Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
Ultraman: Hello everybody, and welcome back to another episode of "When Pokemon Meet Wikipedia"! Joining us are Ash's current team from chapter 5 of Mewtwo:Journey Through Hoenn."
"Do we really have to be here?" whined Charmeleon. "I was busy training."
"You want me to dress you up like Naruto and send you over to Edfan's profile?" said Ultraman with a sweet tone.
"I'll be good," whimpered Charmeleon.
Ultraman:And as a bonus, here are the recent Oaked Pokemon, Butterfree, Primeape, and Pidgeot!
Pidgeot:ACHOO! Ughh, sorry I got a cold.
Ultraman:Sorry about that, a cheap plot point, now are you ready for this, Mewtwo?
Mewtwo:Like I have another choice?
Ultraman:Not in here you don't. Now read!
The cat (Felis catus), also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small carnivorousmammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin and household pests.
Pikachu:Like what?
Ultraman:Maybe something like you.
Pikachu:0-0
It has been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years and is currently the most popular pet in the world.
Charmeleon:Then how come Ash didn't catch a cat-like Pokemon before?
Ultraman:So it wouldn't eat Pikachu.
A skilled predator, the cat is known to hunt over 1,000 species for food.
Ralts M:Great scott! It's no wonder your so amazingly strong!
It can be trained to obey simple commands.
Mewtwo:Simple commands?! I have an IQ higher than a Alakazam!
Individual cats have also been known to learn on their own to manipulate simple mechanisms, such as doorknobs and toilet handles.
Charmeleon:I'm surprised you can with the way your fingers are like.
Mewtwo:'stares at his fingers'
Cats use a variety of vocalizations and types of body language for communication,
Charmeleon:Not this guy, your practically like a statue that talks without moving it's mouth.
Mewtwo:'glares at Charmeleon who rolls his eyes and then continues'
including meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, squeaking,
Primeape:'starts snickering' You mean like Pikachu?!
Mewtwo and Pikachu:We don't squeak!
chirping,
Mewtwo:I can assure you all I don't chirp!
Pidgeot:Neither do-ah ah ahhhhCHOOO!
clicking, and grunting. They are also bred and shown as registered pedigree pets. This hobby is known as cat fancy.
Until recently the cat was commonly believed to have been domesticated in ancient Egypt, where it was a cult animal. A study in 2007 found that the lines of descent of all house cats probably run through as few as five self-domesticatingAfrican Wildcats(Felis silvestris lybica) circa 8000 BC, in the Near East.
Ultraman:Whoa, that's a pretty long time ago.
The earliest direct evidence of cat domestication is a kitten that was buried with its owner 9,500 years ago in Cyprus.
Ultraman:A boy and his furry companion, kinda cliche.
Nomenclature and etymologyThe word cat derives from Old Englishcatt, which belongs to a group of related words in European languages, including Welsh cath, Spanish gato, Basque katu, Byzantine Greekkátia, Old Irishcat, GermanKatze, and Old Church Slavonickotka. The ultimate source of all these terms is Late Latincatus, cattus, catta "domestic cat", as opposed to feles "European wildcat". It is unclear whether the Greek or the Latin came first, but they were undoubtedly borrowed from an Afro-Asiatic language akin to Nubiankadís and Berberkaddîska, both meaning "wildcat". This term was either cognate with or borrowed from Late Egyptiančaus "jungle cat, African wildcat" (later giving Copticšau "tomcat"), itself from earlier Egyptiantešau "female cat" (vs. miew "tomcat"). The term puss (as in pussycat) may come from Dutchpoes or from Low GermanPuuskatte, dialectal Swedishkattepus, or Norwegianpus, pusekatt, all of which primarily denote a woman and, by extension, a female cat.
Charmeleon:That's very long and confusing.
A group of cats is referred to as a "clowder", a male cat is called a "tom" (or a "gib", if neutered),
All males in the dimension:'shudder'
and a female is called a "molly" or "queen". The male progenitor of a cat, especially a pedigreed cat, is its "sire", and its female progenitor is its "dam".
Pikachu: Try explaining that to kids.
An immature cat is called a "kitten" (which is also an alternative name for young rats,
Pikachu:HUH?!
rabbits, hedgehogs, beavers, squirrels and skunks). In medieval Britain, the word kitten was interchangeable with the word catling. A cat whose ancestry is formally registered is called a pedigreed cat, purebred cat, or a show cat.
Charmeleon:In other words, one of those rich spoiled fat cats you might see in contests.
In strict terms, a purebred cat is one whose ancestry contains only individuals of the same breed. A pedigreed cat is one whose ancestry is recorded, but may have ancestors of different breeds. Cats of unrecorded mixed ancestry are referred to as domestic longhairs and domestic shorthairs or commonly as random-bred, moggies, mongrels, or mutt-cats.
Primeape:'chuckles' Mutt cats.
Taxonomy and evolutionThe Felids are a rapidly evolving family of mammals that share a common ancestor only 10-15 million years ago, and include in addition to the domestic cat, lions, tigers, cougars, and many others.
