The Pharaohs raised the status of the domesticated cat to godhood. In case of fire, it was customary to save the domestic cat before any attempt was made to put out the flames. Mummies were made of cats, and embalmed mice were placed with them in their tombs. In one ancient city, over 300,000 cat mummies were found. The Egyptian cat-goddess Bast (portrayed with the body of a woman and head of a cat) was the defender of cats and those who cared for these special creatures.

THE CAT GODDESS BAST

SEKHMET

In Ancient Egypt, 3500 B.C., people prayed to cats and considered them almost divine with a devotion that today's cat-owners can hardly compete with. Cats were also extremely well-suited for keeping down the vermin in the grain stores, for instance. Killing a cat entailed the death penalty. Dead cats were embalmed and buried in special coffins in their own cat-graveyards. A person who had lost his cat shaved off all his hair to show the extent of his grief. Later, Phoenician tradesmen took short-haired cats to Italy from where they gradually spread throughout Europe. (Long-haired cats came considerably later from Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan.)

6 months- 10 years8 months- 13 years

1 year- 15 years2 years- 24 years4 years.- 32 years6 years- 40 years8 years- 48 years

10 years- 56 years12 years- 64 years14 years- 72 years16 years- 80 years18 years- 88 years20 years- 96 years

21 years- 100 years

The cat's age in relation to a human's Cat's age: Human's age:

Cats Species

The cats, or the Family Felidae, are supposed to be a prominent part of order Carnivora the carnivores. Zoologist has divided cat family into 36 cat species and each cat specie make prominent to itself with some unique and stunning characteristics. According to Linnaeus’s specie classification, all the cats are classified in general cat specie called Felis within the Felidae family.But as it seems an unfairness to classify such a big family under single specie, zoologists divide cat family in different groups and each group high-flying itself with different kind of cats. But according to latest researches, zoologist believes that there are just three genera of cats:

- Felis for all the small cats- Panthera for the big cats (which are defined by their ability to roar)- Acinonyx for the cheetah.

CATS INFO It has been scientifically proven that owning cats is good for our health and can decrease the occurrence of high blood pressure and other illnesses.

A cat has more bones than a human being; humans have 206 and the cat has 230 bones.

A cat's hearing is much more sensitive than humans and dogs.

The cat's tail is used to maintain balance.

Cats see six times better in the dark and at night than humans.

A healthy cat has a temperature between 38 and 39 degrees Celcius.

About 37% of American homes today have at least 1 cat.

On average, a cat will sleep for 16 hours a day.

A domestic cat can run at speeds of 30 mph.

An adult cat has 30 teeth, 16 on the top and 14 on the bottom.

In multi-cat households, cats of the opposite sex usually get along better.

Egyptian Mau cats

Egyptian Mau cats

easily be able to identify the ancestors of the modern day Mau

mau means ‘cats’ in the Middle Egyptian language

 small to medium sized cat and has slender, muscular bodies

spotted and it has banded legs and tails

five colors- silver, bronze, pewter, smoke and blue/pewter.

unique skin flap extending from the flank to the back knees.

posses musical voices and can chirp and chortle amongst other sounds

They need very warm temperatures

longest gestation period of 73 days.

Persian Cat

most popular

Persian Cat

The breed has around sixty different color variations

flat faces, small ears, short noses and wide chests. Their legs are sturdy with large paws

often seen participating in cat competitions

enjoy being playful and affectionate

They are not too active and do not jump or climb

Today, there are only seven species of big cats that survived from what was—about 25 million years agoa remarkably diverse group of large felid carnivoresThese seven living species are classified into three groups that include the Panthera, Felis,and Acinonyx. Each species is quite unique and can be distinguished from the others by their different body size, behaviours, and appearance.

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest of all cats. The tiger is one of four species that belong to the genus Panthera, more commonly referred to as the 'roaring cats'. Tigers are solitary animals that prefer the cover of dense vegetation—a habitat in which they can stalk their prey. Their range once extended throughout India and southeastern Asia, from the Caspian Sea to northern China and Siberia. The tiger's coat is orange with black stripes and white markings on its face, chest, and underside. Eight subspecies of tiger have been identified, though three of those subspecies have been extinct since the 1950s. The extinct subspecies include the Caspian, Javan, and Bali tigers.

