Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with a strong, flexible body,quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. Cat senses fit a crepuscular and predatory ecological niche. Cats can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small animals. They can see in near darkness. Like most other mammals, cats have poorer color vision and a better sense of smell than humans. Cats, despite being solitary hunters, are asocial species and cat communication includes the use of a variety of vocalizations (mewing, purring, trilling, hissing,growling, and grunting), as well as cat pheromones and type of cat-specefic body language.

Cats have a high breeding rate. Under controlled breeding , they can be bred and shown as registered pedigree pets, a hobby known as cat fancy. Failure to control the breeding of pet cats by neutering and the abandonment of former household pets has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, requiring population control. This has contributed, along with habitat destruction and other factors, to the extinction of many bird species.

Cats have been known to extripate a bird species whithin specefic regions and may have contribured to the extinction of isolated island populations. Cats are thought to be primarily, thought not solely, responsible for the extinction of 33 species of bird, and the presence of feral and free ranging cats makes some location unsuitable for attempted species reintroduction in otherwise suitable location.