---
title: "What the sources say about the Domestic Cat | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "42 claims from the Domestic Cat profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/domestic-cat/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Domestic Cat (*Felis catus*)

> 42 claims from the Domestic Cat profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Domestic Cat](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/domestic-cat/)

## Felis catus (domestic cat). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Felis_catus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| jumps five times its own height | capable of jumping five times their own height (note: tagline; ADW only, a capability figure rather than a record) |
| The flexible carnivore | cats are very flexible and can rotate half of their spine 180° (note: tagline) |
| Mostly around human habitation, in urban, suburban and farm areas; most feral cats live near current or past human settlements | Domestic cats primarily live in areas of human habitation and are somewhat constrained to developed areas. Most feral populations live in close proximity to current or past human settlements. (note: stats.habitat; 'urban, suburban and farm' are ADW's Other Habitat Features tags (urban, suburban, agricultural). First clause names no biome word, so biome stays 'general' as before) |
| Carnivore: feral cats mainly hunt small rodents, birds, fish and some arthropods, and some pet cats depend on food people supply | Some domestic cats depend on human supplied feed... In order to kill their prey, all felids bite the back of the neck at the base of the skull, thus, severing the spinal chord from the brain stem. Primary prey for feral animals includes small rodents, birds, fish, and some arthropods (note: stats.diet; 'Carnivore' is ADW's 'Domestic cats are carnivorous') |
| Rotates half its spine through 180 degrees and slips through narrow spaces | can rotate half of their spine 180°. They are capable of jumping five times their own height and are able to slip through narrow spaces (note: stats.superpower, rewritten: the righting reflex and the whisker gauge had no source) |
| adults weigh 4.1 to 5.4 kg and average about 76 cm long | Adult mass ranges from 4.1 to 5.4 kg, and average length is 76.2 cm. (note: 76 rounds 76.2; ADW does not say whether length includes the tail, so the page doesn't either) |
| Its shoulder blades lie close in against its body, and it can slip through narrow spaces. | are able to slip through narrow spaces because they have no collar bone and their scapulae lie medially on their body (note: ADW's 'no collar bone' is dropped: Vélez García et al. 2026 dissected cats and describe the clavicle. Only the scapula position and the narrow-spaces ability are kept.) |
| Its spine holds about 30 vertebrae, a count that varies with the cat's length. | of which about 30 are vertebrae (the number can vary depending upon the length of cat) |
| With so many vertebrae, a cat can rotate half its spine through 180 degrees, and it can jump five times its own height. | With so many vertebrae in their spine, cats are very flexible and can rotate half of their spine 180°. They are capable of jumping five times their own height |
| To kill, a cat bites the back of the prey's neck at the base of the skull, severing the spinal cord from the brainstem. | In order to kill their prey, all felids bite the back of the neck at the base of the skull, thus, severing the spinal chord from the brain stem. |
| Feral cats' main prey includes small rodents, birds, fish and some arthropods, while some pet cats depend on food people supply. | Some domestic cats depend on human supplied feed... In order to kill their prey, all felids bite the back of the neck at the base of the skull, thus, severing the spinal chord from the brain stem. Primary prey for feral animals includes small rodents, birds, fish, and some arthropods |
| Behind the retina, a reflective layer called the tapetum lucidum reflects light back and intensifies it, and animals that have one see exceptionally well in low light. | A reflective membrane in the back of the eye, called the tapetum lucidum, reflects light from behind the eye's retina and intensifies it. Species possessing tapetum lucidum are able to see exceptionally well in low light. |
| Each ear can rotate 180 degrees. | Their ears can rotate 180° |
| Whiskers on the muzzle, eyebrows and elbows sense changes in air flow, helping a cat steer around obstacles in low light. | They have vibrissae on the muzzle, eyebrows, and elbows which function as haptic receptors. These touch receptors allow house cats to navigate their way around obstacles in low light conditions by sensing changes in air flow around an object as it approaches it. |
| Today cats live on every continent except Antarctica, generally where people do, alongside a large feral population. | Felis catus can be found on every continent except Antarctica, generally in human populated areas. This species can be found on a large number islands as well. Their nearly global distribution can be attributed their domestication by humans; however, there is a large global feral population as well. |
| Not Evaluated | IUCN Red List No special status (note: stats.conservationStatus. ADW's 'No special status' anchors only that no Red List category applies; it does not itself say Not Evaluated and the page claims nothing more. The category comes from GBIF's copy of the Red List, which returns NOT_EVALUATED (code NE) for Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758, usage key 2435035, checked 2026-09-28 via api.gbif.org/v1/species/2435035/iucnRedListCategory. A domestic species has no Red List assessment, so this line carries no IUCN reference (precedent suffolk-sheep, alpaca).) |

