Is a cat a CAT?

Originally published in TC Dog in 2006.

"A cat is a cat is a cat," wrote E.E. Cummings. From the world's largest feline, the Siberian tiger, to the domestic cats who accompany us in our homes-all felines are remarkably similar in design and function. They are quick, graceful, playful, and curious, with bodies and attitudes designed for the hunt.

As stalking and hunting carnivores, felines represent the nearest thing to predatory perfection. Using excellent vision and hearing to detect movement, cats hunt by sight and sound. Their curved claws, flexible spine and their raspy tongues are a few characteristics that make them proficient hunters. Scaled large or small, their size corresponds to the habitat and the prey they stalk.

Not surprisingly, felines have the most highly developed binocular vision of all carnivores. Binocular vision makes it possible for them to judge depth perception when jumping from a branch or ambushing prey. Big cats, like cougars and tigers, have round pupils similar to that of humans; smaller cats have distinctive vertical slits. This is why, in ancient times, many believed large cats mirrored a man's soul.

Cat licks can sometimes be as painful as their bite. Their tongue is covered with small hook-like projections called papillae. While a lick from a domestic cat feels rough, a lick from a tiger's tongue will remove skin. The function of this is to strip hair and hide as well as scrape meat from bones.

Some of the wild cats also purr much like your domestic cat to demonstrate contentment. But lions and tigers do not have the capability to purr because the piece of cartilage used to purr by some cats is formed differently in lions and tigers and allows them to roar. Therefore, cats that roar cannot purr. Instead, tigers make a greeting noise, called "chuffing," a sound similar to the sound of a snorting horse.

Ritualized grooming, a most familiar image of the cat, is a behavior performed by all cats by licking their fur and scrubbing their faces with their forepaws. Just like domestic cats, wild cats can sleep up to 18 hours a day. Wild cats also like to play and bat things around just like domestics. Kittens, and cubs, play is actually training for learning how to hunt and ambush prey.

No two cats have the same coat pattern-they are as unique as human fingerprints. The stripes and spots on wild cats actually go down to the skin where the markings are replicated. In the wild, the length and size of the cat's tail distinguishes it as an ambusher or jumper. Cougars have long, thick tails that they use for balance and like a rudder when they jump. Bobcats have short tails since they ambush their prey. A long tail could rattle the bushes, alerting cats' prey of their whereabouts.

The relationship between domestic cats and their human companions takes on many forms. Often reverting from predator to a near infantile state, domestic cats curl close to their two-legged friend, kneading with their paws, as if on their mother's belly. Conversely, they sometimes treat us like kittens, bringing us their prey, as they would bring it to the den of their young. They rub against our faces and bodies to mark us with their scent, as they would with other cats to whom they are bonded.

Few people realize the domestic cat is only one of 37 different species of cats. Fewer still are aware that two-thirds of wild cats are now listed as rare or endangered, and the rest as threatened.

Domestication

It is believed that all modern breeds of domestic cats descended from the North African wild cat subspecies. Egypt was the first place cats were domesticated and commonly lived with people, approximately 6,000 years ago. Compare that to man's attempt to turn wild cats into common pets within the last 15-30 years. This only removes the animal from its wild-caught parents by one to two generations, at the most. The predatory instinct preserved by this relative closeness to the wild, combined with the size of a cougar or tiger, presents a disastrous combination. Some owners defang and declaw the animal to try and make it a "safe" pet. One should ask, if you need to take the wild out of the animal, what is the real reason for wanting a wild animal in the first place?

In addition, cross-breeding is highly unlikely to ever occur in the wild, but unfortunately, this is not the case in captivity. Many breeders are crossing wild cats with domestic cats to sell what they call "lap leopards." The downfall is these smaller cats still contain 50 percent wild genetics and therefore are usually skittish and have poor litter box habits. The end result is a large number of these cats are surrendered for not showing domestic personalities or behaviors. Soon, buyers realize that it doesn't matter the size of the cat-when it has wild genetics, it tends to act wild. In addition, many individuals are trying to skirt around wild animal ordinances by buying the hybrids, but in most cases, if it is illegal to own a wild or exotic animal in the city or state, it is also illegal to own a wild hybrid. Domestic shelters do not take in these cats or adopt them out because they are wild hybrids, and many sanctuaries don't accommodate them either. Small and Big Cat Rescue

Sadly, shelters are now needed for both domestic and wild cats. All across the U.S., wild cats are bred for sale to be pets, performers, or exhibits in roadside zoos. In a CNN report, Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle said, "The exotic animal trade is second only to the drug trade in raw dollars. It's literally billions of dollars exchanged in the exotic animal trade." On Internet sites, you can point, click, and buy lions and tigers. The motive is profit. Unfortunately, in the end, the cats are the ones who pay the highest price.

The Wildcat Sanctuary located in Isanti, Minn. is one sanctuary that provides a safe and humane home to wild cats including cougars, tigers, and lynx. Throughout the United States, tens of thousands of these animals are privately owned as pets, or for-profit breeding. Too often, the cats outlive their usefulness and have nowhere to go. Or worse yet, the cats are confined to make-shift kennels, where they pose a serious risk to the safety of the community.

At The Wildcat Sanctuary, animals are never bought, sold, bred, traded, or mistreated in any way. Each resident is given every opportunity to behave naturally in a safe, humane environment for life.

Providing safe entertainment for the wildcats at the sanctuary proves challenging because the wild cats consume and destroy everything. Many come to the sanctuary with bowel obstructions from dog toys and other inappropriate "toys." To keep the cats entertained and prevent boredom, The Wildcat Sanctuary provides them toys in the form of phone books, cardboard boxes, and paper towel and toilet paper rolls with meat in them-items they can destroy that won't harm their intestines. They also provide Christmas trees and pumpkins for the big cats to demolish and sink their teeth into. Just like domestic cats, not all wild cats react to catnip. At the sanctuary, the only wild cats that respond to catnip are the bobcats and lynx. The sanctuary is working with local company Duckyworld Pet Products and their 100 percent Organically Grown Yeowww!(tm) Brand catnip to create appropriate toys for the wild cats. The sanctuary also provides platforms and perches so the cats can jump and scratching posts for the ones that haven't been declawed by their ex-owners.

There are so many wonderful domestic cats in the U.S. waiting for homes, I encourage people to adopt these animals and leave the wild ones in their hearts not their homes.

To learn more, visit www.wildcatsanctuary.org