the cat family

Scott Foresman Science 5.1
Genre Comprehension Skill Text Features Science Content
Nonfi ction Compare and
Contrast
• Captions
• Labels
• Charts
• Glossary
Classifying
Organisms
ISBN 0-328-13918-1
ì<(sk$m)=bdjbih< +^-Ä-U-Ä-U
13918_01-04_CVR_FSD.indd Cover113918_01-04_CVR_FSD.indd Cover1 5/10/05 1:16:30 PM5/10/05 1:16:30 PM
Scott Foresman Science 5.1
Genre Comprehension Skill Text Features Science Content
Nonfi ction Compare and
Contrast
• Captions
• Labels
• Charts
• Glossary
Classifying
Organisms
ISBN 0-328-13918-1
ì<(sk$m)=bdjbih< +^-Ä-U-Ä-U
13918_01-04_CVR_FSD.indd Cover113918_01-04_CVR_FSD.indd Cover1 5/10/05 1:16:30 PM5/10/05 1:16:30 PM
1. Why did the ancient Egyptians worship cats?
2. How are a jaguar’s spots different from a
leopard’s?
3. How does a leopard use its ability to climb
trees?

4.

The cheetah hunts
differently from many other cats. Write to
explain the cheetah’s special method of
hunting and what adaptations it has to help
it hunt. Use examples from this book.
5.

Compare and Contrast How is a tiger like
a lion? How is it different?
What did you learn?
Extended Vocabulary
albino
domestic
melanin
nocturnal
pride
territory
tapetum lucidum
Vocabulary
class
classify
invertebrate
kingdom
phylum
species
vertebrate
Picture Credits
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for photographic material.

The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R), Background (Bkgd).
2 Corbis; 6 (B) Peter Blackwell/Nature Picture Library; 9 (T) W. Perry Conway/Corbis; 11 (T) Jonathan & Angela Scott/
NHPA Limited; 13 (TR) ©Jerry Young/DK Images; 14 ©Phillip Dowell/DK Images; 15 (T) Andy Rouse/NHPA Limited;
20 (B) Yva Momatiuk/John Eastcott /Minden Pictures.
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the copyright © of Dorling Kindersley, a division of Pearson.
ISBN: 0-328-13918-1
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any
prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to
Permissions Department, Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025.
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V010 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
13918_01-04_CVR_FSD.indd Cover213918_01-04_CVR_FSD.indd Cover2 5/10/05 1:16:38 PM5/10/05 1:16:38 PM
by Natalie Rompella
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What You Already Know
2
Scientists classify organisms to make communication
easier. Since each organism gets its own special name,
scientists always know just which one they’re talking
about. Today’s classifi cation system divides organisms into
groups and then divides each group into smaller groups.
The largest group is the kingdom. The other groups,
from largest to smallest, are phylum, class, order, family,
genus, and species.
The kingdom most people know best is the animal
kingdom. One phylum includes animals that have
backbones, or vertebrates. There are many classes of
vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, amphibians,

birds, and fi sh.
Whales are some of the largest members of the animal kingdom.
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3
Invertebrates are animals without backbones. Almost
all of the animals on our planet are invertebrates. There are
many phyla of invertebrates. Insects and spiders belong to
the arthropod phylum.
Most living things are not animals. Many are plants,
which have more than one cell and can produce their own
food. Some phyla in the plant kingdom are mosses, ferns,
conifers, and fl owering plants.
Besides plants and animals, most scientists divide life
into four other kingdoms. These kingdoms are fungi,
protists, eubacteria, and archaebacteria.
In this book you will read about cats. Their family is
part of the animal kingdom, the vertebrate phylum, and
the mammal class.
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4
Classifying Cats
How are a house cat, a cheetah, and a tiger alike?
How are they different? It might help to look at how
they are classifi ed.
Cats are part of the animal kingdom. All animals fi t
into this group, from insects to whales. All cats belong to
the phylum Chordata and share this smaller group with
all the other animals with a backbone.
Because cats are warm-blooded,
have hair, and make milk for their

