This was a tough question and we're sorry it took us so long to get you an answer. We finally got our resident biologist, Marissa, to give you this answer.

The cat is the favourite pet of people around the world. Do you know that about 4 million pet cats live in Canada ?

The word cat also refers to a family of meat-eating animals that includes tigers, lions, leopards and panthers. The family also includes domestic cats - that is, those that people keep as pets.

No one knows exactly when the first cats were tamed. But some authorities believe cats were tamed about 5,000 years ago.

A queen (female cat) can begin mating when it is between 5 and 9 month old, and a tomcat (Male cat) can begin whern it is 7 to 10 months old. The pregnancy period among cats lasts about nine weeks. When a queen is ready to give birth, she selects a quite, safe spot to nest. On the average a queen bears from three to five kittens at a time. However, litters of more than 10 kittens have been reported.

SOURCE: The World Book Encyclopedia, Volume 3, p284-295. Grant Alternative School

Samantha (q.10), room 8, Valeri Pettifer