The cat (Felis catus), also known as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small predatory carnivorous species of crepuscular mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin, snakes, scorpions, and other unwanted household pests.

A skilled predator, the cat is known to hunt over 1,000 species for food.

Cats use a variety of vocalizations and types of body language for communication, including meowing, purring, hissing, growling, squeaking, chirping, clicking, and grunting.

Scientific Classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Subkingdom:	Eumetazoa
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Mammalia
Subclass:	Theria
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Felinae
Genus:	Felis
Species:	F. catus

Biological Classification

Biological classification or scientific classification in biology, is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Biological classification is a form of scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.

Modern biological classification has its root in the work of Carolus Linnaeus, who grouped species according to shared physical characteristics. These groupings since have been revised to improve consistency with the Darwinian principle of common descent.

Molecular systematics, which uses DNA sequences as data, has driven many recent revisions and is likely to continue to do so. Biological classification belongs to the science of biological systematics.

Cat | Kingdom: Animalia

 The word "animal" comes from the Latin word animale, neuter of animalis, and is derived from anima, meaning vital breath or soul. In everyday colloquial usage, the word usually refers to non-human animals. The biological definition of the word refers to all members of the Kingdom Animalia, including humans.

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently. Animals are also heterotrophs, meaning they must ingest other organisms for sustenance.

Cat | Subkingdom: Eumetazoa

Eumetazoa is a clade comprising all major animal groups except sponges. Characteristics of eumetazoans include true tissues organized into germ layers, and an embryo that goes through a gastrula stage. The clade is usually held to contain at least Ctenophora, Cnidaria, and Bilateria. Whether mesozoans and placozoans belong is in dispute.

Some phylogenists have speculated the sponges and eumetazoans evolved separately from single-celled organisms, which would mean that the animal kingdom does not form a clade (a complete grouping of organisms descended from a common ancestor). However, genetic studies and some morphological characteristics, like the common presence of choanocytes, support a common origin.

Eumetazoans are a major group of animals in the Five Kingdoms classification of Lynn Margulis and K. V. Schwartz, comprising the Radiata and Bilateria - all animals except the sponges, placozoans and mesozoans. When treated as a formal taxon Eumetazoa is typically ranked as a subkingdom. The name Metazoa has also been used to refer to this group, but more often refers to the Animalia as a whole. Many classification schemes do not include a subkingdom Eumetazoa.

Cat | Phylum: Chordata

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. They are united by having, at some time in their life cycle, a notochord, a hollow dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, an endostyle, and a post-anal tail. The phylum Chordata consists of three subphyla: Urochordata, represented by tunicates; Cephalochordata, represented by lancelets;and Craniata, which includes Vertebrata. The Hemichordata have been presented as a fourth chordate subphylum, but they are now usually treated as a separate phylum. Urochordate larvae have a notochord and a nerve cord but these are lost in adulthood. Cephalochordates have a notochord and a nerve cord but no brain or specialist sense organs, and a very simple circulatory system. Craniates are the only sub-phylum whose members have skulls. In all craniates except for Hagfish, the dorsal hollow nerve cord has been surrounded with cartilaginous or bony vertebrae and the notochord generally reduced; hence hagfish are not regarded as vertebrates. The chordates and three sister phyla, the Hemichordata, the Echinodermata and the Xenoturbellida, make up the deuterostomes, one of the two superphyla which encompass all fairly complex animals.

Attempts to work out the evolutionary relationships of the chordates have produced several hypotheses, but the current consensus is that chordates are monophyletic, in other words contain all and only the descendants of a single common ancestor which is itself a chordate, and that craniates' nearest relatives are cephalochordates. All of the earliest chordate fossils have been found in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang fauna, and include two species that are regarded as fish, which implies that these are vertebrates. Because the fossil record of chordates is poor, only molecular phylogenetics offers a reasonable prospect of dating their emergence. However the use of molecular phylogenetics for dating evolutionary transitions is controversial.

It has also proved difficult to produce a detailed classification within the living chordates. Attempts to produce evolutionary "family trees" give results that differ from traditional classes because several of those classes are not monophyletic. As a result vertebrate classification is in a state of flux.

Cat | Subphylum: Vertebrata

Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates with backbones or spinal columns. The grouping sometimes includes the hagfish, which have no vertebrae, but are genetically quite closely related to lampreys, which do have vertebrae. For this reason, the sub-phylum is sometimes referred to as "Craniata", as all members do possess a cranium. About 58,000 species of vertebrates have been described. Vertebrata is the largest subphylum of chordates, and contains many familiar groups of large land animals. Vertebrates comprise cyclostomes, bony fish, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. Extant vertebrates range in size from the carp species Paedocypris, at as little as 7.9 mm (0.3 inch), to the Blue Whale, at up to 33 m (110 ft).