babies, they belong to the class
Mammalia. Cats all eat meat,
so they are part of the order
Carnivora. Finally, cats belong
to the family Felidae and are
the only animals on this level.
A level lower than family is
genus. Wildcats and domestic
cats belong to the genus Felis.
Cats in the genus Panthera
include leopards, tigers,
and lions. Cheetahs are the
only cats that belong to the
Acinonyx genus.
Lions belong to the genus
Panthera.
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5
Genus Felis
This level includes small cats.
Domestic cats, along with
bobcats, lynxes, and other
small cats, are part of the
genus Felis.
Family Felidae
All these animals are cats.
Order Carnivora
All these animals eat meat.
Class Mammalia
All these animals give milk to their young.

Phylum Chordata
All these animals have spinal cords.
Animal Kingdom
All these organisms are animals.
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6
Cat Features
Cats rely on their senses for
survival. They have large eyes to
spot prey easily. Have you ever
seen a cat’s eyes glow? Their eyes
have a special covering called a
tapetum lucidum that refl ects light
back into their eyes. This helps them see well at night, when
many cats hunt. Although cats have diffi culty perceiving
different colors, the pupils in their eyes are capable of
expanding and contracting. This allows cats’ eyes to take in
more light when it’s dark and less light when it’s bright.
Cats have a great sense of hearing and are able to hear
sounds we cannot, such as the tiny squeaks of mice. Cats’
whiskers are important too. They are long, stiff hairs that
grow out of a cat’s face. Cats can feel the slightest movement
of air over their whiskers. This helps them to fi nd their way
in the dark and to know where their prey is.
cat’s refl ective eyes
Cats’ bodies are built
for hunting.
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7
Cats’ bodies are perfect

for hunting. They have
sharp teeth, called canines,
which they use to pierce
their prey. Their backbones are fl exible for running quickly
and landing safely. Cats walk on their toes, helping them to
hunt quietly and run fast.
One of the most interesting features that cats have is
their claws. Cats’ claws can be retracted, or pulled into
their paws, when not in use. The claws retract to keep them
sharp and protected. They come out whenever a cat makes a
scratching movement with its paw.
When a cat’s claws come out, its toes splay, or spread
out. Splayed toes provide several benefi ts. By splaying its
toes, a cat can grip surfaces better and swat at prey with
more power. The hair on a cat’s toes is highly sensitive, like
its whiskers. By splaying its toes, a cat picks up information
from the different things it touches.
tiger skeleton
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8
Tiger
Weighing three hundred to six hundred pounds, tigers
are the biggest and most powerful of all cats. Tigers live in
South and East Asia. They make their homes near water,
and in grasslands and forests.
Tigers hunt animals such as deer, wild pig, and cattle.
Tigers need to eat twelve to fi fteen pounds of meat every
day. That’s like eating more than sixty hamburgers!
In contrast with other cats, tigers spend lots of time
around water and are excellent swimmers.

They have been known to catch
fi sh and frogs when their
regular food sources are
unavailable. Tigers are
also capable of
climbing trees when
they feel threatened.
Most tigers have
stripes, which help
them to hide in the
tall grass. They get
close to their prey
and wait for
it to make
the fi rst
move. Then
they attack.
Weighing up to six hundred
pounds, tigers are the largest cats.
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9
There are several different types of tigers,
such as the Bengal, Sumatran, and Siberian.
Siberian tigers are the largest and lightest in
color. They are often thought to be albinos,
but they are not. Albinos have no color at
all in their skin, hair, or eyes, because they
lack a chemical called melanin. But
Siberian tigers have black stripes and
blue eyes.

