The cat
Subtitle: history, biology, and behavior
By: Muriel Beadle ; drawings by E. John Pfiffner.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 1977
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 251
Subjects: Cats
Notes: Bibliography: p. 235-242.
Includes index.
Table of contents: title: The chase. Skeletal structure -- Agility and speed -- Patterns of locomotion -- Instinctive responses to rodent behavior -- Stalking, chasing, and catching prey -- Cats versus birds -- The kill. Claw design and function -- Tree-climbing ability -- Arrangement and use of teeth -- Killing techniques -- Eating prey, playing with prey -- Neural motivation for hunting activity -- Seeing. Light sensitivity of pupils -- Night shine and night vision -- Anatomy and function of the eye -- Focusing -- Sensitivity to movement -- Ability to see color -- Binocular vision -- The other senses. Anatomy of the ear -- Acuteness of hearing -- Motion sickness -- Function and shape of pinnae -- Whiskers -- Sensitivity of skin to touch and temperature -- Food and odor preferences -- Catnip response -- Relationship of sense of smell to sexual activity. Origin and spread. Evolution of the felidae -- Problems of classification. Ancestors of F. Catus -- Domestication -- History in Egypt -- Distribution elsewhere -- Reconstruction of early feline migrations by modern geneticists. Ups and downs. Multilingual terms for “cat.” -- Pagan residue in Christian attitudes toward cats -- Early value as mousers -- Legends, fables, nursery rhymes -- Identification with witches -- The cat of Lalande -- Victorian sentimentality -- Cats in Asia -- Earning their keep. Minor importance as commodities -- Ungovernability as chattels -- Eighteenth and nineteenth century detractors -- Britain’s post office cats -- Others employed by government and business -- Declining modern use in rodent control -- Limitations as ratters -- Modern role as companions. How sociable? Differing wild heritage of cats and dogs -- Feline responses to living in groups -- Territorial defense -- Mutual use of home ranges -- Role of sight and smell in recognition of other cats -- Capacity for friendship -- Sex and reproduction. Reproductive cycles of females -- Onset of puberty -- Courtship -- Coitus -- Frequency of mating and selectiveness in choice of partner -- Aberrant sexual behavior -- Birth control methods -- Pregnancy -- Birth -- The young family. Kittens’ nursing behavior -- Keeping the litter together -- Rate of growth -- Adoption of other young -- Feline aunts and uncles -- Fathering -- Development of paw preferences -- Depth perception -- Toilet training -- Female aggressiveness in defense of kittens -- The older family. Individuation of kittens -- Importance of play -- Development of play patterns -- Weaning -- Learning to hunt and kill prey -- Role of experience -- Friendships among prey and predator. The genetics of breed. The cat fancy -- Show breeds -- Genetic principles of breeding -- Formation of pigment and action of genes upon it -- Fur length and texture -- Taillessness -- Polydactylism -- The sex-linked color gene -- Relationship of white fur to blue eyes and deafness -- Service to science. The falling reflex -- Hunger as stimulus for killing -- Intelligence -- Effects of sensory deprivation on brain and behavior -- Biomedical use for brain research -- Sources of laboratory cats -- Standards and safeguards of usage and treatment. The little differences. Expression of emotions -- Temperamental differences among breeds -- The feline vocabulary -- Purring -- Cats as clocks -- Extrasensory perception -- Homing ability -- Psi-trailing -- The health record. Common ailments -- Viral origin and genetic factors in feline leukemia -- Parasites -- Cats as vectors of human diseases -- Longevity -- Nutrition -- Emotional and physical fortitude -- Taste for alcohol. Cats and the law. Legacies -- Legal status -- Liabilities of owners -- Anti-cruelty laws -- Attempts to legislate feline behavior -- Licensing and leash laws -- Disposal of unwanted cats -- Environmental impact of strays -- Birth control efforts by public and private agencies -- Man and beast together. Effects of environmental pollution, household hazards, traffic, crowding -- Ambivalence of feline-human relationships -- Cats’ contribution to human culture -- Their place in current economy and in affections of owners.