National Cat Day-October 29, 2020

Frank and little Sutton. Photo credit: Erin Maguire
Helen Maguire

One of our daughters is a “Cat Rescuer” – I cannot count the number of stray, abandoned, furry critters that she had brought home in order to nurse them, care for them, and, ultimately find good homes for them. She will be happy to read that we actually have a National Cat Day to celebrate her favorite, what I call, “Rotten, Miserable, Beasts” (RMB’s). Of course, I am kidding, because I think they’re awfully cute and we’ve had several as pets, from time to time.

In 2005, Lifestyle writer Colleen Paige took credit for establishing October 29th as National Cat Day. Her stated mission: “To help galvanize the public to recognize the number of cats that need to be rescued each year and also to encourage cat lovers to celebrate the cat(s) in their lives for the unconditional love and companionship they bestow upon us.”

Science magazine reports that cat domestication goes back 12,000 years. That encompasses a lot of toys and even more naps. The process appears to have taken place in the Middle East — think Israel, Iraq, and Lebanon. Domestication did not happen overnight.

According to National Geographic, “DNA analysis suggests that cats lived for thousands of years alongside humans before they were domesticated. During that time, their genes have changed little from those of wildcats, apart from picking up one recent tweak: the distinctive stripes and dots of the tabby cat.”

It was long thought that cat domestication was initiated in Egypt, because cats in ancient Egypt were venerated since around 3100 BC. However, the earliest indication for the taming of an African wildcat (F. lybica) was found in Shillourokambos, southern Cyprus, where a cat skeleton was excavated close by a human Neolithic grave dating to around 9,200 to 9,500 years ago.

Another study from University of Rome scholar Claudio Ottoni reveals that ancient sailors would bring cats along to “help protect food storages on board by killing rodents. This allowed cats to spread across the world.”

The cat (Felis catus) is a small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and often referred to as the domestic cat to distinguish it from wild members of the family. The cat is either a house cat, a farm cat, or a feral cat. The latter ranges freely and avoids human contact. Domestic cats are valued by humans for companionship and for their ability to hunt rodents. About 60 cat breeds are recognized by various cat registries.

The cat is similar in anatomy to the other felid species, has a strong flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp teeth and retractable claws adapted to killing small prey. 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. It is a solitary hunter, but a social species. It can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small mammals. It is a predator that is most active at dawn and dusk.

Source: Nationaltoday.com; Wikipedia.com

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