Ultraman:Hey, maybe we'll find out what kind of species of cat you are.
Within this family, domestic cats (Felis catus) are part of the genusFelis, which is a group of small cats containing seven species. Members of the genus are found worldwide and include the Jungle Cat (Felis chaus) of southeast Asia, the African Wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica), the Chinese Mountain Cat (Felis silvestris bieti) and the Arabian Sand Cat (Felis margarita). All the cats in this genus share a common ancestor that probably lived around six million years ago in Asia. Although the exact relationships within the Felidae are still uncertain, both the Chinese Mountain Cat and the African Wildcat are close relations of the domestic cat and are both classed as subspecies of the WildcatFelis silvestris. As domestic cats are little altered from wildcats, they can readily interbreed. This hybridization may pose a danger to the genetic distinctiveness of wildcat populations, particularly in Scotland and Hungary.
The Sand Cat, which lives in the Sahara and Arabian deserts, is a relative of the domestic cat.
The domestic cat was first classified as Felis catus by Carolus Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae of 1758. However, due to modern phylogenetics, domestic cats are now usually regarded as another subspecies of the Wildcat Felis silvestris. This has resulted in mixed usage of the terms, as the domestic cat can be called by its subspecies name, Felis silvestris catus. Wildcats have also been referred to as various subspecies of F. catus,[25] but in 2003 the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature fixed the name for Wildcats as F. silvestris. The most common name in use for the domestic cat remains F. catus, following a convention for domesticated animals of using the earliest (the senior) synonym proposed.[26] Sometimes the domestic cat is called Felis domesticus,[27] although this is not a valid scientific name.
Ultraman:No hints at all. Hmm, maybe your not based off a specific species of cat, but have it the basic design or something.
Mewtwo:That could be it, my DNA came from a fossiled remant of Mew, some of the DNA chromosomes might have been missing.
Ultraman:That's probably the case. In fact on deviantart I saw a fancomic of your creation that had Persian DNA for your traits and Alakazam Dna for your base codes.
Mewtwo:Makes sense.
Cats have either a mutualistic or commensal relationship with humans. However, in comparison to dogs, cats have not undergone major changes during the domestication process, as the form and behavior of the domestic cat are not radically different from those of wildcats and domestic cats are perfectly capable of surviving in the wild.[29][30] Several natural behaviors and characteristics of Wildcats may have preadapted them for domestication as pets.[30] These traits include their small size,
Mewtwo:I'm taller than Ash.
social nature,
Charmeleon:Which is lacking.
obvious body language, love of play
Mewtwo:That's not me, though Mew would fit that description.
and relatively high intelligence.[31]
Mewtwo:Now this is starting to correspond to me.
All the small Felids may also have an inborn tendency towards tameness.[30]
There are two main models for how cats were domesticated. In one model, people deliberately tamed cats in a process of artificial selection, as they were useful predators of vermin.[32] However, some theorists find this implausible, because there may have been little reward for such an effort: cats do not carry out commands and, although they do eat rodents, other species such as ferrets
Ultraman:Furret.
or terriers may be better at controlling these pests.[4] The alternative idea is that cats were simply tolerated by people and gradually diverged from their 'wild' relatives through natural selection, as they adapted to hunting the vermin found in human settlements.[4
Mewtwo:Makes much more sense.
Anatomy
Charmeleon:Ah, here comes the embarrassment.
Domestic cats are similar in size to the other members of the genus Felis, typically weighing between four and five kilograms.[21] However, some breeds, such as the Maine Coon, can exceed 11 kilograms (25 lb). Conversely, very small cats (less than 1.8 kilograms (4.0 lb)) have been reported.[33] The world record for the largest cat is 21.297 kilograms (46.952 lb) (46 lb 15.25 oz).[34]
Primeape:Talk about a fat cat, eh Mewtwo?
Mewtwo:'Psychic's Primeape'
The smallest adult cat ever officially recorded weighed around 1.36 kilograms (3 lb).[35] Cats average about 23–25 centimeters (9–10 in) in height and 46 centimeters (18.1 in) in head/body length (males being larger than females), with tails averaging 30 centimeters (11.8 in) in length.[36]
Cats have 7 cervical vertebrae like almost all mammals, 13 thoracic vertebrae (humans have 12), 7 lumbar vertebrae (humans have 5), 3 sacral vertebrae like most mammals (humans have 5 because of their bipedal posture), and a variable number of caudal vertebrae in the tail (humans retain 3 to 5 caudal vertebrae, fused into an internal coccyx).[37] The extra lumbar and thoracic vertebrae account for the cat's spinal mobility and flexibility. Attached to the spine are 13 ribs, the shoulder, and the pelvis.[38] Unlike human arms, cat forelimbs are attached to the shoulder by free-floating clavicle bones, which allows them to pass their body through any space into which they can fit their heads.[39]
Ultraman:Let's see if it's true! 'ties Mewtwo up and tries to shove him between a narrow hole. It doesn't work.'
Skull of a domestic cat.
The cat skull is unusual among mammals in having very large eye sockets
Mewtwo:Well, probably not my eyes but Mew's do seem to quite large in comparison to her head.
