Cats

a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal. It is often called the housecat when kept as an indoor pet,[6] or simply the cat when there is no needto distinguish it from other felids and felines. Cats are valued by humans for companionship and ability to hunt vermin and household pests. They are primarilynocturnal.[7]
Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with strong, flexible bodies, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killingsmall prey. As crepuscular predators, cats use their acute hearing and ability to see in near darkness to locate prey. Not only can cats hear sounds too faint forhuman ears, they can also hear sounds higher in frequency than humans can perceive. This is because the usual prey of cats (particularly rodents such as mice) makehigh frequency noises, so the hearing of the cat has evolved to pinpoint these faint high-pitched sounds. Cats also have a much better sense of smell than humans.Despite being solitary hunters, cats are a social species, and cat communication includes the use of a variety of vocalizations (meowing, purring, trilling,hissing, growling and grunting) as well as pheromones and types of cat-specific body language.[8]
Cats have a rapid breeding rate. Under controlled breeding, they can bebred and shown as registered pedigree pets, a hobby known as cat fancy. Failure to control the breeding of pet cats by spaying and neutering and the abandonmentof former household pets has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, with a population of up to 60 million of these animals in the United States alone