Cat

A cat is a small domesticated mammal, Felis catus, descended from the African wildcat. It is kept worldwide as a companion. Every breed, from a Siamese to a Maine Coon, is the same species. The IUCN Red List does not assess cats for extinction risk because they are domesticated.

Linnaeus named the form in 1758. Welfare and humane population management are the relevant concerns, not extinction status. The ancestral African wildcat (Felis lybica) is listed Least Concern. Those are different IUCN jobs.

This page is the species encyclopaedia. Named breeds are under cat. Community cats abroad are at help stray cats abroad. Side-by-side traits with dogs are at cat vs dog.

The related appeal explains potential support and the current funding status; this guide does not confirm a WARN grant. It does not rehome pets in Britain and is not a UK cattery.

Yes. Every recognised breed and mixed-ancestry domestic cat belongs to one species, Felis catus. A 3 kg domestic shorthair and an 8 kg Maine Coon can interbreed. Breed registries describe type, not a biological split. That is why moggies are not a different species either.

The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognises more than 45 pedigreed breeds. The International Cat Association (TICA) recognises around 70. Counts move when a registry splits or merges a type. All of them remain cats.

Breed is a rough guide to coat, body type and some health risks — not a guarantee of temperament. Flat-faced Persians and Exotics can have breathing and tear-duct problems. The folded ears of the Scottish Fold are caused by a cartilage condition linked to painful joint disease.

Browse the breed library on this page, or start with lists at cat breeds. Community cats and village cats are the same species as a pedigree pet.

Cats self-domesticated around early farming settlements in the Near East roughly 10,000 years ago. African wildcats (Felis lybica) were drawn to rodents around stored grain. Tamer cats that tolerated people found a food supply. Genetic studies trace nearly all domestic cats to that Near Eastern wildcat lineage.

Unlike dogs, cats were barely altered in body shape for most of their history. They spread along trade and shipping routes as rodent control, and were revered in ancient Egypt. Deliberate breeding into distinct pedigreed breeds is largely a development of the last 150 years, beginning with the Victorian cat fancy.

That history explains the meow directed at humans, the obligate-carnivore diet, and a hunting instinct that never switched off. See the wildcat table on this page and cat vs dog.

Domestication does not make a community cat a wild species. It remains Felis catus, which is why TNVR is a welfare tool, not a conservation translocation.

A well-cared-for indoor pet cat typically lives about 12–18 years, and many reach their late teens or early twenties. Free-roaming and feral cats usually live far shorter lives — often only a few years — because of traffic, disease, parasites and injury. Indoor life is the strongest pattern, not breed marketing.

Veterinary care, weight, dental disease and breed-specific conditions move the range. Flat-faced types often have more medical lives because of airway and tear-duct problems. Mixed-breed cats are not automatically healthier, but they avoid some closed-registry bottlenecks.

Kittens are born blind and deaf, open their eyes at around one to two weeks, and are usually weaned by about eight weeks. A baby cat is called a kitten. A group of cats is a clowder; siblings from one birth are a litter; free-roaming cats sharing territory are a colony.

Lifespan is a species fact. It is not an IUCN generation length for a threatened wild animal. Cats are Not Evaluated because they are domesticated.

A cat's gestation lasts about 63–65 days, typically 60–67 days, across breeds. A typical litter is about four kittens, commonly two to five. Unneutered females can produce several litters a year. That calendar is why unplanned colony breeding scales so fast.

Females can reach breeding age by around four to ten months. Shelter intake cannot absorb that arithmetic on its own. Trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) is the evidence-based response for community cats. Programme detail is at help stray cats abroad and community cats indonesia, not on this species page.

If you searched "how long are cats pregnant" because you have a pet, speak to a veterinary surgeon. This guide does not replace clinical advice.

Cats are obligate carnivores. Their physiology is built around eating animal tissue: they need dietary taurine, arginine, arachidonic acid and preformed vitamin A that they cannot make in sufficient amounts from plants. They cannot thrive on a vegetarian or vegan diet. Dogs digest starches better; cats do not share that adaptation.

Commercial complete diets exist because cats share our kitchens. That split is in the comparison table below and at cat vs dog. Outdoor cats still hunt. The hunting instinct does not switch off when a bowl is full.

Community cats scavenge and hunt. Feeding a colony without TNVR can increase the local population. Pair food with sterilisation, not food alone.

Do not post cat food from Britain to a partner clinic unless that partner has asked for a named item in writing. Money at dog and cat meat trade appeal buys supplies locally.

Cats can scratch and bite, and they hunt wildlife by instinct whether they are hungry or not. They are not wild predators in the lion sense: they live with people. Honest risk is husbandry, wildlife impact and public health — not a myth that pet cats are harmless outdoors or that colony cats must be culled.