Ultraman:Only in some pictures, though.
and a powerful and specialized jaw.[40] Within the jaw, cats have teeth adapted for killing prey and tearing meat.
Charmeleon:Hey, let's see your teeth. Maybe you have fangs!
Mewtwo:'Opens mouth to reveal surprisingly human like teeth'
Ultraman:Wow, I didn't even think you had teeth.
Mewtwo:How else could I eat food?
Ultraman:Well, you were never shown actually eating in the anime, I just thought that maybe you had another way of getting nutrients for your body.
When they overpower prey, a cat delivers a lethal neck bite with its two long canine teeth that insert between two of the prey's vertebrae and sever its spinal cord, causing irreversible paralysis and death.[41]
Butterfree:'gasps' Your a murderer!
Mewtwo:I've never even killed a single- 'has a flashback to Pokemon the First Movie' Well not in that way at least.
Compared to other felines, domestic cats have narrowly-spaced canine teeth, which is an adaptation to their preferred prey of small rodents, which have small vertebrae.[41] The premolar and first molar together compose the carnassial pair on each side of the mouth, which efficiently shears meat into small pieces, like a pair of scissors. These are vital in feeding, since cats' small molars cannot chew food effectively.[42]
Mewtwo:I can chew just fine, thank you.
Cats, like dogs, are digitigrades. They walk directly on their toes, with the bones of their feet making up the lower part of the visible leg.[43]
Cats are capable of walking very precisely, because like all felines they directly register; that is, they place each hind paw (almost) directly in the print of the corresponding forepaw, minimizing noise and visible tracks. This also provides sure footing for their hind paws when they navigate rough terrain.
Like almost all members of the Felidaefamily, cats have protractable claws.[44]
Charmeleon:Whoa, seriously?
Mewtwo:Isn't it a little obvious I do not have claws? 'His fingers/paws suddenly grow purplish 1 inch long claws.
Pikachu:Holy shit! Ultraman, did you do that?
Ultraman:I plead the Fifth.
In their normal, relaxed position the claws are sheathed with the skin and fur around the toe pads. This keeps the claws sharp by preventing wear from contact with the ground and allows the silent stalking of prey.
Primeape:Your a stalker Mewtwo!
Mewtwo:'Shadow Ball's Primeape'
The claws on the forefeet are typically sharper than those on the hind feet.[45] Cats can voluntarily extend their claws on one or more paws. They may extend their claws in hunting or self-defense, climbing, "kneading", or for extra traction on soft surfaces (bedspreads, thick rugs, etc.). It is also possible to make a cooperative cat extend its claws by carefully pressing both the top and bottom of the paw.
Most cats have five claws on their front paws, and four on their rear paws.[46] The fifth front claw (the dewclaw) is proximal to the other claws. More proximally, there is a protrusion which appears to be a sixth "finger". This special feature of the front paws, on the inside of the wrists, is the carpal pad, also found on the paws of big cats and dogs. It has no function in normal walking, but is thought to be an anti-skidding device used while jumping. Some breeds of cats are prone to polydactylyism, and may have eight or even ten toes.[46]
Pikachu:What's wrong with eight or ten toes? I have....SIX TOES!!! AGGGHH! 'starts freaking out'
These are particularly common along the North-East coast of North America.[47]
Senses Main article: Cat senses
Cats have excellent night vision and can function at only one-sixth the light level required for human vision.[48]
Mewtwo:That one's actually true, believe it or not.
This is partly the result of cat eyes having a tapetum lucidum, which reflects any light that passes through the retina back into the eye, thereby increasing the eye's sensitivity to dim light.[49] Another adaptation to dim light is the large pupils of cats' eyes. Unlike some big cats, such as tigers, domestic cats have slit pupils.[50] These slit pupils can focus bright light without chromatic aberration, and are needed since the domestic cat's pupils are much larger, relative to their eyes, than the pupils of the big cats.[50] Indeed, at low light levels a cat's pupils will expand to cover most of the exposed surface of its eyes.[51] However, domestic cats have rather poor color vision and can only see two colors: blue and green, and are less able to distinguish between red and green,[52] although they can achieve this in some conditions.[53]
Ultraman:Then your not a housecat per say, but you are domesticated.
Cats' whiskers are highly sensitive to touch.
Charmeleon:Doesn't matter, you have no whiskers!
Mewtwo:I probably would look better without them.
Cats have excellent hearing and can detect an extremely broad range of frequencies.
Ultraman:Can you? I mean your ears don't exactly look like they work well.
Mewtwo:No, my hearing is only significantly better than the average human.
