Cats in the United States

The California Spangled is a breed of domestic cat that was bred in the United States to resemble spotted wild cats, like the ocelot and leopard.

Many different species of mammal can be classified as cats (felids) in the United States. These include domestic cat (both house cats and feral), of the species Felis catus; medium-sized wild cats from the genus Lynx; and big cats from the genera Puma and Panthera. Domestic cats vastly outnumber wild cats in the United States.

Prehistoric cats

At least 67 species of saber-toothed cat existed in North America between 42 million and 11 thousand years ago before going extinct. Their disappearance can be attributed to both the changing climate at the end of the Ice Age and the appearance of humans in the Americas.^[1]

Some prehistoric animals referred to as "saber-toothed cats" were in fact marsupials and not cats at all, but called such because of their resemblance to true felines with large canine teeth.

Big cats

Two main species of big cat currently inhabit the United States. One is the jaguar (Panthera onca) is related to many species of big cat found on other continents and can be found in the southwestern US and as far south as northern Argentina. The other one is cougar, also known as the puma or mountain lion (Puma concolor), is more closely related to the domesticated cat and can be found all over South America, Mexico, the western half of the US and southwestern Canada.

Wild cats

A bobcat on the Calero Creek Trail, in San Jose, California.

Three mammal species in the United States are referred to as "wild cats"—the ocelot, the Canadian lynx, and the bobcat. However, they do not belong to Felis, the genus of the wildcat proper and the domestic cat. The ocelot is in the genus Leopardus while the other two are in the genus Lynx.

Domestic cats

The domestic cat, Felis catus or F. silvestris catus, is a popular pet, with an estimated 93.5 million cats kept as pets, and about one third of all households in the United States keeping at least one. Eighty-seven percent of owned cats are spayed or neutered^[2]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not require a certificate of health for cats brought into the United States, but cats are subject to inspection at ports of entry and may be denied entry. Cats must be quarantined regardless of place of origin when brought into Hawaii and Guam.^[3]

Organizations

Various organizations using the term Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and in United States all organizations using the name SPCA are independent; there is no umbrella organization. Some of the more notable organizations include:

The National Cat Groomers Institute of America is an organization devoted to training and certifying people in the grooming of cats. Headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, it was founded in 2007 by Danelle German, the organization's current president.

Cats Indoors! is a public education campaign by American Bird Conservancy and supported by the National Audubon Society and other conservation organizations to encourage control of cats in order to protect birds from predation by cats. The objective of the Conservancy's campaign is that all domestic cats should be kept safely indoors.^[4]

References

↑ Ward, Peter (1997). The Call of Distant Mammoths: Why The Ice Age Mammals Disappeared. New York: Spinger-Verlag New York. ISBN 0-387-94915-1.
↑ "U.S. Pet Ownership Statistics". The Humane Society of the United States. 30 December 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
↑ "Bringing an Animal into U.S.: Cats - Animal Importation". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
↑ Gorman, James (18 March 2003). "Bird Lovers Hope to Keep Cats on a Very Short Leash". New York Times. Retrieved 10 July 2008.

External links

Companion Animal Demographics in the United States: A Historical Perspective, Elizabeth A. Clancy et al., book chapter in D.J. Salem & A.N. Rowan (Eds.), The state of the animals II: 2003 (pp. 9–26), Humane Society Press.
National Cat Groomers Institute of America
Little Girl and Tomcat

Domestic cats

Felinology	Cats in ancient Egypt Cats and Islam Anatomy Genetics Dwarf cat Kitten Odd-eyed cat Squitten Coat genetics Bicolor cat Black cat Calico cat Deaf white cat Tabby cat Tortoiseshell cat

Health	Anesthesia Cat years Cat-scratch disease Declawing Diet Acne Asthma Calicivirus Hepatic lipidosis Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Immunodeficiency virus Infectious peritonitis Leukemia virus Lower urinary tract disease Panleukopenia Viral rhinotracheitis Flea Heartworm Neutering Polydactyly Rabies Ringworm Skin disorders Spaying Roundworm Tick Toxoplasmosis Vaccination

Behavior	Body language Catfight Catmint/Catnip Communication Kneading Intelligence Play and toys Purr Righting reflex Senses

Human–cat interaction	Ailurophobia Animal-assisted therapy As pets Cat cafés Cat massage Cat meat Cat show Cultural depictions Farm cat Feral cat Ship's cat

Registries	American Cat Fanciers Association Associazione Nazionale Felina Italiana Canadian Cat Association Cat Aficionado Association Cat Fanciers' Association Emirates Feline Federation Fédération Internationale Féline Felis Britannica Governing Council of the Cat Fancy Southern Africa Cat Council The International Cat Association

Breeds (Full list)	Fully domestic Abyssinian American Curl American Shorthair Balinese Brazilian Shorthair British Shorthair Birman Bombay Burmese California Spangled Chartreux Chinese Li Hua Colorpoint Shorthair Cornish Rex Cymric Devon Rex Donskoy Egyptian Mau European Shorthair Exotic Shorthair German Rex Himalayan Japanese Bobtail Javanese Khao Manee Korat Kurilian Bobtail Maine Coon Manx Munchkin Norwegian Forest Ocicat Oriental Shorthair Persian Peterbald Pixie-bob Raas Ragdoll Ragamuffin Russian Blue Scottish Fold Selkirk Rex Siamese Siberian Singapura Snowshoe Somali Sphynx Thai Traditional Persian Tonkinese Toyger Turkish Angora Turkish Van Hybrid Bengal Chausie Savannah Serengeti

Landraces	Aegean Cyprus Domestic long-haired Domestic short-haired Kellas Sokoke Van

Book Category Portal

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.