Hunting and habitat destruction are
threatening tigers with extinction. Scientists estimate that fewer
than eight thousand tigers remain in the wild. Of the different
types, the Chinese tiger is most endangered. Only one hundred,
at most, are left in the wild. The Bengal tiger is most common,
with almost four thousand living in the wild.
Tigers need lots of space. Just one adult male needs
twenty-fi ve to thirty-fi ve square miles of land. Project
Tiger is a group that works to save tigers’ homes, which
will then help to save tigers from extinction.
Tigers’ stripes help them to hide in tall grass.
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10
Lion
Lions live on grassy plains in Africa and South Asia.
They hunt animals such as zebras, wildebeest, buffalo, and
warthogs. If they need to, lions will steal food from cheetahs,
leopards, wild dogs, or hyenas. If they are very hungry, they
will eat insects or grass.
What do male lions have that other cats do not? They are
the only cats to have a mane of hair around their neck. Lions
in cooler areas grow larger manes than lions in warmer areas.
Lions are the only cats to live in groups.
Their groups are called prides. Prides can
have as few as fi ve lions and as many as
twenty-six.
Lions, like tigers, require large
habitats. Prides will roam over
an area of 150 square miles in
search of prey. When more food is

available, they reduce their territories
to a tenth of that
size. Lions roar
loudly and rub
against trees and
the ground to
mark their territory.
The male lion’s mane
protects its neck during
fi ghts with other males.
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11
Prides are made up of female lions called lionesses, their
cubs, and a few males. Adult lions breed every couple of
years, with lionesses giving birth to two to four cubs at a
time. Few cubs survive to become adults.
As the male cubs grow, the adult males drive them out
of the pride. These cubs spend several years living on their
own. Upon becoming adults, many take over a pride from
an older and weaker male lion. Other male lions spend their
entire lives living on their own.
Lionesses are very important
to the pride, because they do
almost all the hunting. With
their lighter bodies, female
lions can run much faster
than males, which helps
them catch prey. Males
are important to the pride
too. They guard the pride’s

territory and watch over the
cubs. Although the lionesses
do the hunting, the males
get to eat the prey fi rst.
In prides, female lions hunt and take care of the young.
Males stand guard over the territory of their pride.
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12
Leopard
Leopards are found in India,
Southeast Asia, and central
and East Africa. They hunt
medium-sized mammals, such
as baby giraffes. If other meat
eaters are near, leopards will
bring their meal up into a tree
to keep it safe.
One kind of leopard is the
snow leopard. These leopards
live in the mountains and
grasslands of central Asia,
living off wild sheep and goats and sometimes preying on
livestock. They have thick fur to keep warm, large paws
to walk in the snow, and a long, fl uffy tail. Their tails
are used both for balance and to wrap around
themselves for extra warmth.
Female snow leopards give birth to two to
four cubs at a time. They raise their cubs in
caves or between rocks. Snow leopards go
off to live by themselves at age two, and start

producing cubs of their own soon after.
Snow leopards have been listed as
endangered since
1972. As with
tigers, scientists
think there are
ony a few thousand
remaining in the wild.
Leopards climb trees to
sleep and to protect their
food from other animals.
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13
Some leopards are black. This is because
they have large amounts of melanin in their
skin. These dark-colored leopards live in
the warm Amazon rain forest. Sometimes
people call these leopards “black panthers,”
although this name is not really correct.
“Panther” is a name used for large cats of
several different species, including leopards,
jaguars, and pumas. It is usually used for cats
that are black.
The name “panther” comes from the
Latin word Panthera. Lions, tigers, leopards,
and jaguars belong to the genus, or group, called Panthera.
These large cats can all roar, and are enough related to mate
and produce offspring. For example, a male
lion and a female tiger can mate
to create a “liger.” A “tigon,” the

result of a male tiger mating with
a female lion, is far more rare.
Ligers and tigons can grow
much larger than regular
tigers and lions. However,
they are incapable of
producing offspring.
If you look closely
at a black leopard’s
fur, you will see that
it is spotted.
panther fur
leopard fur
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14
Jaguar
Jaguars are another of the great spotted cats. They are
often confused with leopards, as both have spots with pale
centers that look like rings. What makes jaguars’ spots
different are the small, black dots inside some of its ring
spots. Jaguars are also larger than leopards.
Jaguars that live in the rain forest are darker than ones
that live in the grassland. They are the third largest cat in
the world, and the largest cat in the Americas. They can be
found in southern Mexico, Central America, and parts of
South America. They like to live near rivers and streams. A
male jaguar has a territory twice as large as a female’s.
Despite their size, jaguars are hard to fi nd in the wild.
Like other cats, they live alone and move about quietly.
Jaguars can mate at any time during the year. Female jaguars