They can hear higher-pitched sounds than either dogs or humans, detecting frequencies from 55 Hz up to 79 kHz, a range of 10.5 octaves; while humans can only hear from 31 Hz up to 18 kHz, and dogs hear from 67 Hz to 44 kHz, which are both ranges of about 9 octaves.[54][55]Cats do not use this ability to hear ultrasound for communication but it is probably important in hunting,[56] since many species of rodents make ultrasonic calls.[57] Cats' hearing is also extremely sensitive and is among the best of any mammal,[54] being most acute in the range of 500 Hz to 32 kHz.[58] This sensitivity is further enhanced by the cat's large movable outer ears (their pinnae), which both amplify sounds and help a cat sense the direction from which a noise is coming.[56]
Cats have an acute sense of smell,
Ultraman:Shove's a extremelly smelly sock in Mewtwo's nose causing him to pass out. 'laughs and then takes over'
which is due in part to their well-developed olfactory bulb and also to a large surface of olfactory mucosa, in cats this mucosa is about 5.8 cm2 in area, which is about twice that of humans and only 1.7-fold less than the average dog.[59] Cats respond strongly to the smell of nepetalactone, a compound found in catnip, and can detect this substance at less than one part per billion.[60] Cats are also sensitive to pheromones such as 3-Mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol,[61] which they use to communicate through urine spraying and marking with scent glands.[62]
Due to a mutation in an early cat ancestor, one of two genes necessary to taste sweetness may have been lost by the cat family.[63]
Heracross:Oh, that's spending your entire life not even enjoying the pleasure that comes from honey or sap.
Butterfree:No wonder he's so serious all the time, he's never tasted anything sweet.
Ultraman:I wouldn't talk if I were you.
Heracross:What do you mean?
Ultraman:You know what I mean, Bulba Blow jobber.
Their taste buds instead respond to amino acids, bitter tastes and acids.
Everyone except Mewtwo:Yuck!
To aid with navigation and sensation, cats have dozens of movable vibrissae (whiskers) over their body, especially their face. These provide information on the location of objects in the dark, both by touching objects directly and by sensing air currents; they also trigger protective blink reflexes to protect the eyes from damage.[65]
Ultraman:'reads down' This genetics isn't much to look at but listen to this...
As well as being tolerant of high temperatures, cats' feces are usually dry and their urine is also highly concentrated, both of which are adaptations that allow cats to retain as much fluid as possible.[27] Indeed, their kidneys are so efficient that cats can survive on a diet consisting only of meat, with no additional water,[81] and can even rehydrate by drinking seawater.[82][83]
Pikachu:So he could get stranded on a island but as long as he has something solid, he'll be fine.
Cats are obligatecarnivores: their physiology has evolved to efficiently process meat, and they have difficulty digesting plant matter.[27] In contrast to omnivores such as rats, which only require about 4% protein in their diet, about 20% of a cat's diet must be protein.[27] Cats are unusually dependent on a constant supply of the amino acidarginine, and a diet lacking arginine causes marked weight loss and can be rapidly fatal.[84] Another unusual feature is that the cat also cannot produce the amino acid taurine, with taurine deficiency causing macular degeneration, where the cat's retina slowly degenerates, causing irreversible blindness.[27]
Ultraman:He's gonna be like Itachi one day!
Ralts F:You mean that evil villain?
Ultraman:Only in the Abridged version and in fanfics.
Since cats tend to eat all of their prey, they obtain minerals by digesting animal bones and a diet composed only of meat may cause calcium deficiency.[27]
A cat's digestive tract is also adapted to meat eating, being much shorter than that of omnivores and having low levels of several of the digestive enzymes that are needed to digest carbohydrates.[85] These traits severely limits the cat's ability to digest and use plant-derived nutrients, as well as certain fatty acids.[85] Despite the cat's meat-oriented physiology, several vegetarian or vegan cat foods have been marketed that are supplemented with chemically synthesized taurine and other nutrients, in attempts to produce a complete diet. However, some of these products still fail to provide all the nutrients that cats require, and diets containing no animal products pose the risk of causing severe nutritional deficiencies.
HealthMain article: Cat health
In captivity, indoor cats typically live 14 to 20 years, although the oldest known cat, Creme Puff, lived to age 38.
Pikachu:Wait a minute, come to think of it, how old is Mewtwo?
Ultraman:'Opens another web page and starts browsing around' Well, his date of birth was in Feb 6, and the japanese version of Pokemon Red and Green came out in 1996 so he's 13 years old now I guess.
Butterfree:Oh no! He's got only one year left to life! And we were just getting to know him....
Ultraman:Relax, he's a lot tougher than you average variety cat, that's for sure...though I have heard that clones do age faster because of their older DNA...
Some say that domesticated cats tend to live longer if they are not permitted to go outdoors (reducing the risk of injury from fights or accidents and exposure to diseases).
Charmeleon:In that case, he should stop copying Pikachu's role as a walker Pokemon and just go back in the ball.
Ultraman:Practically all of you are steering towards that role as well you know.
However, this is not always necessarily true, because a cat kept indoors is more inclined to have a shortened life due to obesity (sometimes leading to heart problems and diabetes) and lack of exercise.
Charmeleon:Oh yeah, I forgot about that.
Having a cat be neutered, however, is almost universally regarded as a health benefit.
Pikachu:Health benefit?! How would you like it if someone decided to chop of your balls and emasculate you in the worst possible way imaginable?!
Some benefits of neutering are that castrated males cannot develop testicular cancer, spayed females cannot develop uterine or ovarian cancer, and both have a reduced risk of mammary cancer.[89]
Pikachu:I'd rather take that risk anyways!
