10 Best House Cat Breeds Purrfect for Indoor Living

house cat

The cats invited themselves in, and over time, as people favored cats with more docile traits, certain cats adapted to this new environment, producing the dozens of breeds of house cats known today. In the United States, cats are the most popular house pet, with 90 million domesticated cats slinking around 34 percent of U.S. homes. Female domestic cats can have kittens from spring to late autumn in temperate zones and throughout the year in equatorial regions, with litter sizes often ranging from two to five kittens. Domestic cats are bred and shown at events as registered pedigreed cats, a hobby known as cat fancy. In urban areas, rodent populations are more often limited by the availability of food resources than by cat populations. While they may hunt, barn cats, or any other cats, do not provide effective rodent control, especially for rats (which are usually the intended targets).

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Silvestris (the European wildcat), which was thought to also be a common ancestor to domesticated cats, showed that there were significant differences between the two. Silvestris has a tendency to be very timid and aggressive even when they are raised starting as kittens around a human population. This group was also very territorial and showed aggressive behavior within their own species as well.

Devon Rex Cats

But, as a trip to your local shelter will confirm, household cats come in many shapes and sizes. Animal Planet affectionately refers to Domestic shorthair cats as the mutts of the cat world because they're a mix of various breeds, resulting in a vast range of markings, colors, and personalities. With endless color and pattern combinations, they are a rainbow of cat cuddles. If cats seem ambivalent towards us, as the quotations from cat fan-sites indicate, then it may be a reflection of the wildly mixed feelings humans, too, have shown cats over the millennia.

Cat jumps into an Amazon return box, travels to California - USA TODAY

Cat jumps into an Amazon return box, travels to California.

Posted: Sat, 27 Apr 2024 19:11:30 GMT [source]

Domestic cat

When breeding is not limited byresources, feral cats can have multiple litters in a year. Breeding can occur year-round, although feral cats don’t tend tobreed in winter months. One study found that feral cats not fed by people hadsmaller litters and lower kitten survival rate, while feral cats that were fedhad larger litters and higher kitten survival rates. One adult female cat cangive birth to as many as 100 kittens in a 7-year period.

Ideal Cat Weight

Still, even the oldest Egyptian representations of wildcats are 5,000 to 6,000 years younger than the 9,500-year-old Cypriot burial. By 2,900 years ago the domestic cat had become the official deity of Egypt in the form of the goddess Bastet, and such cats were sacrificed, mummified and buried in great numbers at Bastet’s sacred city, Bubastis. The sheer number of cat mummies found there, measured by the ton, indicates that Egyptians were not just harvesting feral or wild populations but, for the first time in history, were actively breeding domestic cats. While house cats have been domesticated for thousands of years and are commonly kept as pets, lions are not suitable for domestication. Lions are wild animals that require a very specific habitat and diet to thrive. In 2000 one of us (Driscoll) set out to tackle the question by assembling DNA samples from some 979 wildcats and domestic cats in southern Africa, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and the Middle East.

Domestication & Distribution

house cat

House cats, on the other hand, are solitary hunters that rely on their speed, agility, and stealth to catch smaller prey such as mice and birds. It should also contain a moderate amount of healthy fats and few carbs. Cats love to eat, so if your cat is too thin despite proper feeding, it could be a sign that your cat has a health condition that might need attention from a vet. Dental problems, intestinal parasites, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and even bad food can all be the reason your cat is losing weight unexpectedly. The best way to determine a healthy cats weight is to use our image guide above and do a visual test. You should not see any fat deposits on the cat, but you shouldn’t see the ribs, especially when looking at the cat from above.

