Extraordinary Cats
Introduction

Playful, brave, loving, and incorrigible! NATURE ponders those EXTRAORDINARY CATS.

Cats command our attention and our devotion. These fascinating creatures have been perplexing people for thousands of years. Are they wild or tame? Aloof or emotional? Funny or indignant? Angelic or mischievous? Needy or independent? The answer is all of the above. And that’s why we adore them.

In fact, they outnumber dogs as pets 66 million to 55 in the U.S. After all, they’re more independent, and, perhaps even more significantly, cats provide us with a close connection to something wild.

Indeed, no matter how well a cat is fed, stroked, brushed, and otherwise fussed over, they are hunters at heart.

EXTRAORDINARY CATS profiles fascinating felines — from Sooty, a cat who found his way over 100 miles back home, to Scarlett, who risked her life to save her kittens from a burning building.

To order a copy of EXTRAORDINARY CATS, please visit the NATURE Shop.
Online content for EXTRAORDINARY CATS was originally posted February 1999.

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54 Responses to “Introduction”
  1. Alexandra says:

    T|his kitty is sooooooooooo cute! :)

  2. Ayman Rabie says:

    Gentlemen,
    Pls. Send me all new photos because i’m interested in following all new cat’s Photos
    Best Regards

  3. Naama says:

    I love kitties!!! I have 2 At home!!!!
    Send me cat photos!!!!!!!!

  4. jo healing says:

    I want a true story published so that other people can see what cats are capable of.

    This story is of my 2 cats who bravely and deliberately saved me from injury or possible death.

    Are you interested in me sending the details?
    thanks
    jo

  5. makala says:

    cool cat

  6. Janine says:

    This kitten is adorable. I makes me think about how many kittens I have had in my life.

    There were quite a few.

    They were all beloved, except for Rascal. He lived up to his name!

    Want to know more?
    Are you interested in me sending the details?
    Thanks
    Janine

  7. jada says:

    this kitten so cuite i would die to have it

  8. Katie says:

    cute cue cute cute cute cute

  9. Bob says:

    This particular pic doesn’t show the diversity of the animal! :(

  10. hannah says:

    I think that the cat can have a little more exitement

  11. antonio says:

    awww the kitty is hawt :)

  12. Caitlyn says:

    How do siamiese cats breed?

  13. Laura says:

    cats are so cuit! and so easey to take care of. they will always love you if you love them back.

  14. john says:

    i am,i wont say master, a friend of a cat that ive known for 15 years and to this day shes still just as important to me as she was the day i found her

  15. bryn says:

    that is such a cute kitty

  16. B-Dizzle says:

    the cate is kool, and slamin

  17. jenine says:

    awwww its so cute!!!XD

  18. Sofia Fretes says:

    awwww [he or she] is so cute [adorable] i luve him !!!!

  19. Michelle053 says:

    i have 4 cats

  20. lynn says:

    I’ve got 6 cats. I love em now and will always love cats. There is something so ’special’ about them.

  21. nicole says:

    i have 3 cats but if wee go 2 years before i have 12 cats

  22. Sue Coker says:

    It is with sadness that we announce Reebok – the cat in the picture – passed away a the age of 16 on August 13th 2009. He will be missed terribly. What a great boy and a great life he lead. We emigrated to Canada in 1999 and he loved his home here

  23. jill says:

    well,naama,i have five so haha!! I love cats!! My own is named sawyer and is an orange tabby that is 20 pounds!!

  24. dorin says:

    i have one
    i love it

  25. brianna says:

    siamese cats breed like all other cats

  26. cory says:

    i love my cat hes so darn adorable im breedin him

  27. skye says:

    AWWWWWW!!!! I love cats and I have 3 of them… they are adorable!

  28. katie says:

    how can i get a pershen

  29. ruthann medviille says:

    I love all 8 of mine beyond belief-peaches, ben, quiera, moshie, rene, miriam, kadema and tikvah miss sifpj very much

  30. Susan says:

    The comment about them being hunters at heart is so true. We’ve taught ours to use what basically amounts to a toilet for kitty but he still runs after birds every chance he gets. Can’t change who they are!

  31. Meow EMMA says:

    CATS!!! That is a cute cat!!! Reebok is cute cute cute and cute. Sorry about what happend to Reebok. I am a cat fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! time : 1:20

  32. grace says:

    i like dogs and cats

  33. logan whitfield says:

    i hate cats but love dogs

  34. jackalope says:

    i have found that you never own a cat,they feel that the reverse is true

  35. Cheeks says:

    I love cats so much because I think they are so fuzzy!!!!!!!

  36. omen says:

    I have three cats. An orange tabby(Picachu),an angora,deaf(Snow White),and a calilco(Spooky Two). All three females. They are my best companions.

  37. Charree says:

    Aww! That cat looks like our cat(Hermione)!

  38. Kelli McLeavey says:

    This looks exactly like my kitty waffles!!!!!!!! ITs sooo weird!!!!!!

  39. majika says:

    so nice….! i have 7 cats..

  40. GOLU says:

    lovely cat, god bless and keep safe all wildlife

  41. Kyira1441 says:

    I have two wonderful kittycats, Scarlett and Romeo, they are the sweetest felines on this earth. Scarlett’s a nut and Romeo’s a laidback flamepoint Siamese. They are the best of the best!

  42. Brittany Krauth says:

    “MEOW!” Who likes cats around here? I LOVE cats!!!!!!!!!

  43. dakota says:

    they are so cute i would marry one

  44. Lucyna Jewel says:

    I Am ubsesd with DOGS!!!

  45. Nalini says:

    I Iove cats

  46. James says:

    great pic!

  47. koko wawa says:

    انا احب القطااااو وااااااااااااايد

  48. Autumn says:

    I absoltey l looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove cats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had 2.one was Sweetie the other one her name is Kitty. Kitty was the Devil & Sweetie was an angle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!;( I LOVE YOU SWEETIE

  49. Gina says:

    Cats are one of the most intelligent creatures around. Really they know exactly what they want.
    thanks for looking
    http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?B=98747&U=230335&M=9287

  50. Cynthia says:

    I am owned by 3 cats. Buddy 11, Miss Lily 4, and Pryncess Diva 3. All are rescuses after being dumped by unfeeling owner. They are my world. Waking me in the morning ,at 5 a.m.

    Of all the cats I have ever had the one I loved the most was my snow white shorthair named Loco. I had her for 12 years .Meanest cat in the world to everyone except me. My family kept telling me to get rid of her or I might get hurt. But one look into those big yellow eyes an you just melt . You could not help but love her , but beware of the claws. I do not beleive in declawing. Anyway, Loco lived most of her life outside until I move into a place that allowed cats.I now have Buddy 11, Miss Lily 4, and Pryncess Diva 3. They run the house and my life.

  51. siamese cats says:

    I have a 7 month old siamese and he was recently at my bf’s house where his mom has 4 cats. He hit it off with one of them and they played all day. He tends to have a ton of energy and its hard to get him to calm down unless he just woke up. Should I bring his mom’s cat up to my place for him?

  52. siamese cats says:

    are siamese cats more delicate and get sicker than most other types of cats? do they have a delicate stomach and immune system?

  53. siamese cats says:

    I don’t mean colors. I mean….. well I’ve seen siamese cats that are extremely skinney with pointy faces and very short hair and other siamese cats with longer hair and not so skinney. Are they not both siamese or are the longer haired ones maybe mixed?
    My friend’s cat had kittens and the father is siamese. I haven’t seen the kittens yet but was confused by the difference in pics I found when I did a search. She’s sending me some pictures. I hope they are the “apple heads”. I prefer the look of them.

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