely from anywhere between 200 million to 600 million.[198][199][200][201][202] Walter Chandoha made his career photographing cats after his 1949 images of Loco, an especially charming stray taken in, were published around the world. He is reported to have photographed 90,000 cats during his career and maintained an archive of 225,000 images that he drew from for publications during his lifetime.[203] Shows Main article: Cat show A cat show is a judged event in which the owners of cats compete to win titles in various cat-registering organizations by entering their cats to be judged after a breed standard.[204] It is often required that a cat must be healthy and vaccinated in order to participate in a cat show.[204] Both pedigreed and non-purebred companion ("moggy") cats are admissible, although the rules differ depending on the organization. Competing cats are compared to the applicable breed standard, and assessed for temperament.

Outdoor cats are active both day and night, although they tend to be slightly more active at night.[97] Domestic cats spend the majority of their time in the vicinity of their homes but can range many hundreds of meters from this central point. They establish territories that vary considerably in size, in one study ranging from 7 to 28 hectares (17–69 acres).[98] The timing of cats' activity is quite flexible and varied, which means house cats may be more active in the morning and evening, as a response to greater human activity at these times.[99] Cats conserve energy by sleeping more than most animals, especially as they grow older. The daily duration of sleep varies, usually between 12 and 16 hours, with 13 and 14 being the average. Some cats can sleep as much as 20 hours. The term "cat nap" for a short rest refers to the cat's tendency to fall asleep (lightly) for a brief period. While asleep, cats experience short periods of rapid eye movement sleep often accompanied by muscle twitches, which suggests they are dreaming.[100] Sociability The social behavior of the domestic cat ranges from widely dispersed individuals to feral cat colonies that gather around a food source, based on groups of co-operating females.[101][102] Within such groups, one cat is usually dominant over the others.[103] Each cat in a colony holds a distinct territory, with sexually active males having the largest territories, which are about 10 times larger than those of female cats and may overlap with several females' territories. These territories are marked by urine spraying, by rubbing objects at head height with secretions from facial glands, and by defecation.[90] Between these territories are neutral areas where cats watch and greet one another without territorial conflicts. Outside these neutral areas, territory holders usually chase away stranger cats, at first by staring, hissing, and growling and, if that does not work, by short but noisy and violent attacks. Despite this colonial organization, cats do not have a social survival strategy or a pack mentality, and always hunt alone.[104] Life in proximity to humans and other domestic animals has led to a symbiotic social adaptation in cats, and cats may express great affection toward humans or other animals. Ethologically, the human keeper of a cat functions as a sort of surrogate for the cat's mother.[105] Adult cats live their lives in a kind of extended kittenhood, a form of behavioral neoteny. Their high-pitched sounds may mimic the cries of a hungry human infant, making them particularly difficult for humans to ignore.[106] Some pet cats are poorly socialized. In particular, older cats show aggressiveness toward newly arrived kittens, which include biting and scratching; this type of behavior is known as feline asocial aggression.[107] Domestic cats' scent rubbing behavior toward humans or other cats is thought to be a feline means for social bonding.[108] Communication Main article: Cat communication Vocalizing domestic cat Domestic cats use many vocalizations for communication, including purring, trilling, hissing, growling/snarling, grunting, and several different forms of meowing.[7] Their body language, including position of ears and tail, relaxation of the whole body, and kneading of the paws, are all indicators of mood. The tail and ears are particularly important social signal mechanisms in cats. A raised tail indicates a friendly greeting, and flattened ears indicates hostility. Tail-raising also indicates the cat's position in the group's social hierarchy, with dominant individuals raising their tails less often than subordinate ones.[109] Feral cats are generally silent.[110]: 208  Nose-to-nose touching is also a common greeting and may be followed by social grooming, which is solicited by one of the cats raising and tilting its head.[102] Purring may have developed as an evolutionary advantage as a signaling mechanism of reassurance between mother cats and nursing kittens. Post-nursing cats often purr as a sign of contentment: when being petted, becoming relaxed,[111][112] or eating. The mechanism by which cats purr is elusive; the cat has no unique anatomical feature that is clearly responsible for the sound.[113] Grooming The hooked papillae on a cat's tongue act like a hairbrush to help clean and detangle fur Cats are known for spending considerable amounts of time licking their coats to keep them clean.