Cats, Part One
Cats are interesting animals.
Many people have cats at home as pets.
These are domestic cats.
They may seem quite independent,# but they depend on you for food and shelter.
They meeow when they want to be fed,# or want to go out.
Sometimes they seem quite wild# and go out looking for birds or mice.
They might bring them back home,# offering them to you as a present.
You may not want a half-eaten mouse as a present,# but your cat does not know this.
Cats also like to be stroked.
They sometimes like to sit on your lap.
Quite a few like to be tickled under the chin,# or behind their ears.
Then they will purr, often quite loudly.
Imagine doing that to a tiger,# or a lion, or a cheetah!
But tigers, lions and cheetahs are also cats.
They are not domestic cats, of course.
Though some foolish people# try to keep them as pets.
They are wild cats.
In scientific terms, they are called big cats.
There are plenty of similarities# between your cat and the big cats.
Both have very strong jaws for their size.
Both have long canine teeth# for piercing and ripping flesh.
Both have claws which they can sheath #for padding along the ground# or up a tree,# and then suddenly reveal when they need to attack.
But there are also differences of course.
You may think that is obvious:# big cats are big and domestic cats are small.
You are right,# but this is not actually the main distinction.