🐾 Tabby Cat

Tabby Cat

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Who it is

• Scientific name: Felis catus
• Family & relatives: A house cat (a coat pattern, not a breed) in the family Felidae; its wild relatives include lions, tigers, and the small wildcat.
• How to spot it: A friendly house cat with a striped, swirled, or spotted coat and often an 'M' marking on its forehead.

Its body & abilities

• Size: Body about 25 to 30 cm tall and 45 to 50 cm long, plus a tail.
• Weight: Usually about 3.5 to 5 kg (8 to 11 lb).
• Body & adaptations: It has soft padded paws with claws it can pull in, sharp teeth, and whiskers that help it feel its way.
• Top speed: A quick sprinter that can dash up to about 48 km/h (30 mph) over short distances.
• Strength: It can jump many times its own height and almost always land softly and safely on its feet.
• Senses: Wonderful night vision, sharp hearing, and sensitive whiskers, plus a good sense of smell.
• Growing up: Tiny blind kittens are born, open their eyes in about a week, and grow into playful adults by about one year.

Where it lives

• Habitat: Homes, farms, and gardens; the tabby is a beloved pet that lives happily alongside people.
• Where in the world: Found all over the world, wherever people keep cats as pets.
• Territory: A cat marks and patrols a home territory around its house and yard.

What it eats

• Diet: A meat eater fed by its family, drinking fresh water from a bowl.
• Favorite foods: Cat food and meat; as a natural hunter it may also chase mice and insects.
• How it hunts: It creeps quietly, freezes, then pounces on a toy or mouse in a quick, playful leap.

How it behaves

• How it moves: It walks softly on padded toes, climbs well, and balances easily along narrow ledges.
• When it is active: Most active at dawn and dusk, and famous for sleeping around 12 to 16 hours a day.
• Family life: Friendly and often affectionate; some cats live happily together while others prefer to be the only pet.
• How it talks: It meows to people, purrs when content, and uses its tail and ears to show how it feels.
• Babies: After about a two-month pregnancy a mother cat has a litter of around three to five kittens that she nurses and cleans.

Its place in nature

• Role in nature: A loving companion and gentle mouse-catcher in homes and on farms around the world.
• Conservation: House cats are extremely common everywhere and are not at any risk.
• Dangers: Indoor cats stay safest; outdoor cats face traffic, illness, and other animals.

Life & legacy

• How long it lives: Well-cared-for cats often live about 12 to 18 years, and some reach their twenties.
• In our culture: One of the world's favorite pets, loved in art, stories, and countless internet videos.
• Where to see it: In homes, on farms, and in animal shelters where kittens wait for a loving family.
• Fun fact: The 'M' shape on a tabby's forehead has inspired many sweet legends over the centuries.