[114] The cat's tongue has backward-facing spines about 500 μm long, which are called papillae. These contain keratin which makes them rigid[115] so the papillae act like a hairbrush. Some cats, particularly longhaired cats, occasionally regurgitate hairballs of fur that have collected in their stomachs from grooming. These clumps of fur are usually sausage-shaped and about 2–3 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄4 in) long. Hairballs can be prevented with remedies that ease elimination of the hair through the gut, as well as regular grooming of the coat with a comb or stiff brush.[114] Fighting A domestic cat's arched back, raised fur and an open-mouthed hiss are signs of aggression Among domestic cats, males are more likely to fight than females.[116] Among feral cats, the most common reason for cat fighting is competition between two males to mate with a female. In such cases, most fights are won by the heavier male.[117] Another common reason for fighting in domestic cats is the difficulty of establishing territories within a small home.[116] Female cats also fight over territory or to defend their kittens. Neutering will decrease or eliminate this behavior in many cases, suggesting that the behavior is linked to sex hormones.[118] When cats become aggressive, they try to make themselves appear larger and more threatening by raising their fur, arching their backs, turning sideways and hissing or spitting.[119] Often, the ears are pointed down and back to avoid damage to the inner ear and potentially listen for any changes behind them while focused forward. They may also vocalize loudly and bare their teeth in an effort to further intimidate their opponent. Fights usually consist of grappling and delivering powerful slaps to the face and body with the forepaws as well as bites. Cats also throw themselves to the ground in a defensive posture to rake their opponent's belly with their powerful hind legs.[120] Serious damage is rare, as the fights are usually short in duration, with the loser running away with little more than a few scratches to the face and ears. Fights for mating rights are typically more severe and injuries may include deep puncture wounds and lacerations. Normally, serious injuries from fighting are limited to infections of scratches and bites, though these can occasionally kill cats if untreated. In addition, bites are probably the main route of transmission of feline immunodeficiency virus.[121] Sexually active males are usually involved in many fights during their lives, and often have decidedly battered faces with obvious scars and cuts to their ears and nose.[122] Hunting and feeding See also: Cat nutrition A domestic cat with its prey, a deermouse The shape and structure of cats' cheeks is insufficient to allow them to take in liquids using suction. Therefore, when drinking they lap with the tongue to draw liquid upward into their mouths. Lapping at a rate of four times a second, the cat touches the smooth tip of its tongue to the surface of the water, and quickly retracts it like a corkscrew, drawing water upward.[123][124] Feral cats and free-fed house cats consume several small meals in a day. The frequency and size of meals varies between individuals. They select food based on its temperature, smell and texture; they dislike chilled foods and respond most strongly to moist foods rich in amino acids, which are similar to meat. Cats reject novel flavors (a response termed neophobia) and learn quickly to avoid foods that have tasted unpleasant in the past.[104][125] It is also a common misconception that cats like milk/cream, as they tend to avoid sweet food and milk. Most adult cats are lactose intolerant; the sugar in milk is not easily digested and may cause soft stools or diarrhea.[126] Some also develop odd eating habits and like to eat or chew on things like wool, plastic, cables, paper, string, aluminum foil, or even coal. This condition, pica, can threaten their health, depending on the amount and toxicity of the items eaten.[127] Cats hunt small prey, primarily birds and rodents,[128] and are often used as a form of pest control.[129][130] Cats use two hunting strategies, either stalking prey actively, or waiting in ambush until an animal comes close enough to be captured.[131] The strategy used depends on the prey species in the area, with cats waiting in ambush outside burrows, but tending to actively stalk birds.[132]: 153  Domestic cats are a major predator of wildlife in the United States, killing an estimated 1.3 to 4.0 billion birds and 6.3 to 22.3 billion mammals annually.[133] Certain species appear more susceptible than others; for example, 30% of house sparrow mortality is linked to the domestic cat.[134] In the recovery of ringed robins (Erithacus rubecula) and dunnocks (Prunella modularis), 31% of deaths were a result of cat predation.[135] In parts of North America, the presence of larger carnivores such as coyotes which prey on cats and other small predators reduces the effect of predation by cats and other small predators such as opossums and raccoons on bird numbers and variety.