Daniel Giraud Elliot, A Monograph of the Felidae . Cats belong to the family Felidae within the order Carnivora, a diverse group of meat-eating mammals. All cats are hunters. They have large, forward-facing eyes, excellent hearing, sharp teeth, and strong limbs armed with sharp claws for catching prey. Most often their tails are long and their fur is spotted or striped.
All cats move silently, with unusual grace.
Wild species of cats are native to all continents except Australia and Antarctica and play an important role as predators in the ecosystem. Produced by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County . This page was made possible by a grant from Friskies PetCare Company and the National Science Foundation. Composite image of various cats by Jim Angus.