The cat, also known as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small carnivorousmammal of the subspecies Felis silvestris catus. Its most immediate pre-domestication ancestor is believed to be the African wild cat, Felis silvestris lybica and both subspecies have 38 chromosomes. The cat has been living in close association with humans for somewhere between 3,500 and 8,000 years.
