Cat Family

Cat Family, common name for an almost exclusively carnivorous (meat-eating) family of mammals that are superbly adapted for their typically predatory life. All members of the family are very similar in having a lithe and agile soft-furred body, acute vision and hearing, and claws and teeth that are highly adapted for grasping and tearing. Cats naturally inhabit all continents except Antarctica and Australasia. The tiger, lion, jaguar, and leopard are the so-called big cats. The cat family also includes the clouded leopard and the cheetah. Twelve cats occur in the Western hemisphere: the bobcat, Geoffroy’s cat, jaguar, jaguarundi, Kodkod, little spotted cat, lynx, margay, mountain cat, ocelot, pampas cat, and puma (also known as the cougar or mountain lion).

Cats as a family have characteristically short faces and small, broad skulls. The ears are erect and readily rotate to pick up sound or to signal intention; they range in shape from round to pointed. The strong jaws do almost no grinding; food is cut and chopped with a tooth formation in the upper and lower jaws of three pairs of incisors, one pair of canines, two or three pairs of premolars, and one pair of molars. The molar is modified to a formidable shearing tooth, or carnassial. The tongue is covered with sharp, backwards-slanted projections, or papillae, which help to clean the flesh from the bones of animal prey. The paws are well padded; the forefeet have five toes and the hind feet have four. All cats are digitigrade—that is, they walk on the toes with the back part of the foot raised. The claws are long, sharp, and, with the sole exception of the cheetah, completely retractile—that is, they can be drawn in so that the paw can be used without scratching or ripping. Cats have certain characteristic traits such as washing the face with the front paws and sharpening the claws.

Most cats hunt in dim light, but they may also hunt in the dark and in daylight. They either stalk their prey or lie in wait and spring upon their quarry unexpectedly. They generally hunt alone or in family parties, relying mostly on their sight and hearing. Their sense of smell is also keen but is usually employed in the examination of the kill. The pupils of the eyes, which contract to vertical slits during the daytime, become rounded and greatly expanded in the dark.

Species of cats that live in cold regions are covered with long, soft fur. The male is usually longer and heavier than the female but otherwise has about the same colouring and build. In most species the male has two to three females in his territory. Offspring are usually one to six in number. See also Cat, Domestic.

Scientific classification: Cats make up the family Felidae, of the order Carnivora. The tiger, lion, jaguar, and leopard make up the genus Panthera (formerly Leo). The Bornean clouded leopard is classified as Neofelis diardi, the mainland clouded leopard as Neofelis nebulosa, the snow leopard as Uncia uncia, and the cheetah as Acinonyx jubatus. The bobcat is classified as Lynx rufus, Geoffroy’s cat as Oncifelis geoffroyi, the jaguar as Panthera onca, the jaguarundi as Herpailurus yagouaroundi, and the Kodkod as Oncifelis guigna. The little spotted cat is classified as Oncifelis tigrinus, the lynx as Lynx lynx, the margay as Leopardus wiedii, and the mountain cat as Oreailurus jacobita. The ocelot is classified as Leopardus pardalis, the pampas cat as Oncifelis colocolo, and the puma as Puma concolor.