produce two to four cubs at a time,
the standard for big cats.
Jaguars look a lot like
leopards, but jaguars’
spots have smaller spots
inside of them.
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15
Jaguars will hunt any animal they fi nd. They usually hunt
wild pigs and capybaras, the world’s largest rodent. Jaguars
have large canine teeth for catching animals. With their
padded feet, jaguars hunt silently on land. They also hunt
by climbing trees and waiting for animals. Other prey of the
jaguar include water animals such as fi sh, turtles, and a type
of crocodile called a caiman. The jaguar is able to crack open
the hard shell of turtles with its strong jaws.
Jaguars spend less time resting than other
big cats. They are active about 50
to 60 percent of each day.
Despite its talents as a hunter,
incredible strength, and ability
to swim, the jaguar is in
serious trouble. For years,
people hunted it for its skin,
which greatly reduced its
numbers. The jaguar was put on
the endangered species list in 1972. However, it still
faces habitat loss due to hunting, logging, farming,
and mining in the Amazon rain forest.
Jaguars usually live near water, where they can hunt fi sh and other

water animals.
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16
Smaller Cats
How many other kinds of cats can you name? There are
twenty-eight species of small cats in the world. Like big cats,
small cats are found in all different kinds of habitats.
lynx
Lynxes are small cats that live in many different
areas. There is a Canadian lynx, a Eurasian lynx,
and a Spanish lynx. They live in wooded mountains.
They are nocturnal and use their senses of sight and
smell to help them hunt. They will follow a scent for
miles. Lynxes are good at climbing trees and are able
to drop down on their prey. They also swim well.
Lynxes eat many different animals, such as rabbits,
hares, squirrels, young deer, ducks, fi sh, and insects.
Lynx
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17
Pumas are also known as cougars or mountain
lions. They can be found in the United States,
Canada, and South America. They live
in deserts, prairies, and forests. Pumas
have long legs and large paws, which help
them to run in the snow. At night they
hunt deer, rodents, birds,
amphibians, and
insects.
Puma

Bobcat
Bobcats look like domestic
cats but are about twice as big.
Bobcats are easy to spot because
of the white underside of their
tail and black tufts of fur on their
ears. These tufts help them to
hear better. Bobcats can be found
in most of the United States,
southern Canada, and northern
Mexico. They hunt rabbits, rodents,
birds, and even small deer.
puma
bobcat
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18
ocelot
Ocelots are very secretive cats. They
hide in the jungle, forests, semideserts,
and along rivers. With their chainlike
pattern of blotches, ocelots blend in well
with their surroundings. They live from
the southwestern United States to parts
of South America.
Ocelot
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19
Geoffroy’s Cat
Geoffroy’s cat is named after
the French naturalist Geoffroy

St. Hilaire. It lives in southern
South America and is
about the size of a
domestic cat. Geoffroy’s
cats hunt birds, small
mammals, reptiles,
amphibians, and
insects. They are good
swimmers and will
also catch and
eat fi sh.
Caracals live in Africa and the Middle
East. Like bobcats, caracals have long, black
tufts on the tips of their ears. They like
to eat desert hedgehogs and some reptiles.
Caracals even jump into the air to
catch birds. They have been known
to knock down ten to twelve birds
in one leap! Because of this, people
once trained them to attack
birds for entertainment.
Caracal
caracal
Geoffroy’s cat
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20
Cheetah
The fastest land animal in the world, the cheetah is able
to reach speeds of about seventy miles per hour. Cheetahs
are built for speed. They have long legs and light bodies.

