Cat - History

dilute tortie

"blue cream tortie" dilute version of black and red

barn cat

"working cat"

Temperature

100-102.5 <99 F >106

senior

11 years to 14 years

geriatric

15 years +

Heart Rate

170-200 bpm <160 >240

adult

2 years to death

Respiration rate

20-40 bpm >50 bpm or any effort

adolescence/junior

6 months to 24 months

mature

7 years to 10 years

Capillary refill

<2 seconds <1 sec, >3 sec

ACFA

American cat fanciers' association

Alley cat

a non-pedigree cat

queening or kindling

act of birthing

Tabby M

all tabbies have distinctive M on forehead

feral cat

an ex-domestic cat which has reverted to being fully wild or the wild-born (never known domesticity) offspring of stray cats

adult prime

around 3 years to 6 years

full maturity

between 12 to 15 months

neonatal stage

birth to 2 weeks old

kitten stage

birth to 6 months

Solid coat colors

black white red cream chocolate lilac cinnamon fawn blue smoke (black with white roots)

Understanding feline behavior and body language

body language and movement is one form cat communicate vocalization is another form

Solid eye colors

brown hazel gold green blue

other coat patterns

can (red mackerel tabby van) mostly white, color mainly on head and tail bicolor (black and white bicolor) - 1/2 white, color on head and torso harlequin (red mackerel tabby harlequin) mostly white with several large patches of color locket (blue locket) white spot on chest mitted (black mitted) just white paws

gib

castrated/neutered male cat

Cat Fancier's association (CFA)

cat fanciers' association (CFA) over 40 pure breed breeds recognized by cat fanciers' association (CFA) started in 1906 seven classes based on show and competition

Tuxedo patterns

coloration with white paws, chest, and belly, with optional white on face smoke tuxedo (blue smoke tuxedo): blue smoke with tuxedo markings tuxedo (black tuxedo): black with tuxedo markings tuxedo tabby (brown mackerel with brown field tuxedo tabby): tabby with tuxedo markings

cat identification - tabby coat markings

distinct color patterns with one color predominating black stripes ranging from coal black to brownish on a background of brown to gray brown mackerel tabbies are the most common brown mackerel tabby with gray-brown field black stripes with gray-brown background brown mackerel tabby with gray field black stripes with gray background

What are the three most common cat breeds in the United States?

domestic short hair (DSH) domestic medium hair (DMH) domestic long hair (DLH) in the US, it is common to refer only refer to cat fur length as their breed greater population of US cats are mixed breeds weight range: 4-20lbs average life span: 10-15 years fur-short hair, medium hair, long hair, or hairless color variation: tabby, tortoiseshell, bicolor patterns, and on and on

Understanding how to stay safe around fearful cats

fear causes one of three responses in most animals fleeing freezing fighting

The cat

felis catus

puberty/able to reproduce

females hit their first heat cycle at 5-6 months males enter puberty also around 5-6 months of age

clowder

group of cats

cattery

housing of more than one cat

How do we make this fear worse

immediately approaching an animal making direct eye contact learning or reaching over their head confining them immediately

tom

is a mature male cat

stropping

it is attempting to remove the old, dead outer sheath of their claws

life stages

length of pregnancy (gestation time): 63 days (range: 58-71 days) litter size: 3-5 kittens average (range: 1-12 kittens) longevity (lifespan): 15 years average, perhaps up to 20 or more years feral cats live much shorter lives due to accidents and disease

queen

mature female

Signs of fear/aggression in cat

obvious: growling, snapping, lunging, tensing, turning head away, still looking at you, head held low, rapid ducking of head, direct eye contact, raised hackles, ears down, tail straight out subtle: hyper-vigilance, panting, yawning, licking lips, looking tired, won't take treats, salivation, dilated pupils, darting, hiding, avoiding eye contact

Domestication of Felines in North America

over 40 pure breed breeds recognized by Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA)

Mucous Membrane

pink any color other than pink

tabby coat markings - tortoise shell colorations

random color distribution among varying shades of red, black, and cream. Patches may be mingled or distinct tortie: randomly patched all over with red, black, and cream dilute tortie: "blue cream tortie" dilute version of black and red lilca tortie: randomly patched all over with lilac and cream

lilac tortie

randomly patched all over with lilac and cream

tortie

randomly patched all over with red, black, and cream

color points

seal point blue point lilac point cream point red point or flame point

spay or molly

spayed female cat

TICA

the international cat association

Eye shapes

the shape of the eyes is due to the eyelids and other soft tissue surrounding them eg: the extremely short muzzle of some breeds results in the teardrop shape many cats have eyes of indeterminate shapes

tabby coat markings - tortoise shell colorations' subgroups

tortie and white small white areas with mingled red, black, and cream colors dilute and white small white areas with mingled blue, and cream colors chocolate tortie chocolate mingled with red and cream calico tortoiseshell with large patches of white. red tabby and solid black patches more distinct dilute calico same amount of white as calico with distinct patches of solid blue and cream tabby almost all torties and calico cats are female because the X chromosome carries a gene that determines coat color heterozygote condition: on one X chromosome there is an orange allele, and on the other X chromosome, a black allele

pattern points

tortie point tortoiseshell pattern on points torbie point both striped and tortoiseshell patterns on points tabby point (lilac tabby point) AKA lynx point striped pattern on the points tabby point (red tabby point) tabby point (seal tabby point)

torbies

tortoiseshell cats with tabby patterns (tortie+tabby=torbie) torties because of random color variation, but tabbies due to the patterns in the coloration. torbies are also patched tabbies brown torby (brown spotted torby): patches of brown tabby and red tabby brown torby and white (brown spotted torby and white) dilute torby (blue classic torby): patches of blue tabby and cream tabby dilute torby and white (blue mackerel torby and white)

kitten

young cat under 1 years old