The Cat Encyclopedia: The Definitive Visual Guide

322 Pages·2014·78.27 MB·English

by  DK

T H E D E F I N I T I V E V I S U A L G U I D E
Contains content previously published in The Complete Cat Breed Book
T H E
CAT
E N C Y C L O P E D I A
T H E
CAT
E N C Y C L O P E D I A
Contains content previously
published in The Complete
Cat Breed Book
LONDON, NEW YORK, MELBOURNE,
MUNICH, AND DELHI
DORLING KINDERSLEY CONTENTS
Senior Art Editor Gadi Farfour
Project Editor Miezan van Zyl
Project Art Editor Amy Child
Editorial Assistant Henry Fry
US Editor Margaret Parrish
Jacket Designer Laura Brim
Jacket Editor Maud Whatley INTRODUCTION
Jacket Design Development Manager Sophia Tampakopoulos
Producer, Preproduction Francesca Wardell
Producer Mary Slater 1T O CATS
Additional Photography Tracy Morgan
Managing Art Editor Karen Self Cat species around the world 8
Managing Editor Esther Ripley
Publisher Sarah Larter
Art Director Phil Ormerod What is a cat? 10
Associate Publishing Director Liz Wheeler
Publishing Director Jonathan Metcalf From wildcat to house cat 14
Consultant Editor Kim Dennis-Bryan
Contributors Ann Baggaley, Jolyon Goddard, Katie John How domestic cats spread 18
DK INDIA Feral cats 20
Senior Editor Monica Saigal
Editor Antara Moitra
Art Editors Neha Sharma, Supriya Mahajan
Assistant Art Editors Namita, Roshni Kapur, Vansh Kohli
Managing Editor Pakshalika Jayaprakash
Managing Art Editor Arunesh Talapatra
DTP Designers Bimlesh Tiwary, Mohammad Usman, Nityanand Kumar CATS IN
Preproduction Manager Balwant Singh
Production Manager Pankaj Sharma
Picture Research Surya Sankash Sarangi 2 CULTURE
First American Edition, 2014 Cats in religion 24
Published in the United States by DK Publishing,
4th Floor, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
Myths and superstition 26
14 15 16 17 18 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
001—193220—Jul/14
Copyright © 2014 Dorling Kindersley Limited Folklore and fairy tales 28
All rights reserved
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this Cats in literature 30
publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or
retrcaonrsdminitgt,e odr, iont haenryw fiosrem), ,w oitrh boyu at nthye m peraionrs w(erlietcetnro pneicrm, misesicohna noifc baol, tphh tohteo copyrinigh, t Cats in art 32
owner and the above publisher of this book.
Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited. Cats in entertainment 38
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4654-1959-0
Printed and bound in China by South China Printing Company.
DK books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk for sales
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oert sS, p3e4c5ia
CATALOG
4 O F BREEDS
Shorthairs 71
Longhairs 185
CARING FOR
5 Y OUR CAT
Preparing for arrival 256
Living indoors 258
Going outdoors 260
Essential equipment 262
First days 264
First vet check-up 268
Food and feeding 270
Handling your cat 274
Grooming and hygiene 276
Understanding your cat 280
Socializing your cat 282
Importance of play 284
Training your cat 288
Behavioral problems 290
Responsible breeding 292
Inherited disorders 296
A healthy cat 298
Signs of illness 300
Health and care 302
The aging cat 308
GLOSSARY 310
INDEX 312
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 319
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
TO CATS
INTRODUCTION TO CATS | CAT SPECIES AROUND THE WORLD
Cat species around the world
Elegant, powerful, and elusive, wildcats can be large and may roar like a lion, or small
and purr like a domestic cat. They are superb hunters, adapted to be as successful living
in a dry sandy desert as they are in a dense tropical forest.
Cats are predatory hunters belonging to the that they can roar (see panel, below), whereas Wildcats are successful in evolutionary terms
order Carnivora. They are, like all carnivores, the smaller cats can only purr. In recent years, in that they were once widespread and found
adapted for stalking, catching, and eating genetic evidence has allowed scientists to in many different habitats, but most species
other animals. For example, they have large better understand the relationships between are now either endangered or threatened. In
canine teeth and powerful jaw muscles. the smaller cats and further subdivide them contrast, there are an estimated 600 million
There are 37 species of cat in the family into seven groups, or lineages. domestic cats worldwide.
Felidae. All are similar in having retractile
claws, rather blunt, flattened faces, acute The world of cats
hearing, and large eyes that enable them Tsehvise nm sappe schieosw osf the dFeisltirnibaeu.t iEoanc ho fc at
to hunt at night. Those living in open represents one of the seven lineages
landscapes tend to be sandy colored, while tahnaatt ohmasi cbaele ann rde vgeanleetdic b ayn raelycseenst.
those living in woodland and forest often
have spectacular markings that break up
their outline and keep them well hidden
from their prey.
The cat family is divided into two
main groups—the Pantherinae and
the Felinae. The pantherines (big
N O R T H
cats) have long been distinguished
from other cats on the supposition A M E R I C A
BIG CATS
There are seven species of pantherines, or big
cats—the lion, leopard, tiger, snow leopard, two
species of clouded leopard, and the jaguar. The
lion and leopard have the widest distribution,
being found in both Africa and Asia. The tiger,
snow and clouded leopards are limited to Asia.
Puma
The only big cat found in the Americas is the Puma concolor
jaguar. Although commonly referred to as the
roaring cats, only some, such as lions, can do The puma is one of three cat species in the puma lineage, the other
so. This is because they have more complicated tfrwoom b Aefirnigca t haen dja Agusiaar.u Int disi afrbolem t oSo sutrhv ivAem iner riceam aanrkda tbhley dchiveeertsaeh
and flexible vocal chords in their larynxes than environmental conditions, being found over a wide geographical
S O U T H
those found in the smaller cats (see p. 59). area and at elevations up to 10,000ft (4,000m). However, it needs
large prey, such as deer, to feed on if it is to thrive. A M E R I C A
Ocelot
Leopardus pardalis
The ocelot lineage comprises seven
species. All belong to the genus
Leopardus and are found in South
and Central America—only the range
of the ocelot extends farther north
into southwestern Texas.
The ocelot feeds mainly on
ground-dwelling rodents,
which it hunts at night
by waiting quietly for a
potential victim to pass by.
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