Unlike other cats, cheetahs can’t pull their claws back into
their paws. Instead, the claws stay out to grip the ground
as the cat runs. Cheetahs have larger nasal openings, hearts,
lungs, and air passageways than other cats. These help
them to breathe while running and to catch their breath
afterwards. Their long tail is used for balance when running,
helping the cheetah to quickly change direction.
Cheetahs chase their prey instead of sitting and waiting
for it to get close. They hunt mostly antelope, but in groups
they can attack zebras and wildebeests. After chasing its prey,
the cheetah will wait twenty to thirty minutes to catch its
breath before eating. Cheetahs mainly live in the savanna
and semideserts of East Africa.
The cheetah’s long legs help it
to run fast. Its long tail is used
for balance when changing
directions quickly.
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21
Cheetahs are all genetically similar. Some scientists
believe that only a small number of cheetahs survived a
major change in climate thousands of years ago. It is from
this small number that all modern cheetahs came about.
Because of this, they have poor disease resistance.
The cheetah has unusual face
markings. There is a black
stripe running down from
the eye to the mouth on both
sides of its face.
The cheetah’s claws do not

retract like those of most
cats. Instead, the cheetah
uses its claws to grip the
ground when running.
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22
Domestic Cats
Domestic cats, or house cats, are thought to
be related to African wildcats. Long ago, people
may have kept cats to kill rodents. The ancient
Egyptians worshipped cats and kept them as
pets. They believed that their sun god, Ra,
had changed into a cat. Because of
this, when their cat died,
people would shave their
own eyebrows as a sign of
sadness. They would even
mummify the cat!
There are many different
kinds of domestic cats today,
such as the Siamese, Persian, and
Abyssinian. Cats can be many
colors and patterns. These include
white, orange, gray, spotted, and
striped. Cats can have long hair,
short hair, or no hair at all.
Just like wild cats,
domestic cats like to
sharpen their claws.
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23
Cats are amazing animals. Their bodies, with their
retractable claws, fl exible spine, sharp canines, and highly
developed senses, are perfectly suited to their ways of living.
Why does a cheetah need such long legs? Why are tigers
striped? Why are cats able to see in the dark? Why
do lions live in prides? All of these
adaptations help cats to survive.
From the snowy mountains of
Canada to the hot African plains, cats
can be found almost everywhere in
the world. But habitat loss, hunting,
and other factors have placed them in
danger. Of the thirty-six known species
of wild cats, at least ten are considered
endangered or threatened. Scientists
suspect that several more species might
be in trouble, but
they don’t have
enough information
about them. Cats
are some of the
best hunters around.
They have made many
adaptations to stay alive.
But they still need our help!
This cat’s fl exible
spine allows it to
jump and land safely.
Even though house cats

have lived with humans for
thousands of years, they have
not lost their hunting skills.
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24
Glossary
albino an animal that is all white because its body
lacks melanin
domestic kept as a pet or farm animal by humans
melanin chemical that gives skin, eyes, hair, fur,
and feathers their color
nocturnal active at night
pride a group of lions
territory the area that an animal thinks of as its
own and defends from others
tapetum lucidum a membrane of the eye that bounces light
back through the retina so an animal can
see better in the dark
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1. Why did the ancient Egyptians worship cats?
2. How are a jaguar’s spots different from a
leopard’s?
3. How does a leopard use its ability to climb
trees?
4.

The cheetah hunts
differently from many other cats. Write to
explain the cheetah’s special method of
hunting and what adaptations it has to help

it hunt. Use examples from this book.
5.

Compare and Contrast How is a tiger like
a lion? How is it different?
What did you learn?
Extended Vocabulary
albino
domestic
melanin
nocturnal
pride
territory
tapetum lucidum
Vocabulary
class
classify
invertebrate
kingdom
phylum
species
vertebrate
Picture Credits
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for photographic material.
The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R), Background (Bkgd).
2 Corbis; 6 (B) Peter Blackwell/Nature Picture Library; 9 (T) W. Perry Conway/Corbis; 11 (T) Jonathan & Angela Scott/
NHPA Limited; 13 (TR) ©Jerry Young/DK Images; 14 ©Phillip Dowell/DK Images; 15 (T) Andy Rouse/NHPA Limited;
20 (B) Yva Momatiuk/John Eastcott /Minden Pictures.
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the copyright © of Dorling Kindersley, a division of Pearson.

ISBN: 0-328-13918-1
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any
prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to
Permissions Department, Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025.
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V010 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
13918_01-04_CVR_FSD.indd Cover213918_01-04_CVR_FSD.indd Cover2 5/10/05 1:16:38 PM5/10/05 1:16:38 PM