[136] Perhaps the best-known element of cats' hunting behavior, which is commonly misunderstood and often appalls cat owners because it looks like torture, is that cats often appear to "play" with prey by releasing it after capture. This cat and mouse behavior is due to an instinctive imperative to ensure that the prey is weak enough to be killed without endangering the cat.[137] Another poorly understood element of cat hunting behavior is the presentation of prey to human guardians. One explanation is that cats adopt humans into their social group and share excess kill with others in the group according to the dominance hierarchy, in which humans are reacted to as if they are at, or near, the top.[138] Another explanation is that they attempt to teach their guardians to hunt or to help their human as if feeding "an elderly cat, or an inept kitten".[139] This hypothesis is inconsistent with the fact that male cats also bring home prey, despite males having negligible involvement in raising kittens.[132]: 153  Play Main article: Cat play and toys File:Play fight between cats.webmhd.webmPlay media Play fight between kittens aged 14 weeks Domestic cats, especially young kittens, are known for their love of play. This behavior mimics hunting and is important in helping kittens learn to stalk, capture, and kill prey.[140] Cats also engage in play fighting, with each other and with humans. This behavior may be a way for cats to practice the skills needed for real combat, and might also reduce any fear they associate with launching attacks on other animals.[141] Cats also tend to play with toys more when they are hungry.[142] Owing to the close similarity between play and hunting, cats prefer to play with objects that resemble prey, such as small furry toys that move rapidly, but rapidly lose interest. They become habituated to a toy they have played with before.[143] String is often used as a toy, but if it is eaten, it can become caught at the base of the cat's tongue and then move into the intestines, a medical emergency which can cause serious illness, even death.[144] Owing to the risks posed by cats eating string, it is sometimes replaced with a laser pointer's dot, which cats may chase.[145] Reproduction When cats mate, the tomcat (male) bites the scruff of the female's neck as she assumes a position conducive to mating known as lordosis behavior. See also: Kitten Female cats, called queens, are polyestrous with several estrus cycles during a year, lasting usually 21 days. They are usually ready to mate between early February and August.[146] Several males, called tomcats, are attracted to a female in heat. They fight over her, and the victor wins the right to mate. At first, the female rejects the male, but eventually, the female allows the male to mate. The female utters a loud yowl as the male pulls out of her because a male cat's penis has a band of about 120–150 backward-pointing penile spines, which are about 1 mm (1⁄32 in) long; upon withdrawal of the penis, the spines may provide the female with increased sexual stimulation, which acts to induce ovulation.[147] After mating, the female cleans her vulva thoroughly. If a male attempts to mate with her at this point, the female attacks him. After about 20 to 30 minutes, once the female is finished grooming, the cycle will repeat.[148] Because ovulation is not always triggered by a single mating, females may not be impregnated by the first male with which they mate.[149] Furthermore, cats are superfecund; that is, a female may mate with more than one male when she is in heat, with the result that different kittens in a litter may have different fathers.[148] The morula forms 124 hours after conception. At 148 hours, early blastocysts form. At 10–12 days, implantation occurs.[150] The gestation of queens lasts between 64 and 67 days, with an average of 65 days.[146][151] Radiography of a pregnant cat. The skeletons of two fetuses are visible on the left and right of the uterus. A newborn kitten Data on the reproductive capacity of more than 2,300 free-ranging queens were collected during a study between May 1998 and October 2000. They had one to six kittens per litter, with an average of three kittens. They produced a mean of 1.4 litters per year, but a maximum of three litters in a year. Of 169 kittens, 127 died before they were six months old due to a trauma caused in most cases by dog attacks and road accidents.[9] The first litter is usually smaller than subsequent litters. Kittens are weaned between six and seven weeks of age. Queens normally reach sexual maturity at 5–10 months, and males at 5–7 months. This varies depending on breed.[148] Kittens reach puberty at the age of 9–10 months.[146] Cats are ready to go to new homes at about 12 weeks of age, when they are ready to leave their mother.[152] They can be surgically sterilized (spayed or castrated) as early as seven weeks to limit unwanted reproduction.[153] This surgery also prevents undesirable sex-related behavior, such as aggression, territory marking (spraying urine) in males and yowling (calling) in females. Traditionally, this surgery was performed at around six to nine months of age, but it is increasingly being performed before puberty, at about three to six monthsmonths. In the United States, about 80% of household cats are neuteredneutered.