Nice job, readers!
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About cats...
Cats are the most popular type of pet in the United States - but Americans didn't invent cat ownership. There is evidence that ancient Egyptian people may have domesticated cats nearly 6,000 years ago. Housecats evolved from wildcats and are related to big cats such as lions and cheetahs: you can see similarities to these bigger animals in a housecat’s face structures and paws.
Cats can look very different from one another: there are different breeds of cats, just like different breeds of dogs. The Maine Coon is the biggest cat breed; those big kitties can grow to over twenty pounds! Kittens usually get their color from their parents, but most calico cats (white with spots of two other colors) are female. The length of their fur is also determined by their parents' fur length.
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Meet the kittens...
We're just two months old but we're already learning to jump, run, and land on our feet. We're still a little clumsy, but our balance is improving! Just like human kids, we're learning to share and to recognize body language from one another. And, just like other siblings, we sometimes fight with one another over food, resources and attention. We're very competitive!
Can you tell we’re related? One black kitten, one white kitten, one gray kitty. Could we have gotten this look from our parents? What else might we have inherited?
Our fast speed?
Our ability to fit through tight spaces?
Our willingness to chase yarn?
Maybe – but those things are true of most cats! Our specific eye color and size, though? Those sound like inherited traits!
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