## O’Neill et al. (2014). Longevity and mortality of cats attending primary care veterinary practices in England. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612x14536176

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In an English study of 4,009 cats that had attended veterinary practices and died, the median lifespan was 14 years, and the oldest reached 26.7. | From 118,016 cats attending 90 practices in England, 4009 cats with confirmed deaths were randomly selected for detailed study... Overall, the median longevity was 14.0 years (interquartile range [IQR] 9.0-17.0; range 0.0-26.7). (note: 'the oldest reached 26.7' is the range ceiling, scoped to the study) |

## Driscoll et al. (2007). The Near Eastern Origin of Cat Domestication. Science.

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1139518

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A 2007 genetic study of 979 domestic cats and wildcats placed domestication in the Near East, probably as farming villages developed in the Fertile Crescent, with at least five founders from across the region. | A genetic assessment of 979 domestic cats and their wild progenitors... cats were domesticated in the Near East, probably coincident with agricultural village development in the Fertile Crescent. Domestic cats derive from at least five founders from across this region (note: 2007 is the reference's publication year (Driscoll et al. 2007, Science).) |
| DNA pointed to the Near East, where cats descend from at least five wildcat founders, and people then carried those founders' descendants across the world. | cats were domesticated in the Near East, probably coincident with agricultural village development in the Fertile Crescent. Domestic cats derive from at least five founders from across this region, whose descendants were transported across the world by human assistance. (note: FAQ 3) |

## De Martino et al. (2025). The dispersal of domestic cats from North Africa to Europe around 2000 years ago. Science.

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adt2642

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The domestic cat descends from the African wildcat. | The domestic cat (Felis catus) descends from the African wildcat Felis lybica lybica |
| The exact birthplace is still open: a 2025 study says it remains uncertain whether domestic cats originated in the Levant, Egypt or elsewhere in the African wildcat's range. | Uncertainty remains regarding whether domestic cats originated in the Levant, Egypt, or elsewhere in the natural range of African wildcats. (note: 2025 is the reference's publication year (De Martino et al. 2025, Science). Date rule: the 2025 paper postdates Driscoll 2007 and hedges its origin, so the page gives both.) |
| Its analysis of ancient and modern genomes suggests cats did not spread to Europe with Neolithic farmers, and were introduced there around 2,000 years ago, probably from North Africa. | the analysis of 87 ancient and modern cat genomes suggests that domestic cats did not spread to Europe with Neolithic farmers. Conversely, they were introduced to Europe around 2000 years ago, probably from North Africa. |
| Their ancestor is the African wildcat. | The domestic cat (Felis catus) descends from the African wildcat Felis lybica lybica (note: FAQ 3) |
| Where exactly domestication began is still uncertain, with the Levant and Egypt both possible. | Uncertainty remains regarding whether domestic cats originated in the Levant, Egypt, or elsewhere in the natural range of African wildcats. (note: FAQ 3; 'exactly' paraphrases the quote's choice between the Levant, Egypt or elsewhere, which is uncertainty about the precise place within a region the 2007 study named. The FAQ ref stays near-2007; this sentence names no figure.) |

## Li et al. (2005). Pseudogenization of a Sweet-Receptor Gene Accounts for Cats' Indifference toward Sugar. PLoS Genetics.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.0010003