Ultraman:Why, do you actually use it on a girl?
Pikachu:'blushes' Um well, you see...
Ultraman:Don't tell me, your a virgin.
Pikachu:N-no! Well, okay yes.
Primeape:'Start's laughing' Your freaking serious! Good grief, even I got some while I was training!
Pikachu:'starts stuttering' Well, I can't be the only Pokemon here right now who hasn't gotten any right?
Charmeleon:Sorry, but I had a night of pure pleasure with Charla one time. However, it was pretty awkward the next couple of days.
Pidgeot:I was the Alpha Male of those group of Pidgey's and Pidgeotto's, so you can guess what happened next.
Butterfree:'Falls into a fetel position'
Pikachu:'Looks at Heracross desperately'
Heracross:'chuckles nervously' Sorry pal, there was thing during mating season while I was wild...
Ralts M:Well luckily for you sir, me and my sister can join in this boat, though only because of our young age.
Pikachu:Oh thank Arceus.
Ultraman:Oi! We're in the early part of Hoenn, no Sinnoh stuff!
The lifespan of feral cats is hard to determine accurately, although one study reported a median age of 4.7 years, with a range between 0 to 10 years.[90]
DiseasesCats can suffer from a wide range of health problems, including infectious diseases, parasites, injuries and chronic disease. Vaccinations are available for many of these diseases, and domestic cats are regularly given treatments to eliminate parasites such as worms and fleas.
Charmeleon:Ouch, maybe he should just let a Nurse Joy examine him.
Ultraman:No dice, he's pretty adamant of not experiencing anything that resembles animal testing.
PoisoningIn addition to obvious dangers such as rodenticides, insecticides and weed killers, cats may be poisoned by many chemicals that are usually considered safe.[91] This is because their livers are less effective at some forms of detoxification than those of other animals, including humans and dogs.[27][92] Some of the most common causes of poisoning in cats are antifreeze and rodent baits.[93] It has also been suggested that cats may be particularly sensitive to environmental pollutants.[91][94] When a cat has a sudden or prolonged serious illness without any obvious cause, it is therefore possible that it has been exposed to a toxin.
Ultraman:Yesh, he's surprisingly fragile biologicaly.
Human medicines should never be given to cats. For example, the painkiller paracetamol (also called acetaminophen), sold under brand names such as Tylenol and Panadol is extremely toxic to cats: even very small doses can be fatal and need immediate treatment.[95][96] Even aspirin, which is sometimes used to treat arthritis in cats, is much more toxic to them than to humans and must be administered cautiously.[91] Similarly, application of minoxidil (Rogaine) to the skin of cats, either accidentally or by well-meaning owners attempting to counter loss of fur, has sometimes been fatal.[97]Essential oils can be toxic to cats and there have been reported cases of serious illnesses caused by tea tree oil, and tea tree oil-based flea treatments and shampoos.[98]
Primeape:Sheesh!
Other common household substances that should be used with caution around cats include mothballs and other naphthalene products.[91]Phenol-based products are often used for cleaning and disinfecting near cats' feeding areas or litter boxes: such as Pine-Sol, Dettol (Lysol) or hexachlorophene,[91] but these can sometimes be fatal.[99]Ethylene glycol, often used as an automotive antifreeze, is particularly appealing to cats, and as little as a teaspoonful can be fatal.[100] Some human foods are toxic to cats; for example theobromine in chocolate can cause theobromine poisoning, although few cats will eat chocolate.[101]
Ultraman:Now that really sucks.
Large amounts of onions or garlic are also poisonous to cats.[91]
Pikachu:Who likes that much garlic anyways?
Many houseplants are also dangerous,[102] such as Philodendron species and the leaves of the Easter Lily, which can cause permanent and life-threatening kidney damage.[103]
Butterfree:Does that mean Grass attacks are super effective on him?
Behavior
Free-ranging cats are active both day and night, although they tend to be slightly more active at night.
Ultraman:Then when do they sleep for long periods?
The timing of cats' activity is quite flexible and varied, which means that house cats may be more active in the morning and evening (crepuscular behavior), as a response to greater human activity at these times.[106] House cats have territories that vary quite a lot in size, in one study ranging from seven to 28 hectares.[105] Although they spend the majority of their time in the vicinity of their home, they can range many hundreds of meters from this central point.[105]
Cats conserve energy by sleeping more than most animals, especially as they grow older. The daily duration of sleep varies, usually 12–16 hours, with 13–14 being the average. Some cats can sleep as much as 20 hours in a 24-hour period. The term cat nap refers to the cat's ability to fall asleep (lightly) for a brief period and has entered the English lexicon—someone who nods off for a few minutes is said to be "taking a cat nap".
Ultraman:Oh yeah, a cat nap, or in this case, a Mew nap.
Sociability
Cats are a social species, and free-living cats tend to form feral cat colonies if there is sufficient food, which are based around groups of co-operating females.[107]
Pikachu:Sounds like what he did with his clones.
