Contents A new family Growing up Playing Leaving home Cat talk Climbing Hunting Smells Cross cats Nightlife Catnap Keeping clean Fur Kinds of cats Glossary of cat words Websites to visit Index A new family A mother cat finds a warm, safe place to have her kittens. The kittens are born. One by one, the mother cat licks them clean.Growing up New kittens cuddle up to their 407) ¢ ‘Ai eeg4 Kittens are born with mother to keep warm. ‘5 ey their eyes shut. After —-—"* about ten days, they open their eyes. About two weeks later, they learn to walk. This kitten is taking its first steps. They grow teeth and start to eat meat. Soon, they stop drinking milk. ., They sleep most of the time. 6 A mother cat has six teats on her tummy. All kittens have blue eyes to begin with. Her kittens suck them to drink her milk. Later, they can turn green or yellow or orange. 4 5Playing Kittens like to play. They learn how to do things by playing games. These kittens are play-fighting. They won't really hurt each other. aL Grown-up pet cats like to play, eaita, a: too. It stops them from getting bored. @* 9h rok Fe Ring aha HH aoe {ae Hsu i Aang ila sey | { / mY, sg Kittens pretend to It pounces and hunt. A kitten creeps catches the tail with up to its mother’s tail. its paws. Some kittens live in the wild, like this lynx. It likes to play too, but it will have to hunt and fight for real when it grows up.Leaving home To make good pets, kittens have to get used to people before they are eight weeks old. Kittens learn to be If they meet lots of friendly by copying _ friendly people, they their mother. learn to like people. When a kitten is about eight weeks old, it is ready to leave up without getting used to people. are shy. te These cats are feral. This means they are half wild. Lots of feral cats live in cities. They live in little groups and take care of themselves. fs ee. Pet cats normally live for about 12 to |4 years. The longest a pet cat has ever lived is 34 years. 9Cat talk You can tell how a cat feels by the way it looks and acts. Tf a cat wags its tail, If a cat partly closes leave it alone. It may its eyes and purrs, it be feeling angry. means it feels happy. Tf a cat rolls we ae li onto its back, Tf a cat looks at you A cat in danger curves then it feels and says “meow”, _ its back to look bigger safe with you. it wants something. and scare off its enemy. 10 AfClimbing Cats like to jump and climb. They feel safe in high places. Tf a cat falls, it tries to land on its feet, so it doesn’t hurt itself. They have sharp claws that help them hold on as they climb. ng As it falls, the cat twists its head and front legs around. Then, the cat twists its back legs around. The cat curves its back. This helps it land softly.Hunting Cats are good hunters. This pet cat is jumping to try to catch a bird. Pet cats are fed at home, so they don’t need to hunt for food. A cat can jump about five times its own height. How high can you jump? 14 Wild cats have to hunt for their food. Wha, er y . oe Madi A ERUBORE wild cat heaica a mouse. tt crouches down to hide in the grass. It creeps slowly toward the mouse. The cat’s furry paws help it walk very quietly. ii ay I bi WWehit Hit {/ i When it is close to the mouse, the cat pounces and catches it. 45Smells Cats can smell smells that people can't. They know who other cats are by their smell. Cats mark their home area with their When cats say smells, so that other cats know it is theirs. hello, they sniff each other. This kitten is rubbing its head on a tree to leave its smell there. They rub their bodies together to share their smells. Pet cats rub up against people to say hello, too. \ cH 16ae okPPte egqoowwtt Cross dats Some cats don’t like others being near their home. This is how a cat warns another off. i black ¢ cat comes near an orange cat's home. The orange cat stares hard at it. ‘sbie Sonn oe saith Te black cat crouches oid leaks awa This shows it doesn’t want to fight. — The black cat creeps orange cat has wo 18 :When it’s too dark to see, a cat’s long whiskers help it feel its way around. The tips of the cat’s The cat knows it can whiskers touch the __ fit through the fence, edges of a fence. so it walks thro’Catnap Cats look for warm, quiet places to sleep. If it’s hot they If it’s a little cooler sleep stretched out. they sleep curled up. Cats like to sleep. They have lots of quick naps through the day. This cat has just woken up and is stretching. Stretching helps a cat to wake up and get ready for action. A cat spends over half of its life asleep. This kitten has climbed a tree for a nap. iKeeping clean Cats wash themselves to keep clean. Follow the numbers to see how a cat washes itself. |. The cat licks its 2. It nibbles its paws paw. It wipes the to clean dirt off and wet paw on its face. to tidy its claws. 3. It nibbles atany —4. It licks its legs, its knots in its fur to whole body and get them out. then its tail. dA. 2A, Semeunies cats help to lick each other clean. This shows they are good friends. A cat’s tongue is very rough. When a cat licks its fur, its tongue works like a comb.Fur Cats’ fur helps keep them warm. Some cats have short fur and some have long, bushy fur. Cats can have different patterns on their fur. Even kittens in the same family can all look different. s This kind of cat is called » a Persian cat. AN They have very long fur. Siamese cats have dark ears, faces, tails and paws. They aren't born this way. The kittens are born Later, some parts of pale cream all over. their bodies turn dark. 27Rinds of aats There are lots of unusual kinds of pet cats. This cat is a Turkish Van. Most cats hate Different kinds of cats are called breeds. water, but Turkish Vans love swimming. Fee Here are some examples of cat breeds. . ey Munchkin cats Som , Manx m= have short legs. | = 4° cats have | no tails. . ( ~ Norwegian 4 } ’ ~ Forest cats wW : ¢ : pen L | Most pet cats re oe Siamese cats Sphynxes have rhreeds he are slim. hardly any fur. ee 28 29Glossary of cat words Here are some of the words in this book you might not know. This page tells you what they mean. teat - a mother cat has teats on her feral - a half-wild animal. Lots of feral cats live in cities or on farms. claw - sharp parts on a cat’s paws. iG a Claws are an animal's fingernails. hunt - to find, chase and kill another animal, usually to eat. M@) pupil - the black part in the middle @ of an animal's or a person’s eye. ee nap - a short sleep. Cats nap often, so sometimes naps are called catnaps. £ shedding - losing fur. Cats shed in RS the summer to keep cool. tummy. Kittens drink milk from them. Websites to visit You can visit exciting websites to find out more about cats. To visit these websites, go to the Usborne Quicklinks Website at www.usborne-quicklinks.com Read the internet safety guidelines, and then type the keywords “beginners cats”. The websites are regularly reviewed and the links in Usborne Quicklinks are updated. However, Usborne Publishing is not responsible, and does not accept liability, for the content or availability of any website other than its own. We recommend that children are supervised while on the internet. Pet cats and kittens like to play with soft toys.