Heat, phase II

maintain for up to three minutes without stopping.

Bothersome as it is to us, it serves the obvious purpose of letting the tomcats know she is available. (And remember that the tomcats’ ears are much more sensitive than ours, which explains why toms sometimes travel a long distance to locate the amorous female.) While the howling is going on, the female is likely to roll on the floor, which, if a tom is in sight, is another sign that she is sexually receptive. In short, she is making a perfect spectacle of herself—and the tomcats love it.

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The tame one

Hunters would take them blindfolded to the hunting site and release them when the prey was sighted. Aside from the domestic cat and the caracal, the cheetah is the only cat to be truly tamed by man. Incidentally, cheetahs, since they are spotted, were often referred to in the past as “hunting leopards,” and it was believed (wrongly) that they were hybrids of lions and leopards.

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Panther, but really a leopard

black, and so are the spots, so the panther gives the overall appearance of being jet black. In fact, you can see the spots clearly at certain angles.

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The big guy, Leo

lion is the only social cat, living in small groups called prides that are composed mostly of related females and one dominant male.

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Distinctive and tamable

Persian lynx, is found over much of Asia and Africa, where it preys on gazelles, small deer and birds. No other cat quite resembles it, thanks to the long black tufts of hair on each ear. The beautiful reddish brown cat, somewhat larger than a fox, can be tamed, and in some regions it has been trained to hunt small antelopes and deer.

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Tomcat “on hold”

Tomcats have a reputation for being promiscuous, but in fact an adult tom, unneutered, never has sex on his mind (unlike male humans). His entire reproductive system stays “on hold”—until, that is, he hears the inimitable caterwaul of a female cat in heat or picks up her scent (usually from her urine somewhere nearby). Either via the ear or nose, or both, suddenly Placid Tom turns into Randy Tom, and he won’t rest until he locates the source of the “heat signal.”

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The crab-eater

Japanese island of Iriomote. The small cat hunts by night, stalking birds and small mammals, and it also ventures to the water’s edge to catch crabs.

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High-altitude American

sea level. High altitude means cold nights, so this grayish cat has dense shaggy fur. The tail’s wide stripes make it look like a raccoon’s tail. It is only slightly larger than a house cat.

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Little spotty

four feet long, and their close relative the margay (Felis wiedi) is a sort of mini-ocelot, only about two feet long, tail included. In other words, this beautiful spotted creature is only slightly larger than a house cat. It ranges from Mexico to Argentina, and it is still occasionally seen in southern Texas.

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Pet otter?

house cats before Columbus arrived, there is some evidence that they had tamed a native cat called the jaguarundi. This long-bodied brown cat is still found from Arizona to Argentina. Its lanky body and otterlike head have led to its being called the “weasel cat” or “otter cat.” Pre-Columbus, the native peoples of South America tamed it and used it to kill rodents. Whether they really made a pet of it and doted on it the way Europeans and Asians doted on their house cats is not known.

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Can Felis silvestris mate with Felis catus?

The answer is yes, but you probably would not like the results. This is especially true of cases where a European wildcat tom impregnated a domestic female. European wildcats fear and distrust humans, so any off-spring of a European wildcat will quickly manifest its wildness, either by fleeing the human home or becoming so obnoxious that the humans will gladly set it free.

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“Whole” cats

A male cat who has never been neutered is called “whole.” While we might debate the subject of whether an adult male human can be happy and psychologically sound while living a celibate life, there is no question that a “whole” tomcat faces a lot more challenges and hazards than a neutered tom. The simple fact is that an unneutered tomcat feels compelled to mate regularly, which usually involves a lot of rambling and fighting with other tomcats. Most cat owners solve this in the obvious way: they neuter the cat.

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The African wildcat

Felis silvestris lybica ranges over much of Africa but it has become rare. It is grayish-brown in color and has distinctive striping on the legs. Like the other silvestris wildcats, its eyes are yellow, never green. If reared in captivity, the African wildcat can become tame.

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“Fixing,” “spaying,” “neutering”

A female pet is spayed, which means her ovaries and uterus are removed. (Interestingly, it comes from the old French word espeer, meaning “to cut with a sword.”) A male is neutered, or castrated. Either operation can be done as early as six months of age, and some vets will do it even earlier. The word fix (not a technical term, and not one vets use) applies to either males or females. Cat owners seem much happier once a cat is fixed.

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