Cat | Class: Mammalia

Mammals (formally Mammalia) are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young. They are also characterized by the possession of sweat glands, hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the brain.

Except for the three species of monotremes (which lay eggs), all mammals give birth to live young. Most mammals also possess specialized teeth, and the largest group of mammals, the placentals, use a placenta during gestation. The mammalian brain regulates endothermic and circulatory systems, including a four-chambered heart.

There are approximately 5,400 species of mammals, distributed in about 1,200 genera, 153 families, and 29 orders (though this varies by classification scheme). Mammals range in size from the 30–40-millimetre (1.2–1.6 in) Bumblebee Bat to the 33-metre (110 ft) Blue Whale.

Cat | Subclass: Theria

Theria (from the Greek "wild beast") is a subclass of mammals that give birth to live young without using a shelled egg, including both eutherians (placental mammals) and metatherians (marsupials and their ancestors).

Cat | Order: Carnivora

The diverse order Carnivora includes over 260 species of placental mammals. Its members are formally referred to as carnivorans, while the word "carnivore" (often popularly applied to members of this group) can refer to any meat-eating animal. Carnivorans are the most diverse in size of any mammalian order, ranging from the Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis), at as little as 25 grams (0.88 oz) and 11 centimetres (4.3 in), to the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) which can weigh up to 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb), to the Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) whose adult males weigh up to 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb) and measure up to 6.9 metres (23 ft) in length.

The first carnivoran was a carnivore, and nearly all carnivorans today primarily eat meat. Some, such as cats, pinnipeds, and weasels, are obligate carnivores. Others, such as bears, are more omnivorous depending on the local habitat; the Giant Panda is almost exclusively an herbivore but will take fish, eggs and insects, while the Polar Bear's harsh habitat forces it to mainly subsist on prey. Carnivorans have teeth, claws, and binocular vision adapted for catching and eating other animals. Many hunt in packs and are social animals, giving them an advantage over larger prey.

Cat | Suborder: Feliformia

The Feliformia ('cat-like' carnivores, also Feloidea) are a suborder within the order Carnivora and includes the 'true-cats' (large and small), hyenas, mongooses, civets and related taxa. The other suborder of Carnivora is Caniformia ('dog-like' carnivores). One shared characteristic distinguishes Carnivora from all other mammals: the possession of the four carnassial teeth in the front of the jaw.

Feliforms tend to be more carnivorous and are generally ambush hunters. Most feliforms have retractile (retractable) or semi-retractile claws and many are arboreal or semi-arboreal. Feliforms also tend to be more digitigrade (walking on toes).

There are six extant families, twelve subfamilies, 56 genera and 114 species in the Feliformia suborder. They range natively across all continents except Australia and Antarctica.

Cat | Family: Felidae

Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the most strictly carnivorous of the sixteen mammal families in the order Carnivora. The most familiar felid is the Domestic Cat, which first became associated with humans about 10,000 years ago, but the family includes all other wild cats including the big cats.

Extant felids belong to one of two subfamilies: Pantherinae (which includes the Lion, the Tiger, the Jaguar, and the Leopard), and Felinae (which includes the Cougar, the Cheetah, lynxes and the Caracal, along with the Domestic Cat).

The first felids emerged during the Oligocene, about 25 million years ago. In prehistoric times, there was a third subfamily known as Machairodontinae, which included the "saber-toothed cats" such as the well known Smilodon. There were also other cat-like mammals, such as Thylacosmilus or the Nimravidae which are not included in Felidae despite superficial similarities.

Cat | Subfamily: Felinae

Felinae is a subfamily of the family Felidae. Most are small to medium-sized cats, although the group does include some larger animals, such as the Cougar and Cheetah. The earliest records of the Felinae are ascribed Felis attica from the late Miocene (9 Ma) of western Eurasia.

Cat | Genus: Felis

Felis is a genus of cats in the family Felidae.

The genus is composed of these species:

• Chinese Mountain Cat, Felis bieti
• Jungle Cat, Felis chaus
• Pallas' Cat, Felis manul
• Sand Cat, Felis margarita
• Black-footed Cat, Felis nigripes
• Wildcat, Felis silvestris
  • Domestic Cat, Felis silvestris catus , also known as Felis catus