The cat (Felis catus), also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small
carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin and household pests. It has
been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years and is currently the most popular pet in the world. A skilled predator,
the cat is known to hunt over 1,000 species for food. It can be trained to obey simple commands.
The Bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a North American mammal of the cat family, Felidae. With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges
from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States. The Bobcat is an adaptable predator
that inhabits wooded areas, as well as semi-desert, urban edge, forest edges and swampland environments. It persists in much
of its original range and populations are healthy.
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores
of the sixteen mammal families in the order Carnivora. The most familiar felid is the Domestic Cat, which first became associated
with humans about 10,000 years ago, but the family includes all other wild cats including the big cats. Extant felids belong
to one of two subfamilies: Pantherinae, and Felinae.
The Hyaenidae is a mammalian family of order Carnivora. The Hyaenidae family, native to both African and Asian continents,
consists of four living species, the Striped Hyena and Brown Hyena (genus Hyaena), the Spotted Hyena (genus Crocuta), and
the Aardwolf (genus Proteles).
Mongoose is the common name for any member of the family Herpestidae and for the members of Galidiinae subfamily of the Family
Eupleridae. The word mongoose is derived from the Marathi name mangus (pronounced as "mongoose"), perhaps ultimately from
Dravidian. The form of the English name (since 1698) was altered to its -goose ending by folk-etymology. It has no etymological
connection with the word goose.
The family Viverridae is made up of 35 species, including all of the genets, the Binturong, most of the civets, and the four
linsangs. Viverrids are native to most of the Old World tropics, nearly all of Africa (bar the area immediately south of the
Mediterranean), Madagascar, and the Iberian Peninsula. Favoured habitats include woodland, savanna, mountains and, above all,
tropical rainforest.