The lion (Panthera leo) is the second largest cat species and, like the tiger, is a member of the genus Panthera. Lions have a buff-colored coat, white underparts, and a long tail that ends in a black tuft of fur. Today, lions inhabit the savanna regions of sub-Saharan Africa. There is also a relic population of less than 300 lions that live in the Gir forest in the northwestern corner of India. Lions form groups known as prides that include 2 to 40 individuals. Prides generally consist of a group of related females that are joined by several males that take over the pride and remain with it for several years before being replaced by competing males. Lions hunt in groups and often take down prey species that greatly outsize them.

Panthers, also called jaguars, (Panthera onca) are the world's third largest species of cat, only lions and tigers are larger. Adults weigh between 100 and 250 lbs and measure about 4 ft in length. Jaguars are usually tan with black rosettes (a ring of spots with another spot in the center). They live in a variety of different habitats including dense rainforest, scrubland, and grasslands. Their range extends from the souther parts of Arizona and New Mexico through central America to northern Argentina and northeastern Brazil. Jaguars, alongside lions, leopards, and tigers, belong to genus Panthera.

Baby Jaguar

The leopard (Panthera pardus) is the most widely distributed member of the genus Panthera. The present-day range of the leopard includes Africa, the Near and Middle East, southern Asia, and the Malaysian archipelago. Leopards are secretive and mostly solitary cats that inhabit a wide range of habitats including lowland forests, savannahs, mountains, scrublands, and deserts. The leopard's coat has a background color of pale, cream-yellow on its underside that darkens slightly to an orange-brown on its back. Solid black spots adorn its limbs and head, smaller and denser than the golden, umber-centered rosettes that cover its back and sides. The leopard's tale has irregular patches that, at the tip of the tale, become dark-ringed bands.

Dick Whittington and His Cat is a British folk tale that has often been used as the basis for stage pantomimes and other adaptations. It tells of a poor boy in the 14th century who becomes a wealthy merchant and eventually the Lord Mayor of London because of the ratting abilities of his cat. The character of the boy is named after a real-life person, Richard Whittington, but the real Whittington did not come from a poor family and there is no evidence that he had a cat.

Leautaud (1872-1956); French writer and man of letters; well known for his love of animals, especially cats and dogs; also had as pets a goose and a monkey; reputed in his lifetime to have looked after 300 cats

Kingsley Amis enjoyed the company of cats: "I am enough of a cat-lover to be suspicious of a household that doesn't have a cat...I associate a person having a cat with them being gentler than other people. Cats stimulate the fancy; we weave fantasies about them.“  His cat, a pure white long-haired, called Sarah Snow inspired him to write this poem in 1987:

CAT ENGLISH by Kingsley Amis 

It may seem funny but my cat Is learning English. Think of that!

For years she did all right with „Meow“,But that won't satisfy her now,

And, where before she'd squawk or squeakShe'll try with all her might to speak.So when I came downstairs todayI was impressed to hear her say„Hallo“, Not like a person, true;

It might not sound quite right to you,More of a simple squeak or squawk,

Still, that's what happens when cats talk;Their mouths and tongues and things are fine,

But different shapes from yours and mine;They simply try their level best

And our good will must do the rest.So, when I pick up Sarah's dishAnd ask who's for a spot of fish,

I have to listen carefully,But I've no doubt she answers," Me!“And when I serve her with the stuff

It's „Ta“, she tells me, right enough.Well now, I could go on about

Her call of „Bye!“ when I go outAnd „Hi!“ when I come home againBut by this stage the point is plain:

If you've a sympathetic earCat-English comes through loud and clear;

Of course, the words are short and few,The accent strange, and strident too,

And our side never gets a crackAt any kind of answer back,But think of it the other way,

With them to listen, you to say.Imagine the unholy row

You'd make with „Mew!“ and „Purr!“ and „Meow!“And not get anything across!

Sarah would give her head a toss,Her nose or tail a scornful twitch -

I cannot really settle which -And gaze at you in sad distressFor such pathetic childishness.

Unless you want a snub like that,Leave all the talking to your cat.