Cats can carry Toxoplasma gondii. Outdoor hunting kills birds, small mammals and reptiles. That is a conservation cost of free-roaming cats, not a reason to treat Felis catus as an invasive "pest species" that must be poisoned. TNVR plus indoor keeping where it is safe is the humane split.

Dogs, not cats, are the main source of human rabies deaths in WHO guidance. Do not copy a 99% dog-mediated rabies claim onto cats. Bite and scratch risk is husbandry and vaccination, not a wild-predator story.

If you asked "are cats dangerous" because of a colony abroad, the programme answer is TNVR coverage, not a one-off clinic day. help stray cats abroad covers that case.

The domestic cat is a tamed descendant of the African wildcat (Felis lybica). Cats live with people, meow mainly to humans, and come in many coat types. Wildcats generally avoid people, keep a sandy striped coat, and hunt for themselves. Gestation is similar. Typical pet lifespan is longer than a wild cat's.

Scientific names: Felis catus versus Felis lybica. The African wildcat is listed Least Concern (IUCN, 2022). The cat is Not Evaluated because it is domesticated. Those are different IUCN jobs, not a ranking of which animal "needs saving" more.

A wildcat is not a large tabby. Keeping a wild felid as a pet is a specialist, often licensed, welfare problem — not a breed choice on this page. Early-generation hybrids with wild cats are a separate welfare issue from CFA-registered Bengals, which are domestic cats.

The comparison table on this page is the at-a-glance split. Dog comparison: cat vs dog.

The Cat Fanciers' Association recognises more than 45 pedigreed breeds. The International Cat Association recognises around 70. Counts move when a registry splits or merges a type. The great majority of pet cats worldwide are not pedigreed at all — they are mixed-ancestry domestic shorthairs and longhairs.

All of those names sit on one species. A breed standard is a written description for showing and breeding, not a biological fence. Colony cats and mixed-breed pets are still cats.

This site publishes the most-searched breed guides under cat, with lists at cat breeds. Use those pages for temperament and care sketches. Use this page for the species.

Buying a kitten to "try a breed" fuels poorly bred and trafficked litters. Rescue mixed-breeds are widely available through registered UK cat charities. WARN does not place cats in UK homes.

Choose the cat that matches your home, time and budget — not a marketing story. Pedigree type predicts coat, body shape and some health risks. It does not guarantee temperament. Mixed-breed and rescue cats are the same species and are widely available through registered UK cat rescues.

High-energy types such as the Siamese, Abyssinian and Bengal need play and space. Many companion types need less. Flat-faced Persians and Exotics are popular and medically expensive. Scottish Fold folded ears come with a cartilage disease. Read a breed page on this hub before you pay a breeder.

WARN does not rehome pets in Britain. If the search was "adopt a cat" meaning a household pet, contact a local registered cat rescue. If the search was symbolic adoption for community cats abroad, use adopt a cat symbolically or adopt a cat.

Fuelling unlicensed kitten sales is the option to skip. Match the legal form to the job, then give time, money or both.

Yes. Community cats, street cats, colony cats, feral cats and pedigree pets are all Felis catus. Free-roaming cats are not a wild species and are not IUCN-listed. Many millions live free-roaming lives, especially across South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The crisis is welfare — and, in parts of Southeast Asia, the dog-and-cat meat trade — not extinction. TNVR stabilises colonies. Removing cats without sterilisation leaves a vacuum that new animals fill. WARN's stray-cat guide and community cats indonesia exist so this species page does not pretend to be a TNVR manual.

Meat-trade quarantine is the flagship cat appeal at dog and cat meat trade appeal. Symbolic cat sponsorship is at sponsor a cat. Those URLs fund partner clinics. This URL explains the animal.

Do not fly community cats to Britain as a population strategy. Rehoming cannot absorb city-scale free-roaming cats.

Fund partner-led TNVR and meat-trade quarantine rather than posting parcels or volunteering untrained. Give at dog and cat meat trade appeal or sponsor a cat. Prefer money over unsolicited parcels.

A gift of £25 helps fund emergency triage after a seizure. £75 helps fund a week of quarantine for a confiscated animal, as published on the dog-and-cat-meat appeal in August 2026. Figures are illustrations, not a named-cat invoice. WARN does not publish a partner-invoiced price for one named sterilisation. Entry-tier monthly gifts pool; they do not buy one surgery each month.

Read help stray cats abroad, donate to cat charity and community cats indonesia before you pay. US donors: WARN is not a 501(c)(3). See donate to cat charity us.

If you want a UK pet, stop here and call a local cat rescue. If you want international field programmes, stay on the appeal and rescue URLs, not on this facts page alone.