Well, I finally did it, here it is! XD It took me all day yesterday...just to color those three pages...
And...on another note, I woke up at 2 this morning...and couldn't get back to bed until 4, so I listened to theOtaku podcast, XD
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I FINISHED MY EXPOSITORY ESSAY ON CATS!!! ^-^
Here it is~
Domestic Cats!
One may think that cats are furry little bundles of fur, but did you know that there are some breeds that are hairless? As you read, you may find some things that you didn’t know about your average cat.
Well, let’s start with the basic information on domestic cats. The domestic cat belongs to the kingdom of Animalia (Animals), the phylum of Chordata (Have vertebrae), the class of Mammalia (Are mammals), are in the order of Carnivora (Are carnivorious), in the family of Felidae (Cats, lions, tigers, leopards, cheetas, etc), in the Genus of Felis (Are cats), and in the species of Felis Catus, which is the scientific name of the domestic cat. Their normal body temperature is 101°F. Indoor cats are expected to live around 12-16 years, while the outdoor cat’s life span is about 3 years. The average adult cat weighs about 12-14 pounds, while a newborn weighs about 3.2 ounces. The average height of an adult cat is about 8-15 inches tall, while a newborn’s height is less than an inch tall. The tallest domestic cat is a female by the name of Scarlett’s Magic, and the heaviest cat weighed 46.8 pounds, and his name was Himmy.
Let’s move onto their facial appearance. Cats have 2 eyes, 2 ears, a nose, whiskers, teeth, a tongue, Have you ever wondered why cats rub their heads on you, or pretty much anything? Well, they do this to get their scent on whatever it is that they are rubbing. It’s like telling another cat, “THIS IS MY TERRITORY!!!” One may think that cat’s eyes are very beautiful, but they are also very important-especially at night. Cats can see much better than we can at night-6 times better! But during the day time, their vision is greatly reduced, due to this thing in their eye called the tapedum lucidum, which is a reflective layer behind the retina in the eye. A cat’s hearing is about 64 kHz, which is about 1.6 octaves higher than a human’s, and even 1 octave higher than a dogs! A cat’s sense of smell is much greater than a human’s-14 times, in fact. Whiskers help cats navigate when they are in the dark. Cats have around 30 teeth, and their tongue-A cat’s tongue, helps them groom themselves, since they have these hair-like things on the tongue, called papillae, which contain keratin, a material in our fingernails. Did you know that cats hate the smell and taste of citrus. They also can’t taste anything sweet, so they hate sugar as well. Ever wonder why cats like licking your skin? Well, they like your scent, and they also like salt, because of the keratin in the papillae, it kind of hurts when they lick you.
Now, let’s move onto their physical appearance. Cats have 4 legs, paws, and claws, and possibly a tail. Have you ever heard how cats always land on their feet? Well, this isn’t always true, but cats do have a righting reflex, which is an instinct that tells the cat to rotate its body towards the ground while in midair. Ever wonder how a cat sweats? Well, a cat sweats through the pads of their paws. Cats have retractable claws, which allow them to scratch, climb, and help with their balance. You can declaw them, so they don’t ruin your furniture, but it has to be done when they are young. They also may have a tail, which helps with their balance. (Just be sure you don’t step on it!) Their tail may tell you what mood they are in. If they are whipping it around, that tells you that they are angry. If they are moving it around slowly, they may be happy.
Onto the sounds a cat can make, there are many different sounds a cat can make, like: hissing, purring, growling, whimpering, and of course, meowing. Ever wonder how they can make these various sounds? Well, the average cat has over 100 vocal chords, while your average dog only has about 10.
Let’s move onto the different varieties of cats. As you can probably guess, there are many different breeds of cats. But only 73 breeds are accepted by the International Progression Cat Breeders Alliance, while the Cat Fanciers’ Association only accepts 41 cat breeds. Here are some unique breeds with a brief description: Sphynx-A cat with very little fur that is sought by those who have allergies. American Curl-Is a cat with very curly ears. Scottish Fold-This cat’s ears are folded down. Manx-A breed of cat that may have either a very long tail, or virtually not tail at all! And lastly, the Persian-This cat has a face that is very compressed face, it looks as though it’s very angry!
Meow! So, there you have it-some information on domestic cats. Did you learn something new? Thank you for reading!
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Well, since I'm done with my homework, I'll work on the next pages of The Parody of Haruhi Suzumiya~
~*1dev13*~
NEKO YUKI NAGATO TIME:
^TOOOOOOO KAWAII!!! (I like how this blog is mainly about cats, XD)^
