Vancouver Vets: Healthy Pets Series

People have associated with cats for thousands of years. Cats were first domesticated in Egypt between 1600 and 1500 BC. Even earlier, they were worshiped as gods; the Egyptian gods of fertility and war were given feline personalities. Feline images can also be found on early Greek and Roman vases, statues, and coins.

Wild cats (such as tigers, leopards, civets, and bobcats, for example) are among the best hunters in the animal kingdom. Domestic cats share these characteristics and are still valued “mousers” around barns, granaries, and warehouses. However, most cats in the United States and Canada are primarily pets that provide companionship, typically with few demands then are associated with dog ownership.

The population of pet cats in the United States and Canada has steadily increased since the early 1970s, rivaling and now exceeding the number of pet dogs.

Like dogs, cats look very different from people but share many of our body’s characteristics, such as a circulatory system, lungs, a digestive tract, a nervous system, and so on.

There are many different breeds of cats, including Abyssinian, Himalayan, Main Coon, Manx, Persian, Scottish Fold, and Siamese, to name a few. The Cat Fanciers’ Association, which is the world’s largest registry of pedigreed cats, recognizes about 40 distinct breeds.

The most familiar cats are the domestic shorthair and the domestic longhair, which are really mixtures of different breeds. Cat breeds differ in looks, coat length, and other characteristics but very relatively little in size. On average, only 5 to 10 pounds separate the smallest and largest domestic breeds of cats.

Cats also share the rapid metabolism that dogs have, which results in a higher heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature then those of people. Cats generally live longer than dogs, and many live to be 20 years old or older.

Cats are better at conserving heat than at cooling themselves, although their small size relative to their large surface area makes for more effective cooling, than in dogs. Cats lose heat through external radiation, They have some sweat glands that aid in evaporative cooling, and licking their fur further improves this process. Heat is also lost through panting, although this is not as effective a method of cooling as it is in dogs.

Cats typically also seek dark, cool places to shelter themselves from the heat of the day. As with all animals, cats should never be shut in cars or other hot, confined spaces. This can lead to heat stroke and death.

This article was prepared with the help of vets of Alta Vista Animal Hospital – a Vancouver Animal Hospital in Dunbar Street in Vancouver, BC.
Read more about cat’s health care in our Vancouver Animal Hospital blog.