Talk:Cat

Improper Grammar?

This says "it leads to the extinction of bird, mammal, and reptile species". Shouldn't it be THE bird mammal and reptile species?

This term stands for several species of birds, reptiles and mammals. To use "the", one would need to clarify which bird, mammal and reptile species went extinct - obviously, it's not referring to all such species. beforeAdapter (talk · contribs) 2022-03-20T17:22Z

"Cat" as the main name

I think it's reversed. Isn't the term “cat” refers to the family “Felidae”? The first paragraph should be “domesticated cat or house cat, commonly known as just 'cat'”. -GogoLion (talk) 05:18, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

How often do people say 'I have a house cat' instead of 'I have a cat' or 'I pet a domestic cat on my walk today' instead of 'I pet a cat on my walk today'. The term cat when referring to felids is derived from the term cat as in a house cat. Traumnovelle (talk) 05:37, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

It seems like you didin't read the text completely. Can't you see the word "commonly"? Also, the term "cat" is not exclusively referring the domesticated cat, but the whole felids. You know "floppa"? They are not domesticated cats but still being called "cat". -GogoLion (talk) 04:32, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

The term cat typically refers to domestic cats. I have no idea what a 'floppa' is but cat overwhelmingly refers to a moggy and not other felids. Traumnovelle (talk) 05:31, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Today I learned that Big Floppa is a caracal with some notoriety. —Tamfang (talk) 06:31, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

"cat overwhelmingly refers to a moggy and not other felids"

By who? Scientists? Of course they refer it as the whole Felidae. By general public? Of course it refers to small felids, including wild cats if they being petted like house caracal or house serval. -GogoLion (talk) 13:39, 6 September 2024 (UTC)

The general public usually mean a pet cat when they say cat. People don't typically interact with wildcats as much for obvious reasons. Traumnovelle (talk) 22:54, 7 October 2024 (UTC)

Wikipedia naming policy is to use the common name and cat is used far more frequently that domestic cat. The term isn't ambiguous as, while we use might "cat" when discussing the whole cat family, this meaning would be clear from the context; we wouldn't use cat to refer to all cats without such qualifying context. I don't think house cat should be in that opening sentence as house cat refers to something more specific and excludes many of the species.  —  Jts1882 | talk  06:21, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

Of course this is ambiguous! People also petting several wild cats like caracal, lynx, and servals, and still being called "cats". They even have different subfamily btw. The first paragraph should be "Domestic cat, commonly known as just "cat", also "house cats"..." -GogoLion (talk) 04:38, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

And how often is a lynx referred to as a 'cat' instead of as a lynx? Traumnovelle (talk) 05:32, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

That question sounds weird. First of all, how can i answer that? Counting the Instagram comments one by one? Or giving you screenchot of keyword statistics?

Second, you seem like never watching lynx pet videos on Instagram or TikTok.

Oh and one more thing, you know "bobcat"? It's not domestic cat but it's "bobCAT". -GogoLion (talk) 13:27, 6 September 2024 (UTC)

Yes? It's called a bobcat, not a cat. Traumnovelle (talk) 19:13, 6 September 2024 (UTC)

We had this discussion so often already, and always with the same outcome : that the title should remain as is. BhagyaMani (talk) 08:15, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

I have never say that we should change the title. I say WE SHOULD CHANGE THE FIRST PARAGRAPH. -GogoLion (talk) 13:28, 6 September 2024 (UTC)

Please read MOS:LEADSENTENCE :The page title should be subject of the first sentence. So if you want to use "domestic cat", instead of "cat", then we should also change the page title accordingly. BhagyaMani (talk) 15:51, 6 September 2024 (UTC)

Misconception?

The following was recently added to the article:

A common misconception is that a cat's behavioral and personality traits correspond to its coat color. These traits instead depend on a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors.

I'm curious to see what other editors here think about this addition. Seems to me that this ignores the correlation between cat breeds, their coat colors, and their behaviors, but this is not my field of expertise. Mr. Swordfish (talk) 15:04, 31 July 2024 (UTC)

Well the sourcing is impeccable:

• Udell, Monique; Delgado, Mikel; Ekenstedt, Kari; Shoveller, Anna Kate; Croney, Candace (2023). "CATastrophic myths part 2: Common misconceptions about the environmental, nutritional, and genetic management of domestic cats and their welfare implications". The Veterinary Journal. 300–302: 106029. doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2023.106029.

but this popular misconception seems to have attracted comment in lay media too.[1] Note that breed and colour are separate matters. Do you have any counter-sources in mind that say colour and personality traits are linked? Bon courage (talk) 15:19, 31 July 2024 (UTC)

The only evidence of coat colour being linked to behaviour are owner surveys, hardly an infallible method. Traumnovelle (talk) 19:08, 31 July 2024 (UTC)

Hunting behaviour explanation?

//This cat and mouse behavior may be due to an instinctive imperative to ensure that the prey is weak enough to be killed without endangering the cat//

I added the "may" on the basis that interpretations of animal behaviour are always pretty tenuous. But if someone could also check the source is adequate, it would be appreciated.

The same statement and reference is given on this page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_and_mouse

FloweringOctopus (talk) 14:49, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

I removed it. It's dubious and the Arizona Sun is not suitable for making bold claims on feline behaviour. Traumnovelle (talk) 19:53, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

Thanks :-) FloweringOctopus (talk) 19:46, 7 September 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 September 2024

Under Characteristics > Whiskers, the citation number isn't correctly formatted. CURRENT: "...to protect the eyes from damage.[53]: 47" This should be changed to; EDIT: "...to protect the eyes from damage.[53][47]" Rogu Roguu (talk) 09:17, 29 September 2024 (UTC)

It is formatted correctly. the ':47' is a reference page, it indicates that the citation for that claim is on page 47 of the prior reference. Traumnovelle (talk) 09:50, 29 September 2024 (UTC)

Short description

A short description here is pointless. WP:SDPURPOSE states it is to either describe or disambiguate, neither are needed here. Traumnovelle (talk) 07:00, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

I disagree. All the pages on cat + other carnivore species have short descriptions, needed or not. – BhagyaMani (talk) 08:28, 12 October 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 23 October 2024

K 78.208.166.195 (talk) 14:35, 23 October 2024 (UTC)

 Not done Unclear. -OXYLYPSE (talk) 14:47, 23 October 2024 (UTC)