King of the garden

King of the garden - The domestic cat (Felis catus Linnaeus , 1758 [1] or Felis silvestris catus Schreber , 1775 ) is a carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Felidae . You are about fifty different breeds recognized with certificates. Essentially territorial and dusk , the cat is a predator of small animals, especially rodents. To communicate using various vocalizations (more than 16) , purring , the positions of the body and produces pheromones. Can be trained to obey simple commands and can teach yourself how to manipulate simple mechanisms, such as doorknobs . It's the cat with the most wide area in the world, with the largest population , also the protagonist of the phenomena of savagery so large as to determine its inclusion in the list of 100 of the most damaging invasive species in the world by the International Union for the conservation of Nature [2]. The name derives from the Latin medieval Italian cat Gattus (VIII cent.) , Late Latin Hattush (IV cent.) , Classic catta (Martial , c . 75 AD ) [3] of uncertain origin, perhaps African (see Nubian and Berber Kadis kaddīska , " cat " , [4 ] Arab قط , " male cat " [3] ) . The type catta / Hattush supplanted the traditional Latin term Feles throughout the Romània ( but not in Romanian [4] , where we use Pisică ) and from this comes the cat Italian , Spanish and Portuguese gato , French chat . From the term tardolatino also derive the corresponding words Celtic (see irl . Cat , gall . Cath , bret . Kaz ) , Germanic (see protogermanico * kattuz , where ancient Frisian katte , norr . Köttr , neer . Kat , aat kazza , ted . Katze , ags . catt , Engl. cat) and slave (cf. old Church Slavonic котъка kotŭka , bulg . котка kotka , Russian кошка Koška , pol. kot ) , as well as the Lithuanian and Finnish kate katti [3]. anatomy The body temperature of the cat oscillates between 38 and 38.5 ° C, the normal respiratory rate is 10/20 breaths per minute and the heart of 110/ 140 beats per minute . Skeleton and Muscles His body is agile , flexible and solid enough to allow him to walk so quiet and take off big jumps , its retractable claws (more precisely protractile , since in ordinary condition of rest are hidden and are extracted only when needed ) allow him to climb up and grab it with great agility. The skeleton is formed by 250 bones . The neck vertebrae are short and the spine very mobile . The clavicle cats , like all felines , is a small and connected only by a ligament at the sternum : what gives it great mobility seen that the shoulders can move independently . The caudal vertebrae extend the column , their number is variable depending on the breed. The tail has an important role in maintaining the balance . The front legs ending with five toes equipped with claws protractile , made up of keratin , but only four of them touch the ground , as the remains of the left thumb . However, there are cases of feline polydactyly in which the cat appears to have six or even seven toes on each foot . claw The hind legs are longer than the front , ending with four toes with claws protractile also provided . The bearings are constituted by elastic membranes which give gait silent . Under the legs , as in the nose and above the eyes are also present the " whiskers " that action to control the balance of the feline. The back muscles are very flexible and powerful than those of the hind legs . These specifications give the animal a great agility and breadth when he jumps : can jump to a height of five times greater than its height. In the race can reach 50 km / h and can do 100 meters in 7 seconds. But it is not a long distance runner and gets tired very quickly . Contrary to what is generally thought , all cats know how to swim very well and do not hesitate to jump into the water if forced . A cat weighs on average between 2.5 and 4.5 kg and measures 46 to 51 cm without the tail that measure 20 to 25 cm . The record of the weight and size is held by Himmy , a cat neutered Australian who at his death in 1986 weighed 23 kg per 96.5 cm in total length. digestive System Internal Organs Like all carnivores , the last upper premolar and first lower molar form the so-called " feral " . These allow cats to tear the food, thanks to the powerful muscles attached to the side walls of his skull , swallowing without chewing. The jaw of the cat is made ​​so that , while allowing only a vertical mastication , has the advantage of allowing a scissor effect . The hyoid bone is ossified internally , this allows the cat to purr but not roar. In contrast to humans , the cat chews a little and the process of digestion begins in the stomach and not in the mouth. The stomach of the cat is small (about 300 milliliters) , but it has very high acidity that is also useful as a means of prevention of digestive infections [5] . His gut rather short (about a meter to the small intestine and from 20 to 40 cm for the colon ) is typical of the hunters of small prey . These dimensions explain why the cat should eat frequently but in small amounts ( between 10 and 16 meals) . [6] The cat's digestive system is also ill-suited to the variety of food , which can cause diarrhea and vomiting . Finally, the transit of food in the digestive system of cats is rapid : between 12 and 14 hours [5] . The nose. The cat has 200 million olfactory endings , many more than the dog that has from 80 to 100 million depending on the species