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| belongs to a family of obligate carnivores | other members of the Felidae family of obligate carnivores |
| Cats also show no interest in sweet foods, and a broken gene accounts for it | Pseudogenization of a Sweet-Receptor Gene Accounts for Cats' Indifference toward Sugar (note: the paper's title; 'broken gene' = pseudogene) |
| without a working copy, they lack the receptor likely needed to detect sweetness | A functional sweet-taste receptor heteromer cannot form, and thus the cat lacks the receptor likely necessary for detection of sweet stimuli |
| Sweetness is normally detected by two proteins working together, T1R2 and T1R3. | the mammalian sweet-taste receptor is formed by the dimerization of two proteins (T1R2 and T1R3; gene symbols Tas1r2 and Tas1r3 ) (note: FAQ 2) |
| In cats, the gene for T1R2 carries a 247-base-pair deletion plus stop codons, and researchers found no sign of its protein, so a working receptor pair cannot form. | the cat Tas1r2 gene shows a 247-base pair microdeletion in exon 3 and stop codons in exons 4 and 6. There was no evidence of detectable mRNA from cat Tas1r2 by RT-PCR or in situ hybridization, and no evidence of protein expression by immunohistochemistry... A functional sweet-taste receptor heteromer cannot form (note: FAQ 2; 'so' is the paper's own inference: it concludes Tas1r2 is an unexpressed pseudogene and that the heteromer therefore cannot form.) |
| Tigers and cheetahs, tested in the same study, carry a similar deletion and stop codons. | Tas1r2 in tiger and cheetah and in six healthy adult domestic cats all show the similar deletion and stop codons. (note: FAQ 2) |

## Bishop, Pai & Schmitt (2008). Whole Body Mechanics of Stealthy Walking in Cats. PLoS ONE.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0003808

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Force-plate recordings of six walking cats | Six adult cats were used in this study. |
| the lower a cat crouched, hips held close to the ground, the more evenly it spaced its footfalls | During crouched strides in which the hip was held relatively close to the substrate, cats used higher diagonalities. (note: higher diagonality = more evenly spaced footfalls, per the next sentence of the paper) |
| The researchers judged that evenly spaced footfalls likely add stability, helpful when stalking prey, but cost the cat energy | It is likely that evenly spaced footfalls increase stability [15] and are thus helpful during stealthy approach to prey. However, by choosing such diagonalities during crouched gaits, cats sacrifice energetic efficiency. |
| cats recover less mechanical energy while walking than mammals specialized for distance | domestic cats ( Felis catus, Linnaeus, 1758) have lower mechanical energy recovery than mammals specialized for distance |
| the lower a cat crouches, the more evenly it spaces its footfalls | During crouched strides in which the hip was held relatively close to the substrate, cats used higher diagonalities. (note: vibe.reason, settled in #913; higher diagonality = more evenly spaced footfalls, per the paper's next sentence) |
| giving up walking efficiency for steps that likely steady a stealthy approach to prey | It is likely that evenly spaced footfalls increase stability [15] and are thus helpful during stealthy approach to prey. However, by choosing such diagonalities during crouched gaits, cats sacrifice energetic efficiency. (note: vibe.reason, settled in #913) |

## Heffner & Heffner (1985). Hearing range of the domestic cat. Hearing Research.

https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-5955(85)90100-5

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| hears one of the broadest ranges of sound of any mammal | giving it one of the broadest hearing ranges among mammals (note: tagline) |
| 85 kilohertz is the top of the domestic cat's hearing range for sounds at 70 decibels, one of the broadest ranges of any mammal. | The hearing range of the cat for sounds of 70 dB SPL extends from 48 Hz to 85 kHz, giving it one of the broadest hearing ranges among mammals. (note: blockquote; replaces ADW's garbled '50 to 65 kilohertz' with the primary behavioural audiogram) |
| Tested on two cats, the species' hearing for sounds at 70 decibels runs from 48 hertz to 85 kilohertz. | The behavioral audiograms of two cats were determined in order to establish the upper and lower hearing limits for the cat. The hearing range of the cat for sounds of 70 dB SPL extends from 48 Hz to 85 kHz |

## Vélez García, Vélez Cabrera & Miglino (2026). Updating the forelimb anatomy of the domestic cat ( Felis catus , Felidae) based on evolutionary inferences of its muscles and nerves I: Shoulder and brachium. Journal of Anatomy.

https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.70151

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A 2026 study that dissected the front legs of 10 domestic cats | Nineteen thoracic limbs from 10 F. catus specimens were dissected. (note: 2026 is the reference publication year) |
| traces a nerve running dorsal to the clavicle on its way to the upper arm | The cleidobrachialis nerve (ClBN) extends cranially to the distal extreme of SS belly among the superficial cervical vessels and dorsal to the clavicle, reaching the clavicular intersection and directing distally to the brachium (note: brachium = upper arm) |
| No. The clavicle, or collarbone, is there. | dorsal to the clavicle, reaching the clavicular intersection |