The origin of the English word cat, Old English catt, is thought to be the Late Latin word cattus, which was first used at the beginning of the 6th century. In the United Kingdom, 26% of adults have a cat with an estimated population of 10.9 million pet cats as of 2020. As of 2017, the domestic cat was the second-most popular pet in the United States, with 95 million cats owned. As of 2021, there are an estimated 220 million owned and 480 million stray cats in the world. It was long thought that cat domestication began in ancient Egypt, where cats were venerated from around 3100 BC. Ĭats were first domesticated in the Near East around 7500 BC. Population control of cats may be effected by spaying and neutering, but their proliferation and the abandonment of pets has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, contributing to the extinction of entire bird, mammal, and reptile species. Domestic cats are bred and shown at events as registered pedigreed cats, a hobby known as cat fancy. įemale domestic cats can have kittens from spring to late autumn, with litter sizes often ranging from two to five kittens. Cats also secrete and perceive pheromones. It can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small mammals. A predator that is most active at dawn and dusk ( crepuscular), the cat is a solitary hunter but a social species. Cat communication includes vocalizations like meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling and grunting as well as cat-specific body language. Its night vision and sense of smell are well developed. The cat is similar in anatomy to the other felid species: it has a strong flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp teeth and retractable claws adapted to killing small prey. About 60 cat breeds are recognized by various cat registries. Domestic cats are valued by humans for companionship and their ability to kill rodents. A cat can either be a house cat, a farm cat or a feral cat the latter ranges freely and avoids human contact. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is often referred to as the domestic cat to distinguish it from the wild members of the family. Hanna-Barbera made an actual Happy Days animated spinoff in 1980 called The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang.The cat ( Felis catus) is a domestic species of a small carnivorous mammal.Can be counted on to provide motivation in extremis. Sheena (voiced by Ginny McSwain) and Zelda (voiced by Susan Silo): The crew's cheerleaders, a puma (wearing a sweater with an H featured prominently) and ostrich (wearing a locket on her neck and a bow on her head), respectively.Skids (voiced by Marvin Kaplan): The jalopy-driving crocodile with a necktie and a bucket on his head.Yuka-Yuka (voiced by Lennie Weinrib): A hyena who wears a porkpie hat and has practical-joker tendencies.Clyde (voiced by Don Messick): The dopey gorilla with athletic pretensions as big as his ego.Big H (voiced by Sheldon Allman): The original Hungry Hungry Hippo, as can be a big pain-in-the-butt thanks to his food fetish.The King (voiced by Lennie Weinrib): Modelled loosely on "The Fonz," a hyped-up lion who leads the motley little crew.The cast appears in Jellystone! They are portrayed as a dance crew and the main antagonists in Cats Do Dance who stole Top Cat and his gang's alley. When CB Bears was repackaged for syndication, Heyyy, It's the King! was supported by Shake, Rattle and Roll and Undercover Elephant. It was an all-animal cartoon, reminiscent of the live-action sitcom Happy Days. Heyyy, It's the King! was one of the six segments of the CB Bears animated anthology series.