In captivity, indoor cats typically live 14 to 20 years, although the oldest known cat, Creme Puff, lived to age 38. Some say that domesticated cats tend to live longer if they are not permitted to go outdoors (reducing the risk of injury from fights...

As a familiar and easily-kept animal, the physiology of cats has been particularly well studied and is generally similar to that of other carnivorous mammals. However, several features of cats' physiology are unusual and are probably due to their...

The domesticated cat and its closest wild ancestor are both diploid organisms that possess 38 chromosomes and roughly 20,000 genes. About 250 heritable genetic disorders have been identified in cats, many similar to human inborn errors. The high...

Cats have excellent night vision and can function at only one-sixth the light level required for human vision. This is partly the result of cat eyes having a tapetum lucidum, which reflects any light that passes through the retina back into the eye,...

The Felids are a rapidly evolving family of mammals that share a common ancestor only 10-15 million years ago. Within this family, domestic cats (Felis catus) are part of the genus Felis, which is a group of small cats containing seven...