and 5 million of human beings , they are specialized in finding food. In fact, it has a sensitivity to various nitrogen compounds, allowing the animal to determine , with great sensitivity, if the meal is rancid and spoiled : while the dog bites the bite that is given , the cat inspects smelling . The Jacobson's organ is able to detect both olfactory sensations both buds , has the specific purpose of transmitting the sensory stimuli to sexual centers of the brain. Smell is also important in your sex life : the male is able to smell the female to hundreds of meters away. Taste [edit | edit source ] The language. It has a highly developed sense of taste due to which it can perceive a slight change in the taste of the water . The cat perceives little sweet flavors [10]. Like the dog , the cat has most of the taste buds on the tip and edges of the tongue [11] , which allows it to swallow mouthfuls directly . The taste buds of the cat are in the form of microscopic hooks ( facing inward ) suitable for stripping the bones of the prey and the cleaning of the hair. [12] touch The pads . Even his sense of touch is well developed. His whiskers , called vibrissae , allow it to sense small changes in air pressure and obstacles. It is also thanks to them that is able to navigate in total darkness and perceive the size of small spaces. It has also under the feet of the whiskers under the chin and the eyebrows. The pads under the paws are very sensitive to vibrations , and her skin is covered with highly sensitive tactile cells . The balance over the falls : the vestibular apparatus [edit | edit source ] His vestibular system is highly developed , it gives a good sense of balance . This explains its unique ability to toss and turn during a fall to land on his paws . If a cat falls from even a few inches from the ground and shot in the back, can toss and turn at first by turning the head towards the ground , then the front legs and then the back ones [13]. The cat then finds himself with his belly to the ground and takes a position that is reminiscent of the flying squirrels . This maneuver is not always manages to save his life . [14] reproduction sexual maturity The male reproductive functions begin to develop at about 3 months with the increased production of testosterone, and appear about six months of thorns on his penis . [15] At this age can begin to reproduce often , the brand territory by spraying tiny jets of urine smell very marked . The female becomes pubescent on her first estrus, or heat period commonly called the rut , which occurs , on average, between seven and ten months . [16] From the first estrus , which lasts from one to five days , the cat is able to reproduce. This will be followed numerous periods of fertility , generally from spring to autumn . It is possible that a cat is fertilized again two weeks after birth [15]. Coupling [edit | edit source ] Coupling of the cat. During mating , which lasts between 5 and 15 seconds, the male steps on the back of the female, biting the neck and chest controls acting on its back with its legs in order to improve the control of posture and therefore the penetration. During coitus the female tends to groan and get nervous , because the small spines on the penis of the male, oriented backwards , scrape the walls of the vagina. This stimulation of the vagina is required to trigger ovulation [17 ] . The implantation of the fertilized ova takes place one or two days after mating and kittens born in the same delivery can be children of different fathers . When cats live in groups , synchronization occurs between the inspiration of the females in the group. This facilitates the synchronization of births and allows a farm in the municipality of young people. The farming community is important since, in the event of death of one of the mothers , orphaned kittens are bred from other females. Pregnancy and childbirth Pregnancy lasts an average of 65 days and a litter involves an average of 2 to 8 kittens, children in first-time mothers . The average number of a litter of 4 kittens , 2 and 8 in rare cases kittens in very rare cases. The cat's belly begins to swell at about four weeks of gestation. At about 35 days, the female breasts swell and redden . At 7 weeks old, begin to look for a quiet place , suitable to give birth. [18] About twenty minutes after the first contractions , the cat gives birth to her first kitten, then , in general , the other kittens arrive every fifteen minutes. The kittens are born in a bag . It will be the same cat to open it, to cut the umbilical cord and wash her ​​puppies , with shots of the tongue, to stimulate the first breath . Then eat the placenta , which is very nutritious. However, no unusual multiple parts that last several hours. The breeding kittens The kitten was born blind ( with eyes closed ) and deaf. It weighs 100 to 110 grams [16] , and when he opens his eyes , around 8:00 to 12:00 days, these have a blue color , to change to the final two months . [19] All cats are born with streaks "ghost" that slowly disappear with the growth of the hair . [20] The cat teaches the kittens to wash and feed. At four weeks brings the first prey alive, then to five weeks taught him the rudiments of the hunt . [20] The emancipation occurs between eight and twelve weeks , but the separation is carried out by the family from the age of about eight weeks [16] , when the mother chases puppies.