It might be useful to quickly go over the difference between ‘cat breeds’ and ‘cat species’. It’s quite as subtle difference but a very important one. In 1758 the modern idea of classifying all the world’s animals and plants began. Humans like to create some order in the world (I am afraid they’ve failed ?) …
The difference between ‘cat breeds’ and ‘cat species’ Read More »
The fisher cat is a dog-like carnivore that’s called a cat and which is an omnivore. Nothing makes sense. Logic has been turned on its head. The problem is that the fisher cat has been badly named and there is a very good argument to reconsider it. Taxonomically, i.e. its scientific classification among all the …
The problem with this question is that it is badly formulated. Therefore, it doesn’t really make sense which means it is difficult to answer. If it was well formulated it would still be difficult to answer (for me at least) ?. I’ll have a stab at it. But it will be an overview. Above: the …
Here is an Infographic which shows you how the cat family is currently classified by the experts. It is called ‘taxonomy’. The difficulty with the classification of cats is that it is still, despite DNA testing, somewhat in flux. The task is not quite finished because I see different results. It is more settled than …
Infographic – the cat family classified (taxonomy) Read More »
Do domestic cats come from big cats? The answer has to be no. The reason is because the big cats split off and formed their own path millions of years ago. This is a discussion about the taxonomy of the cats. And it’s about the evolution of all the cats. They all have the same …
Nearly all domestic cats are not a breed of cat but a species of cat. The purebred cats, those cats which are selectively bred by cat breeders, are various breeds of cat of which there are about 104 maximum. Some of these breeds no longer exist or have failed to be successful. There are some …
There is a major difference between ‘breed’ and ‘species’. The domestic cat is a species of cat and in the family of cats is called Felidae. There are about 36 species of cat, all of which are wild except for the domestic cat, which is a domesticated African-Asian wildcat. A cat breed is a type …
What’s the difference between a cat breed and a cat species? Read More »
There is some confusion on the internet as to whether the scientific name for the domestic cat is felis catus or felis silvestris catus. The confusion comes from how scientists have decided to classify the domestic cat within the range of all the cats. The question is whether the domestic cat is a distinct species …
Scientific name for the domestic cat: felis catus or felis silvestris catus? Read More »
Which big cat is not in the genus Panthera? The answer depends on how you define ‘big cat’. Historically the big cats are the cats within the genus Panthera. That’s the whole point. These big cats are the classic foursome, all of which can roar: tiger, lion, jaguar and leopard. However some people include the …
What does felis catus mean? I’ll try and break this Latin phrase down to its components and provide translations on the way. An alternative to felis catus is felis silvestris catus (the trinomial name). They are both Latin versions of the English ‘domestic cat’. There is some repetition below but I have retained it as …
Are cheetahs big cats? The one word answer is no. The term ‘big cats’ loosely refers to size. They are unified by the fact that all four big cats roar. Their anatomy allows it.
“What is the order of a cat?” sounds rather strange. On the face of it it does not make sense. However, the question revolves around the word “order” which is one level in the scientific classification of the domestic cat. You can see the various levels of classification below in the table. The word “order” …
Here are some examples of the word ‘taxonomy’ in a sentence. I like the science of taxonomy. Taxonomy is an evolving science. The classification of animal and plant species is called taxonomy. The science of taxonomy with respect to the wild cat species (including the domestic cat) has become more sophisticated thanks to DNA testing …
People want to know how the word Felidae fits into a sentence. I think it is a good question because the word is technical and it is not obvious as to how the word is used. Felidae is a Latin word used by scientists to give a name to the family of cats. Scientists like …
