Cats

Cats can refer to the animal Felis catus and the fictional monsters and cartoonish variants based off of them, or it can refer to Felid-like creatures as a whole. The main definition is the former.
Cats are domesticated creatures. They are common house-pets, and have an uncountable amount of appearances in television, books, video games, and art. They are one of humanities most impactful creatures, with the decline of housecats under religious superstition and persecution having encouraged rat-caused plagues in Europe. Many people have think about cats every day and associate their identity with them. People may be asked if they are "a cat or a dog person?" meaning which of the two main mammalian pets they prefer. Cat people are judged to have a different, introverted and independent personality compared to dog people.
== Media ==
The internet memes cats, creating many videos of both real and fictional cats. People splurge on cat images and videos of their cute and foolishness. They are one of the internet's most important animals. Japanese people helped create and push the blob mochi cat that is very common in some video games and animations that is barely cat in its personality. It's almost like it's own thing, based off of a cat. This kind of cat(-inspired creature) can be found with Nyan Cat and in many "cat games" on mobile.
Before the internet, many cats were portrayed in books and in animation. Even in live-action films and series. Cats have been one of the most well-known animals to Americans and some other countries (especially European and East Asian, but not exclusively so). They are sacred in a religious sense to some societies, but in the normalization sense they are sacred and incredibly important for many others. In the modern age I would consider them to be a sacred animal.
== Colors ==
Cats come in many colors. While most people don't believe that they have different personalities, some do, such as "tortie-tude" and seeing ginger tabbies as more playful, bold, and extroverted. This often comes from observation from pet owners rather than any animation stereotype. Cat colors are important in society, as superstitions, religious beliefs, and holidays are impacted by it. All-black cats are associated with Halloween, and are often depicted in creative works and decorations associated with it. Black cats are more likely to be bought in October or by people who like Halloween or who religiously define themselves as "witches". The goddess Bastet evolved in history from a Cheetah-headed goddess to a black-cat one. In fiction she and fictional goddesses based off of her are portrayed in animation, often as a plot point as a relic for villains to steal or worship, such as in Scooby Doo On Zombie Island. 
Her femininity is one example of the feminization of cats. "Dog is man's best friend" was a common phrase in the past, and the distaff counterpart of that was understood to be cats, though the phrase "cat is a woman's best friend" occurred, but was not caught in the same manner. Cats are often portrayed as females, while dogs are slightly more likely to be males. Cats are more balanced in terms of gender than dogs. However when a female cat is portrayed in animation, she is often considered to be sexy. This seems to be in part due to their "slinkiness" and slyness of some individuals, as well as cats general cuteness. This has helped fuel the furry fandom, and while cats are common in there, so too are the portrayals and pornography of female cats. White cats are especially more likely in animation to be given this treatment, and are often given blue eyes. Unlike their real life counter-parts, blue-eyed white cats are not often portrayed as deaf.
The female domesticated cats sexiness extends to other feline species such as tigers, lionesses, and leopards, with them being considered even more powerful and brawny, but also sexy. The males do not get this trope as often, not even the lions with their mane designed in part to be sexy to lionesses in the real world. 
== Wild Cats (Big Cats) ==
Tabbies are striped and are sometimes aligned with tigers. Unlike dogs and foxes, which are known to be alike but still keenly different in a certain way as different animals, larger cats are celebrated as the bigger cousins or friends of domesticated cats. It's not like "they're all cats, just bigger or smaller". The species distinctions are definitely noted. But they are closer tied together in some ways than many animals are portrayed with their relatives. Pigs have an association with wild hogs and nowadays warthogs, but it is barely remarked except to distinguish the difference in shape and temperament. Whereas tigers and lions are their own distinctive thing, but safe to compare with cats without being drawn away from being their species. They are safe where they stand as tigers or lions and can be compared to domesticated cats without dilemma or problems. They can also be distinguished from them, mildly. But not as much as a wild hog to a pig, or a wolf or fox to a dog, or a goldfish to another kind of fish. Perhaps it's closer to how monkeys and gorillas are related to one another, but gorillas "aren't safe where they stand" as they can be readily accused of being monkeys, as spoken of on those pages. Their blending together and separation causes strife and arguments in real-world people, whereas all cats are content in where they are. 
Category:Cats
Category:Animals important to American children