Within this group one cat is usually dominant over the others.[108] Each cat in a colony holds a distinct territory, with sexually active males having the largest territories, which are about ten times larger than those of female cats and may overlap with several females' territories.[62] These territories are marked by urine spraying, by rubbing objects at head height with secretions from facial glands and by defecation.[62]
Charmeleon:Ew, Pokemon just mark their territory by showcasing their power, not doing that!
Between these territories are neutral areas where cats watch and greet one another without territorial conflicts. Outside these neutral areas, territory holders usually chase away stranger cats, at first by staring, hissing, and growling, and if that does not work, by short but noisy and violent attacks. Despite some cats cohabiting in colonies, cats do not have a social survival strategy, or a pack mentality and always hunt alone.
As part of cat sociability they use a variety of vocalizations for communication, including meowing, purring, "trilling", hissing, growling, squeaking, chirping, clicking, and grunting.[9] Their types of body language: position of ears and tail, relaxation of whole body, kneading of paws, are all indicators of mood. The tail and ears are particularly important social signal in cats, with a raised tail acting as a friendly greeting.[110][111] Tail raising also indicates the cat's position in the group's social hierarchy, with dominant individuals raising their tails less often than subordinate animals.[111] Nose-touching is also a common greeting and may be followed by social grooming, which is solicited by one of the cats raising and tilting its head.[107] However, some pet cats are poorly socialized. In particular older cats may show aggressiveness towards newly-arrived kittens, which may include biting and scratching; this type of behavior is known as Feline Asocial Aggression.[112]
For cats, life in proximity with humans (and other animals kept by humans) amounts to a "symbiotic social adaptation". They may express great affection towards their human companions, especially if they imprint on them at a very young age and are treated with consistent affection. It has been suggested that, ethologically, the human keeper of a cat functions as a sort of surrogate for the cat's mother, and that adult domestic cats live their lives in a kind of extended kittenhood, a form of behavioral neoteny.[113]
Ultraman:In that case,
Grooming
Cats are known for their fastidious cleanliness, spending many hours licking their coats.[114] The cat's tongue has backwards-facing spines about 500 micrometres long, which are called papillae. These are quite rigid as they contain keratin.[115] These spines allow cats to groom themselves by licking their fur, with the rows of papillae acting like a hairbrush.
Ralts F:But Mewtwo does not have fur, or does he?
Some cats, particularly longhaired cats, occasionally regurgitate hairballs of fur that have collected in their stomachs from grooming.
Pikachu:He's definitely a hairless, I'd seen a hair ball by now.
These clumps of fur are usually sausage-shaped and about two to three centimeters long. Hairballs can be prevented with remedies that ease elimination of the hair through the gut, as well as regular grooming of the coat with a comb or stiff brush.[114]
Fighting
In domestic cats, males are more likely to fight than females.[116]
Ultraman:Explains why it took a while for Mew to start fighting back in the movie.
In feral cats, the most common reason for cat fighting is when two males are competing to mate with a female: here most fights will be won by the heavier male.[117] Another possible reason for fighting in domestic cats is when the cats have difficulties in establishing a territory within a small home.[116] Female cats will also fight over territory or to defend their kittens. Spaying females and neutering males will decrease or eliminate this behavior in many cases.
Cats intimidate opponents by arching their backs, raising their fur, turning sideways, and hissing.
Charmeleon:No, he just generates a Shadow Ball, or glares, or gives a Pyschic, or maybe even all three.
Fighting cats make themselves appear more impressive and threatening by raising their fur and arching their backs, thus increasing their apparent size.[110] Attacks usually comprise powerful slaps to the face and body with the forepaws as well as bites, but serious damage is rare; usually the loser runs away with little more than a few scratches to the face, and perhaps the ears. Cats will also throw themselves to the ground in a defensive posture to rake their opponent's belly with their powerful hind legs.[118]
Normally, serious injuries from fighting will be limited to infections of scratches and bites, though these can occasionally kill cats if untreated. In addition, bites are probably the main route of transmission of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV).[119] Sexually active males will usually be in many fights during their lives, and often have decidedly battered faces with obvious scars and cuts to the ears and nose.
Charmeleon:I know what you mean, I've seen some pretty scarred up Charizard and let me tell you, they're freaking powerful.
Hunting and feedingCats feed on small prey, primarily birds and rodents.
Pidgeot:What?! He's gonna eat me!
Ultraman:It said small birds.
Pidgeot:But I'm smaller than he is!
Ultraman:Well, it sucks to be you.
PlayMain article: Cat play and toys
Domestic cats, especially young kittens, are known for their love of play. This behavior mimics hunting and is important in helping kittens learn to stalk, capture, and kill prey.[130] Cats will also engage in play fighting, with each other and with humans. This behavior may be a way for cats to practice the skills needed for real combat and might also reduce any fear they associate with launching attacks on other animals.
Pikachu:I think this applies to Mew.
ReproductionCharmeleon:Here it comes...
When cats mate, the male tom bites the scruff of the female's neck as she assumes a position conducive to mating.
Primeape:Well now we all know if Mewtwo's trying to claim a mate.
