🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

Animal domestication is often described as following three routes: a commensal pathway, a prey pathway and a directed pathway. This overview focuses on the commensal model as applied to cats, in which…

Kittens purr from very early life, and this overview surveys the developmental emergence and early functions of purring. It examines reports that kittens purr while nursing, possibly communicating wit…

Trap-neuter-return is widely practiced yet scientifically contested, and this overview surveys the evidence and debate over whether TNR effectively reduces free-roaming cat numbers. It examines studie…

Cats produce a varied set of vocalizations, and this overview surveys the repertoire and how its use differs between conspecific and human-directed communication. It covers categories such as murmurs…

Cat purrs are notable for their low fundamental frequency, commonly reported in the range of roughly 20 to 30 hertz with energy extending higher, and this overview surveys measurements and interpretat…

Cat coat colours and patterns are a classic teaching example of genetics, and this overview surveys the genes and interactions behind them. It covers the X-linked orange gene that produces the sex-lin…

Adult cats rarely meow at one another but meow frequently at people, leading to the hypothesis that the meow is largely a product of life with humans. This overview surveys evidence that domestic cats…

Phonetic research has begun to dissect the structure of cat vocalizations as if they were speech-like sounds, examining pitch contours, vowel-like qualities and prosody. This overview surveys work, in…

A widely repeated idea holds that the low frequencies of cat purring stimulate bone density and tissue repair, sometimes invoked to explain why cats purr when injured or stressed. This overview survey…

The idea that cats domesticated themselves holds that wildcats with reduced fear of humans gained access to abundant rodents and food scraps, reproduced more successfully near settlements, and thereby…

Kittens have an early sensitive period during which experiences shape their lifelong sociability, and this overview surveys research defining it. It examines classic and later work indicating that rou…

The raised, vertical tail is one of the clearest visual signals in cat social behaviour, and this overview surveys research establishing it as a friendly, affiliative display. It examines studies, inc…

Cats can be trained using positive reinforcement, and this overview surveys research and practice in feline training and cognitive enrichment. It examines the use of clicker and reward-based methods t…

University campuses, with defined boundaries and organized volunteers, have hosted some of the best-documented trap-neuter-return programs, and this overview surveys what they reveal. It examines case…

Free-roaming cats face elevated risks of injury, infection and death, a central consideration in the indoor-outdoor debate. This overview surveys evidence on the hazards outdoor cats encounter, includ…

Researchers have proposed classifications of human-cat relationships based on how owners perceive and interact with their cats and how cats respond. This overview surveys survey-based and observationa…

A persistent challenge in measuring cat predation is that animals cats bring home represent only part of what they kill. This overview surveys research, including studies using cameras, GPS and observ…

Foreman-Worsley and Farnworth systematically reviewed the literature on how social and environmental conditions affect the welfare of indoor-housed cats. Surveying studies of housing density, resource…

Rachel Foreman-Worsley, Mark J. Farnworth · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · 2019

Vitale Shreve, Mehrkam and Udell ran a structured preference assessment to learn what most motivates cats, testing pet and shelter cats with stimuli from four categories: human social interaction, foo…

Kristyn R. Vitale Shreve, Lindsay R. Mehrkam, Monique A. R. Udell · Behavioural Processes · 2017

Merola and colleagues tested whether cats engage in social referencing, looking to a human for emotional information about an ambiguous situation. Cats and owners were presented with a potentially ala…

Isabella Merola, Marta Lazzaroni, Sarah Marshall-Pescini, Emanuela Prato-Previde · Animal Cognition · 2015

Kaelin and colleagues uncovered the genetic and developmental basis of the tabby coat patterns that adorn domestic cats and their wild relatives. They identified the gene Taqpep, encoding a protease,…

Christopher B. Kaelin, Xiao Xu, Lewis Z. Hong, et al. · Science · 2012

Driscoll and colleagues sampled mitochondrial DNA from nearly 1,000 wildcats and domestic cats across Europe, Asia and Africa to resolve where the house cat came from. The analysis showed all domestic…

Carlos A. Driscoll, Marilyn Menotti-Raymond, Alfred L. Roca, et al. · Science · 2007

Lipinski and colleagues used a panel of genetic markers to characterize the population structure of cat breeds and worldwide random-bred cats. They found that most modern cat breeds are relatively rec…

Monika J. Lipinski, Lutz Froenicke, Kathryn C. Baysac, et al. · Genomics · 2008

McComb and colleagues identified a special soliciting purr that cats use to extract food and care from their owners. Comparing purrs recorded when cats sought food with ordinary contentment purrs, the…

Karen McComb, Anna M. Taylor, Christian Wilson, Benjamin D. Charlton · Current Biology · 2009

Loss, Will and Marra produced a landmark quantitative estimate of how many wild animals free-ranging cats kill in the United States. Synthesizing data from predation studies through a systematic revie…

Scott R. Loss, Tom Will, Peter P. Marra · Nature Communications · 2013

Ottoni and colleagues sequenced mitochondrial DNA from more than 200 ancient cats spanning 9,000 years, from Mesolithic Europe through Viking-age ports to Egyptian mummies. They identified two major d…

Claudio Ottoni, Wim Van Neer, Bea De Cupere, et al. · Nature Ecology & Evolution · 2017

Humphrey and colleagues experimentally tested the popular belief that slow blinking is a friendly signal in cats. In one experiment, owners either slow-blinked at their cat or maintained a neutral fac…

Tasmin Humphrey, Leanne Proops, Jemma Forman, Rebecca Spooner, Karen McComb · Scientific Reports · 2020

Tan, Stellato and Niel reviewed the evidence on letting cats roam freely outdoors, weighing welfare risks and benefits against effects on wildlife and people. They synthesized literature showing that…

Sophie M. L. Tan, Anastasia C. Stellato, Lee Niel · Animals · 2020

Miklosi and colleagues compared how cats and dogs use and respond to human visual communicative signals, particularly pointing gestures indicating hidden food. Both species could follow human pointing…

Adam Miklosi, Peter Pongracz, Gabriella Lakatos, Jozsef Topal, Vilmos Csanyi · Journal of Comparative Psychology · 2005

Saito and Shinozuka used a habituation-dishabituation design to ask whether cats distinguish their owner's voice from strangers' voices. Cats heard recordings of three strangers calling the cat's name…

Atsuko Saito, Kazutaka Shinozuka · Animal Cognition · 2013