Cat facts

The domestic house cat is a small carnivorous mammal. Its most immediate ancestor is believed to be the African wild cat. The cat has been living in close association with humans for somewhere between 3,500 and 8,000 years. Cats twitch the tips of their tails when hunting or angry, while larger twitching indicates displeasure. A tail held high is usually a sign of happiness.  A half-raised shows less pleasure, and unhappiness is indicated with a tail held low. A scared or surprised cat may puff up its tail and the hair along its back and turn its body sideways to a threat in order to increase its apparent size.  Cats with no tail, such as the Manx, who possess only a small stub of a tail move the stub around as though they possessed a full tail, though it is not nearly as communicative as that of a fully tailed cat. Touching noses is a friendly greeting for cats, while a lowered head is a sign of submission.