Female cats are seasonally polyestrous, which means they may have many periods of heat over the course of a year, the season beginning in January or February and ending in late October.
Heat periods occur about every two weeks and last about 4 to 7 days. Multiple males will be attracted to a female in heat. The males will fight over her, and the victor wins the right to mate. At first, the female will reject the male, but eventually the female will allow the male to mate.
Charmeleon:Sound's right so far.
The female will utter a loud yowl as the male pulls out of her.
Pikachu:Do we wanna know why?
This is because a male cat's penis has a band of about 120-150 backwards-pointing spines,
Everyone:Holy shit!!!
which are about one millimeter long;[138] upon withdrawal of the penis, the spines rake the walls of the female's vagina, which is a trigger for ovulation.
Charmeleon:And I thought my reproduction page was disturbing.
After mating, the female will wash her vulva thoroughly.
Pikachu:Don't know what that is, but she'll probably be at it for a while.
If a male attempts to breed with her at this point, the female will attack him. After about 20 to 30 minutes, once the female is finished grooming, the cycle will repeat.
Ultraman:She'll do it again?!?!?
Because ovulation is not always triggered by a single mating, females may not be impregnated by the first male with which they mate. Furthermore, cats are superfecund; that is, a female may mate with more than one male when she is in heat, meaning different kittens in a litter may have different fathers.
Primeape:They're a bunch of skanks! Whores! Harlots!
Ralts F:'gasps'How dare you use that language in front of a young lady like myself, you primrose popinjay!
Ralts M:Sister! That's even worser than what Primeape said! Where did you even hear that?!
The gestation period for cats is between 64–67 days, with an average length of 66 days. The size of a litter averages three to five kittens, with the first litter usually smaller than subsequent litters. Kittens are weaned at between six and seven weeks, and cats normally reach sexual maturity at 5–10 months (females) and to 5–7 months (males), although this can vary depending on breed. Females can have two to three litters per year, so may produce up to 150 kittens in their breeding span of around ten years.
Ultraman:Hey, that's Mewtwo's Pokedex number!
Cats are ready to go to new homes at about 12 weeks old,[141] or when they are ready to leave their mother. Cats can be surgically sterilized (spayed or castrated) as early as 7 weeks to limit unwanted reproduction.
Charmeleon:'sighs' Cut down in their prime.
This surgery also prevents undesirable sex-related behavior, such as aggression, territory marking (spraying urine) in males and yowling (calling) in females. Traditionally, this surgery was performed at around six to nine months of age, but it is increasingly being performed prior to puberty, at about three to six months.[143] In the USA approximately 80% of household cats are neutered.
Ultrman:What a waste.
Impact on birds
Pidgeot:I don't like this, ACHOO!
On islands, birds can contribute as much as 60% of a cat's diet.[161] In nearly all cases, however, the cat cannot be identified as the sole cause for reducing the numbers of island birds, and in some instances eradication of cats has caused a 'mesopredator release' effect;[162] where the suppression of top carnivores creates an abundance of smaller predators that cause a severe decline in their shared prey. Domestic cats are, however, known to be a contributing factor to the decline of many species; a factor that has ultimately led, in some cases, to extinction. The South Island Piopio; Chatham Islands Rail;[163] the Auckland Islands Merganser;[164] and the common diving petrel[165] are a few from a long list, with the most extreme case being the elimination of the flightless Stephen Island Wren, by a single cat.
Ultraman:Well, aren't you gong to say anything Pidgeot?
Pidgeot:If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything.
Ultraman:Roll's eyes and continues.
It has long been common for cats to be eaten in some parts of China and in some other Asian countries.
Charmeleon:Humans eats cats like a regular meal?!
Ultraman:Cat meat is what it is called.
According to the Chengdu Business Daily, people in southern China's Guangdong province ate 10,000 cats a day. Animal People estimates that 4 million cats are killed and consumed in Asia every year.
Ultraman:Well, I don't agree with that diet, but whom am I to judge another person's culture? Unless it goes into the extreme or something.
Effects on human health
Because of their small size, domesticated house cats pose little physical danger to adult humans. However, in the USA cats inflict about 400,000 bites per year, with 90% of these bites coming from provoked animals; this number represents about one in ten of all animal bites.[185] Many cat bites will become infected, sometimes with serious consequences such as cat-scratch disease, or, more rarely, rabies. Cats also pose a danger to pregnant women and immunosuppressed individuals, since their feces can transmit toxoplasmosis.[187] A large percentage of cats are infected with this parasite, with infection rates ranging around from 40 to 60% in both domestic and stray cats worldwide.
Allergic reactions to cat dander and/or cat saliva are common. Some humans who are allergic to cats—typically manifested by hay fever, asthma, or a skin rash—quickly acclimate themselves to a particular animal and live comfortably in the same house with it, while retaining an allergy to cats in general. Whether the risk of developing allergic diseases such as asthma is increased or decreased by cat ownership is uncertain. Some owners cope with this problem by taking allergy medicine, along with bathing their cats frequently, since weekly bathing will reduce the amount of dander shed by a cat. There have also been attempts to breed hypoallergenic cats, which would be less likely to provoke an allergic reaction.