Although this ensures that the cat will not produce any more litters, this does not negate the public health risks or the conservation issues that surround feral cats’ existence in communities. Keep vegetation trimmed and grass mowed to reduce sheltering areas for cats. Reduce vegetation available to shelter feral cats and there will be fewer resources (such as wood piles, under decking) for cats, fleas, and other wildlife attracted to the overgrowth. Between 2001 and 2021, Los Angeles and Orange Counties had over 1,100 instances of human flea-borne typhus cases.

house cat

Live Video of the Cats

We hope you have enjoyed reading this guide, using our cat weight chart and learned whether or not your cat is in a healthy weight range. Most modern house cats are suffering from obesity, and we need to get this serious problem under control. The right amount of calories from nutritious food, and plenty of playtimes are the best way. If you know any people with cats that can benefit from this information, please share this guide to how much your cat should weigh on Facebook and Twitter. This drift led to the emergence of the Korat, the Siamese, the Birman and other “natural breeds,” which were described by Thai Buddhist monks in a book called the Tamara Maew (meaning “Cat-Book Poems”) that may date back to 1350.

Reasonably priced and well-constructed, the house is a little basic and the height (18 inches) takes into account the domed roof, so it may not be suitable for very large cats and won’t house multiple cats. Lions are currently listed as a vulnerable species, with their populations declining due to habitat loss, poaching, and other threats. Conservation efforts are underway to protect lion populations and ensure their survival. Another factor that is easy to overlook is the cats’ personalities.

Despite remaining a non-pedigreed cat, the Domestic Shorthair is accepted by the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) in the Household Pets category, where she can compete for the Grand Household Pet of the year award. Household pets are judged in one group without regard to sex, coat length, age, or color, explains the CFA. They are judged instead for their uniqueness, pleasing appearance, unusual markings, and sweet dispositions. This means that, despite not being purebred, your fur baby can have her chance in the spotlight after all.

Cats can quickly develop fatty liver disease if you try to make them lose weight too fast. Fatty liver disease affects your cat’s ability to process blood and could be life-threatening. Ultimately, you need to assess your situation to see if you can provide adequate care for each of your cats. You also need enough space for all the cats in your home and buy a litter box for each one. If you must adopt another kitty, you can apply for a permit that allows you to go over the limit. Unfortunately, there isn’t a straightforward answer to how many cats you can own in California.

This educational content is not veterinary advice and does not replace consultation with a qualified veterinarian. Use of this site is subject to our terms of use and privacy policy. ©2024 This website is owned and operated by Cliverse Media DAO LTD. Our volunteers are the driving force behind making true change in ecosystem health and wild cat conservation. Some like to volunteer in the field, others help us maintain our online presence, and some work with events.

Regular trimming of claws and brushing of teeth will keep your kitty in tip-top shape, along with regular brushing with a rubber or stainless steel comb or brush. In addition to yearly check-ups with your veterinarian, establishing a maintenance routine with your kitty from an early age will help make it a stress-free process for both of you. With proper care, the Domestic Shorthair cat can live up to twenty years. Generally speaking, she falls into the medium category for height and weight, and much like her purebred, pedigreed relative, the American shorthair, the Domestic shorthair cat has a muscular build with a round face and eyes.

High densities of feral catshave been reported in urban areas where feral cats have access to supplementalfood sources and are not restricted to feeding on prey. However, the Domestic Shorthair is one of the most common house cats in America, and if you didn’t purchase a specific breed, it is probably a Domestic Shorthair. These cats are normally around 10 pounds, but it can still vary, and you will need to determine the ideal weight for your cat on a case-by-case basis. Many experts recommend that a healthy cat weight is between 10 and 12 pounds, but that’s not always the case.

Scientists believed that it was not just one incident that led to the domesticated cat but multiple independent incidents at different places that led to these breeds. More complications arose from the fact that wildcat populations as a whole are very widespread and very similar to one another. Over time, wildcats more tolerant of living in human-dominated environments began to proliferate in villages throughout the Fertile Crescent. Natural selection in this new niche would have been principally for tameness, but competition among cats would also have continued to influence their evolution and limit how pliant they became. Because these proto–domestic cats were undoubtedly mostly left to fend for themselves, their hunting and scavenging skills remained sharp.

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