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Cat The cat, also known as the domestic cat or housecat is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal that is valued

by humans for its companionship and ability to hunt vermin and household pests. Cats have been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years, and are currently the most popular pet in the world.[. Owing to their close association with humans, cats are now found almost everywhere on Earth. Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with strong, flexible bodies, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. As nocturnal predators, cats use their acute hearing and ability to see in near darkness to locate prey. Not only can cats hear sounds too faint for human ears, they can also hear sounds higher in frequency than humans can perceive. This is because cats' usual prey (particularly rodents such as mice) make high frequency noises, so cats' hearing has evolved to pinpoint these faint high-pitched sounds. Cats rely more on smell than taste, and have a vastly better sense of smell than humans. Despite being solitary hunters, cats are a social species and use a variety of vocalizations, pheromones and types of body language for communication. These include meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting. Cats have a rapid breeding rate. Cat senses Cats have extremely sensitive vision, particularly in dim light. Cats have excellent night vision and can see at only one-sixth the light level required for human vision. However, domestic cats have rather poor color vision and can only see two colors: blue and green, and are less able to distinguish between red and green, although they can achieve this in some conditions. Cats' whiskers are highly sensitive to touch. Health In captivity, an average life expectancy for male indoor cats at birth is 12 to 14 years, with females usually living a year or two longer. Diseases Cats can suffer from a wide range of health problems, including infectious diseases, parasites, injuries and chronic disease. Vaccinations are available for many of these diseases, and domestic cats are regularly given treatments to eliminate parasites such as worms and fleas. Cat behavior and cat communication Free-ranging cats are active both day and night, although they tend to be slightly more active at night. The timing of cats' activity is quite flexible and varied, which means that house cats may be more active in the morning and evening , as a response to greater human activity at these times. Cats conserve energy by sleeping more than most animals, especially as they grow older. The daily duration of sleep varies, usually 1216 hours, with 1314 being the average. Sociability Although wildcats are solitary, the social behavior of domestic cats is much more variable and ranges from widely dispersed individuals to feral cat colonies that form around a food source, based on groups of cooperating females. Domestic cats use many vocalizations for communication, including purring, trilling, hissing, growling, snarling and several different forms of meowing Grooming The hooked papillae on a cat's tongue act like a hairbrush to help clean and detangle fur. Cats are known for their cleanliness, spending many hours licking their coats.The cat's tongue has backwardsfacing spines about 500 micrometres long, which are called papillae. These are quite rigid, as they contain keratin.These spines allow cats to groom themselves by licking their fur, with the rows of papillae acting like a hairbrush. Fighting Cats intimidate opponents by arching their backs, raising their fur, turning sideways, and hissing. With domestic cats, males are more likely to fight than females.

Dog The dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The domestic dog has been the most widely kept working, hunting and companion animal in human history. The dog quickly became common across world cultures, and was extremely valuable to early human settlements. Dogs perform many roles for people, such as hunting, herding, protection, assisting police and military, companionship, and, more recently, aiding handicapped individuals. This versatility, more than almost any other known animal, has given them the nickname "Man's best friend" in the western world. Currently, there are estimated to be 400 million dogs in the world. Roles with humans Wolves, and their dog descendants, would have derived significant benefits from living in human camps Humans would also have derived enormous benefit from the dogs associated with their camps. For instance, dogs would have improved sanitation by cleaning up human waste and food scraps. The cohabitation of dogs and humans would have greatly improved the chances of survival for early human groups, and the domestication of dogs may have been one of the key forces that led to modern humans. As pets There have been two major trends in the changing status of pet dogs. The first has been the commodification of the dog, shaping it to conform to human expectations of personality and behaviour. The second has been the broadening of the concept of the family and the home to include dogs-as-dogs within everyday routines and practices. Work Dogs have lived and worked with humans in so many roles that they have earned the unique nickname, "man's best friend", a phrase which is used in other languages as well. They have been bred for herding livestock, hunting (e.g. pointers and hounds),[50] rodent control, guarding, helping fishermen with nets, and pulling loads, in addition to their roles as companions. Service dogs such as guide dogs, utility dogs, assistance dogs, hearing dogs, and psychological therapy dogs provide assistance to individuals with physical or mental disabilities. Some dogs owned by epileptics have been shown to alert their handler when the handler shows signs of an impending seizure, sometimes well in advance of onset, allowing the owner to seek safety, medication, or medical care. Dogs that are included in human activities in terms of helping out humans are usually called working dogs. Sports and shows Owners of dogs often enter them in competitions such as breed conformation shows or sports, including racing and sledding. As a food source Dog meat is consumed in some East Asian countries, including Korea, China, and Vietnam. Senses Sight The dog's visual system has evolved to aid proficient hunting. While a dog's visual acuity is poor, their visual discrimination for moving objects is very high; dogs have been shown to be able to discriminate between humans (e.g. identifying their owner) from distances up to a mile. The eyes of different breeds of dogs have different shapes, dimensions, and retina configurations. Hearing Dogs can detect sounds far beyond the upper limit of the human auditory spectrum. Additionally, dogs have ear mobility which allows them to rapidly pinpoint the exact location of a sound. Eighteen or more muscles can tilt, rotate, raise, or lower a dog's ear. A dog can identify a sound's location much faster than a human can, as well as hear sounds at four times the distance. Smell Dogs can discriminate odors at concentrations nearly 100 million times lower than humans can. The wet nose is essential for determining the direction of the air current containing the smell. Cold receptors in the skin are sensitive to the cooling of the skin by evaporation of the moisture by air currents. Physical characteristics Tail There are many different shapes for dog tails: straight, straight up, sickle, curled, or cork-screw. In some breeds, the tail is traditionally docked to avoid injuries (especially for hunting dogs).In some breeds, puppies can be born with a short tail or no tail at all. This occurs more frequently in those breeds that are frequently docked and thus have no breed standard regarding the tail.

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