Pikachu:Well hopefully Ash isn't allergic to cats.
As well as posing health risks, interactions with cats may improve health and reduce physical responses to stress: for example the presence of cats may moderate increased blood pressure. Cat ownership may also improve psychological health by providing emotional support and dispelling feelings of depression, anxiety and loneliness. Indeed, their ability to provide companionship and friendship are common reasons given for owning a cat.
Ultraman:Well, that is the reason Ash caught Mewtwo in the first place, he wanted another friend.
Waste
Cats bury their urine and feces.
Butterfree:Why would they want to do that?
Ultraman:Beats me.
Charmeleon:It might be gross,
Indoor cats are usually provided with a litter box containing litter, typically bentonite, but sometimes other absorbent material such as shredded paper or wood chips, or sometimes sand or similar material. It should be cleaned daily and changed often, depending on the number of cats in a household and the type of litter; if it is not kept clean, a cat may be fastidious enough to find other locations in the house for urination or defecation. This may also happen for other reasons; for instance, if a cat becomes constipated and defecation is uncomfortable, it may associate the discomfort with the litter box and avoid it in favor of another location.
Daily attention to the litter box also serves as a monitor of the cat's health. Bentonite or clumping litter is a variation which absorbs urine into clumps which can be sifted out along with feces, and thus stays cleaner longer with regular sifting, but has sometimes been reported to cause health problems in some cats.[205] Those with toxoplasmosis-infected cats living in habitat areas of sea otters[206] may wish to dispose of droppings in the trash, rather than flushing them down the toilet.[207] Some cats can be trained to use the human toilet, eliminating the litter box and its attendant expense, unpleasant odor, and the need to use landfill space for disposal. Training may involve four to six weeks of incremental moves, such as moving and elevating the litter box until it is near the toilet, as well as employing an adapter such as a bowl or small box to suspend the litter above the toilet bowl. When training is complete, the cat uses the toilet by squatting on the toilet seat over the bowl.
Ultraman:All in favor of getting Mewtwo a litter box?
Everyone:Aye!
History and mythology
In ancient Egypt cats were sacred animals, with the Bast often depicted in cat form, sometimes taking on the warlike aspect of a lioness. The Romans are often credited with introducing the domestic cat from Egypt to Europe. However, it is possible that cats were already kept in Europe prior to the Roman Empire, as they may have already been present in Britain in the late Iron Age. Domestic cats were spread throughout much of the rest of the world during the Age of Discovery, as they were carried on sailing ships to control shipboard rodents and as good-luck charms.
Several ancient religions believed that cats are exalted souls, companions or guides for humans, that they are all-knowing but are mute so they cannot influence decisions made by humans. In Japan, the Maneki Neko is a cat that is a symbol of good fortune. Although there are no sacred species in Islam, some writers have stated that Muhammad had a favorite cat, Muezza.He is reported to have loved cats so much that "he would do without his cloak rather than disturb one that was sleeping on it".
Freyja—the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility in Norse mythology—is depicted as riding a chariot drawn by cats.
Ultraman:Interesting...
Many cultures have negative superstitions about cats. An example would be the belief that a black cat "crossing your path" leads to bad luck, or that cats are witches' familiars used to augment a witch's powers and skills. This led to the widespread extermination of cats in Europe in medieval times. The Black Plague was spread by fleas carried by infected rats. The killing of cats in Medieval Ypres is commemorated in the innocuous present-day Kattenstoet (cat parade).
According to a myth in many cultures, cats have nine (or sometimes seven) lives. The myth is attributed to the natural suppleness and swiftness cats exhibit to escape life-threatening situations. Also lending credence to this myth is that falling cats often land on their feet because of an inbuilt automatic twisting reaction and are able to twist their bodies around to land feet first, though they can still be injured or killed by a high fall
Ultraman:And that's it people!
Mewtwo:'finally wakes up' Ugh, so what did you learn?
Pikachu:I think you'd be better off not knowing.
Mewtwo:Perhaps you are right.
Ultraman:Okay, so now that we're at the end, it's time for questions!
Pokemon:Oh boy...
Ultraman:Question number 1, which of Ash's Pokemon have had the most epic battle in the anime series?
Charmeleon:That's a no brainer, it's me!
Ultraman:WRONG! It's Butterfree!
Butterfree:ME?!
Charmeleon:HIM?!
Ultraman:In the episode "The Challenge of the Samurai, the greatest battle in the anime was seen there. Metapod vs Metapod.
Butterfree:That was a sexual innuendo fight.
Ultraman:Question number 2, which of Ash's Pokemon would be able to beat Mewtwo in the 4th generation games?
Mewtwo:In the games? Well, given the right movesets and Nature, I'd say Heracross, Tauros, and Charizard with the Belly Drum set.
Ultraman:Correct! Now remember viewers, tune in next time for "When Pokemon meet Wikipedia" and starting now, you can ask each of the Pokemon one question per review!
Pikachu:Your gonna turn half of this into a Truth or Dare fic or make one, am I right?
Ultraman:You are correct rodent. Till we meet again!