Cats

Cats are small, domesticated mammals that humans keep as pets. Cats are extremely popular companions, because they can be playful and affectionate, but require less attention than other pets such as dogs. A third of American households have feline members, and more than 600 million cats can be seen coexisting with humans.http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-taming-of-the-cat<ref> Cats today are seen throughout the media a stars in comic strips such as Garfield, in movies such as Cats Versus Dogs, and in poetry and books.

The domestication of cats can be traced definitively back to early Egypt 4000 years ago.<ref>http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/brief_cats.html?c=y&page=2 The Egyptians worshiped, mummified and venerated their cats. Romans also held cats in high respect, as did the the people of the Far East who valued the cat's rodent killing prowess.http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/brief_cats.html?c=y&page=2 The domesitication of the cat seems to have come about as people moved from nomadic, hunter type societies to those of a more settled, farming nature. Cats became valued as they killed rodents that might have taken a good portion of a grain store.http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/brief_cats.html?c=y&page=2

Cats have excellent night vision and can function at only one-sixth the light level required for human vision. They can also hear higher-pitched sounds than either dogs or humans. However, Cats can suffer from a wide range of health problems, which include infectious diseases, parasites, injuries and chronic disease.