U mraku vide 50% bolje od ljudi, zahvaljujući velikoj gustoći receptora.
Sluh im je osjetljiviji od psećeg i tri put bolji od ljudskog.
Mačke su izraziti individualisti. Uz ljude je već oko 3.500 godina.
Mužjaci se, kad dosegnu polnu zrelost, uglavnom raziđu, dok žensko potomstvo ostaje uz majku na njenoj teritoriji i povećava grupu.
Polno sazrevaju između 6 i 8 mjeseca života, ali pun telesni razvoj završavaju tek nekoliko meseci kasnije.
Mačka u proseku nosi
63 do 65 dana.
Mačke dolaze na svet s' nizom instinkta, ali neke oblike ponašanja koji se na to nadovezuju moraju sa strpljenjem i trudom naučiti.(npr. lov)
Nakon treće nedelje starosti mačića, mačka počne donositi lovinu.
U početku, mačka samo pred mačićima pojede već mrtvu lovinu.
Kasnije je donese živu, i pred mačićima je ubije i ostavi njima da pokušaju jesti.
Na kraju, donese živu lovinu i pusti mačiće da je hvataju.
Ako mačići ne dobiju tu pouku od svoje majke, ili je majka loš lovac, verovatno ti mačići nikada neće biti dobri lovci.
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The particularly loose skin at the back of the neck is known as the
scruff, and is the area by which a mother cat grips her kittens to carry them.
Unlike dogs and most mammals, cats
walk by moving both legs on one side and then both legs on the other.
Most mammals move legs on alternate sides in sequence.
Cats share this unusual gait with camels, giraffes, some horses, and a select few other mammals. Cats have highly advanced hearing, eyesight, taste, and touch receptors, making the cat extremely sensitive among mammals.
Humans and cats have a similar range of hearing on the low end of the scale, but cats can hear much higher-pitched sounds, up to 64 kHz, which is 1.6 octaves above the range of a human, and even one octave above the range of a dog.
A domestic cat's sense of smell is about fourteen times as strong as a human's.
The temperament of a cat can vary depending on the breed and socialization.
Cats conserve energy by sleeping more than most animals, especially as they grow older. Daily durations of sleep vary, usually 12–16 hours, with 13–14 being the average.
The normal body temperature of a cat is between 38 and 39 °C (101 and 102.2 °F).
Humans have a normal temperature of approximately 36.8 °C (98.6 °F).
A domestic cat's normal heart rate ranges from 140 to 220 beats per minute (dependent on how excited the cat is). For a cat at rest, the average heart rate should be between 150 and 180 bpm, about twice that of a human.
Many people characterize cats as 'solitary' animals. Cats are highly social; a primary difference in social behavior between cats and dogs is that cats do not have a social survival strategy - this only means that cats take care of their basic needs on their own.
Living with humans is a symbiotic social adaptation which has developed over thousands of years. It is certain that the cat thinks of the human differently than it does of other cats. This can be seen in the difference in body and vocal language it uses with the human, when compared to how it communicates with other cats in the household. Some have suggested that, psychologically, the human keeper of a cat is a sort of surrogate for the cat's mother. Most breeds of cat have a noted fondness for settling in high places, or perching. Height gives the cat a better observation point, allowing it to survey its "territory" and become aware of activities of people and other pets in the area. In the wild, a higher place may serve as a concealed site from which to hunt; domestic cats are known to strike prey by pouncing from such a perch as a tree branch, as does a leopard. Height, therefore, can also give cats a sense of security and prestige.
Even well-fed domestic cats may hunt and kill birds, mice, rats, scorpions, cockroaches, grasshoppers, and other small animals in their environment. They often present such trophies to their owner. The motivation is not entirely clear, but
friendly bonding behaviors are often associated with such an action. It is probable that
cats in this situation expect to be praised for their symbolic contribution to the group. Some theories suggest that cats see their owners gone for long times of the day and assume they are out hunting, as they always have plenty of food available. It is thought that a cat presenting its owner with a dead animal thinks it's
'helping out' by bringing home the kill. In simple terms, cats adopt humans into their social group, and share excess kill with others in the group according to the local pecking order, in which humans place at or near the top.
Cat Fancy has a full list of plants harmful to cats.(philodendron, easter lily, onions, garlic)
Cats are ready to go to new homes at about 12 weeks old (the recommended minimum age by Fédération Internationale Féline)
The domestic cat and its closest wild ancestor both possess 38 chromosomes. Indoor cats typically live 14 to 20 years.
