Felidae facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Felidae Temporal range: Oligocene–Present, 30.8–0Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Tiger Canada lynx Asian golden cat Ocelot Serval Cougar Fishing cat European wildcat
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae Fischer von Waldheim, 1817
Type genus
Felis Linnaeus, 1758
Subfamilies and genera
†Asilifelis †Diamantofelis †Hyperailurictis †Katifelis †Namafelis †Pseudaelurus †Sivaelurus †Styriofelis †Proailurinae †Vinayakia †Proailurus †Machairodontinae (saber-toothed cats) Felinae sensu lato †Miopanthera Pantherinae Felinae sensu stricto
The native distribution and density of extant felid species.

Welcome to the amazing world of Felidae (pronounced FEE-lə-dee)! This is the scientific name for the family of mammals we all know as cats. Every member of this family is called a felid (FEE-lid).

There are 41 different types of living wild cats today. They have the most varied fur patterns of all meat-eating animals on land. Cats are known for their special claws that can be pulled back, their sleek and strong bodies, and powerful front legs. Their teeth and jaw muscles give them a very strong bite.

All cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they must eat meat to survive. Most cats hunt alone, surprising or sneaking up on their prey. You can find wild cats in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. They live in many places, from forests and savannas to dry deserts, wetlands, and mountains. Some cats are active at night (nocturnal), some at dawn and dusk (crepuscular), and a few during the day (diurnal), depending on what they hunt.

Scientists group living cats into two main subfamilies: the Pantherinae and the Felinae. The Pantherinae includes big cats like lions and tigers. The Felinae includes all the other cats, from cheetahs to our domestic cats.

The very first cats appeared about 25 million years ago. These early cats eventually led to the two main groups we see today. They also led to the famous "saber-toothed cats," which are now extinct.

What are Felids? The Amazing Cat Family

The Felidae family is part of a larger group called Carnivora. This group includes many meat-eating mammals. Cats are special because of their unique features.

Scientists once divided cats into three groups. However, new studies using molecular biology have changed this. Now, living cats are mainly split into two subfamilies. These are the Pantherinae and the Felinae. The Pantherinae includes five Panthera species and two Neofelis species. The Felinae includes 34 other species across 12 different genera.

Super Senses and Special Features of Cats

All members of the cat family share many amazing traits. These help them survive and hunt in their environments.

Claws and Paws: Built for Hunting

Cats walk on their toes, which is called being digitigrade. They have five toes on their front feet and four on their back feet. Their curved claws can be pulled back into a protective sheath. This keeps them sharp, except for the cheetah (Acinonyx).

The soft pads on their paws form compact, three-lobed cushions. Cats can actively push out their claws by using muscles in their toes. They can also pull them back in. The dewclaws are larger but cannot be pushed out.

Strong Bodies and Powerful Bites

Cats have flexible and agile bodies with strong, muscular limbs. Their skulls are short and rounded, with large eye sockets. They have 30 teeth, perfectly designed for eating meat.

Their upper third premolar and lower molar teeth are called carnassial teeth. These are perfect for tearing and cutting flesh. Their canine teeth are large, especially in the extinct Machairodontinae (saber-toothed cats). Cats also have incredibly powerful muscles, making them strong and fast hunters.

Amazing Eyesight and Hearing

Cats have relatively large eyes that give them binocular vision. This means they can see depth well. Their night vision is excellent because of a special reflective layer in their eyes called a tapetum lucidum. This layer reflects light inside the eyeball, making their eyes shine in the dark.

Cat eyes are about six times more sensitive to light than human eyes. This helps many species hunt at night. Their eyes also have many rod cells to detect movement in dim light. Cone cells help them see colors during the day.

Cats have sensitive whiskers above their eyes, on their cheeks, and around their nose. These whiskers help them navigate in the dark. They also help them capture and hold prey. Their large external ears are very sensitive, especially to high-frequency sounds. This helps smaller cats find tiny prey like rodents.

How Cats Communicate: Sounds and Smells

Cats make a variety of sounds. These include mewing, chuffing, spitting, hissing, snarling, and growling. Mewing and chuffing are often used for friendly contact. Other sounds usually mean they are feeling aggressive.

Cats can purr while breathing in and out. However, big cats like lions only seem to purr when they are cubs or during mating. Purring is a low-pitched sound. The ability to roar comes from a special voice box. Only lions, leopards, tigers, and jaguars can truly roar.

Cats also have a special organ in the roof of their mouth called a vomeronasal organ. This allows them to "taste" the air. They use this organ when they make a funny face called the flehmen response. Interestingly, cats cannot taste the sweetness of sugar.

Colorful Coats and Different Sizes

Cat fur comes in many colors, lengths, and patterns. Their coats can be white, black, or many shades in between. Patterns include spots, stripes, blotches, and rosettes. Most cat species are born with spotted fur. Some, like lion and cheetah cubs, lose their spots as they grow up.

Cats living in cold places have thick, long fur, like the snow leopard and Pallas's cat. Those in warm climates have short fur. Some cats can be all black, a condition called melanism. Others can be all white (leucism) or have no pigment (albinism).

Most cat tails are about one-third to half the length of their body. However, some, like the Lynx species, have very short tails. Cats vary greatly in size. The largest cat is the tiger, which can be up to 390 cm long and weigh up to 325 kg. The smallest cats are the rusty-spotted cat and the black-footed cat. They are only about 35-48 cm long and weigh less than 2 kg.

Journey Through Time: The Evolution of Cats

Cats are part of a larger group called Feliformia. This group also includes animals like mongooses and hyenas. The Felidae family split off from other Feliformia about 35 million years ago.

The very first cats, like Proailurus and Pseudaelurus, appeared around 35 to 28.5 million years ago. Fossils of these early cats have been found in places like France and Mongolia. Cats arrived in North America about 18.5 million years ago.

Around 15 million years ago, the extinct "saber-toothed cats" (Machairodontinae) appeared. These amazing predators had huge upper canine teeth. They hunted very large plant-eating animals. For a long time, saber-toothed cats were the main large predators. The ancestors of today's cats were generally smaller during this period.

Modern big cats, like those in the genus Panthera, became larger during the Pliocene epoch. Cats also traveled to South America when the Isthmus of Panama formed. This land bridge connected North and South America.

Saber-toothed cats began to disappear during the Pleistocene Ice Age. This was likely due to changes in their environment and the number of prey animals. They also faced competition from the ancestors of today's big cats and even early humans. The last saber-toothed cats died out about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. This happened during a time when many large mammals went extinct.

The Cat Family Tree: How Cats are Grouped

Scientists have learned a lot about how cats are related. They used to group them based on how they looked. Now, they use molecular biology to understand their family tree better.

The living Felidae are divided into two main subfamilies: the Pantherinae and the Felinae. The Pantherinae includes the "big cats" like lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars. The Felinae includes all the other cats, such as cheetahs, pumas, lynxes, and domestic cats.

The following diagrams show how different cat groups are related, both extinct and living.

The phylogenetic relationships of living felids are shown in the following cladogram:

Images for kids

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  Extended claws on a house cat

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  Lionesses grooming each other

See also

In Spanish: Félidos para niños

• Cat gap
• Felid hybrid
• List of felids
• List of largest cats