EBay

In general, the company removes auctions that violate its terms of service agreement within a short time after hearing of the auction from an outsider; the company's policy is to not pre-approve transactions. If faced with conflicting evidence, the safe choice is to keep a cat indoors. On other occasions, people and even entire towns have been listed, often as a joke. FELV (feline leukemia), FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus), or rabies may be present in the area. In late 1999 a man offered one of his kidneys for auction on eBay, attempting to profit from the potentially lucrative (and, in the United States, illegal) market for transplantable human organs. Coyotes kill large numbers of housecats in the Southwestern United States, even in urban zones. There has also been controversy regarding items put up for bid that violate ethical standards. Additional concerns include potential dangers from larger predators and infectious diseases.

Some exceptions to this rule are made for rare aged liquors, where a bottle may sell for many times higher than its actual value in alcohol. Pet owners can contact veterinarians, ecological organizations, and universities for opinions about whether local conditions are suitable for outdoor cats. In June 2004, eBay prohibited the sale and auction of both alcohol and tobacco products on the British site ebay.co.uk. Environmental concerns may be minimal in most of England where cats are an established species and few to none of the local prey species are endangered. As of January 2006, there were over 25,000 members in the eBay Developers Program, comprising a broad range of companies creating software applications and services to support eBay buyers and sellers as well as eBay Affiliates. Serious concerns also exist in places such as Florida where housecats are not native, where several small sized endangered species live near human populations, and where the climate allows cats to breed throughout the year. Software developers can create applications that integrate with eBay through the eBay API by joining the eBay Developers Program. The most severe impact occurs with island ecologies.

Regional searches of the database make shipping slightly more rapid or cheaper. The amount of ecological damage done by indoor/outdoor cats depends on local conditions. Large international companies, such as IBM, sell their newest products and offer services on eBay using competitive auctions and fixed-priced storefronts. Owners who can no longer keep their cats would do best to give them to friends, rescue organizations, or shelters. It is fair to say that eBay has revolutionized the collectibles market by bringing together buyers and sellers internationally in a huge, never-ending yard sale and auction. Nearly all studies agree that abandoned animals lead hard lives. Services and intangibles can be sold too. Part of this stems from humane concern for the cats themselves and part arises from concerns about cat predation on endangered species.

Anything can be sold as long as it is not illegal or on the eBay banned list. The environmental impact of feral cat programs and of indoor/outdoor cats is a subject of debate. Some items are rare and valuable, while many others are dusty gizmos that would have been discarded if not for the thousands of eager bidders worldwide, proving that if one has a big enough market, one will find someone willing to buy anything. Many hope to see an end to urban feral cat colonies through these efforts. Millions of collectibles, appliances, computers, furniture, equipment, vehicles, and other miscellaneous items are listed, bought, and sold daily. In time, if an entire colony is successfully spayed and neutered, no additional kittens are born and the feral colony disappears. Meg is credited with building the company to what it is today. Volunteers continue to feed and give care to these cats throughout their lives, and not only is their lifespan greatly increased, but behavior and nuisance problems, due to competition for food, are also greatly reduced.

She joined eBay when the company had 30 employees and operated solely in the United States; eBay is now a global organization with over 9,000 employees. Before release back into their feral colonies, the attending veterinarian nips the tip off one ear to mark the feral as spayed/neutered and inoculated, as these cats will more than likely find themselves trapped again. Margaret (Meg) Whitman joined the company in March 1998. However, there are thousands of volunteers and organizations that trap these unadoptable feral felines, spay or neuter them, immunize the cats against rabies and feline leukemia, and treat them with long-lasting flea products. Omidyar had tried to register the domain name EchoBay.com but found it already taken by the Echo Bay Mines, a gold mining company, so he shortened it to his second choice, eBay.com. In addition, they have little defense or understanding of the dangers from dogs, coyotes, and even automobiles. Originally, the site belonged to Echo Bay Technology Group, Omidyar's consulting firm. Although cats are adaptable, feral felines are unable to thrive in extreme cold and heat, and with a protein requirement of about 90%, few find adequate nutrition on their own in cities.

It officially changed its name to eBay in September 1997. Urban areas are not native environments to the cat; most domestic cats were artificially selected from cats in desert climates and were distributed throughout the world by humans, but some feral cat colonies are found in large cities, for example, around the Colosseum and Forum Romanum in Rome. This was revealed in Adam Cohen's 2002 book and confirmed by eBay.). The average lifespan of these feral cats is much shorter than a domestic housecat, which can live an average of sixteen years or more. Astonished, he contacted the winning bidder and asked, "did he not understand the laser pointer was broken?" Omidyar received the following email in reply: "I'm a collector of broken laser pointers." (The frequently repeated story that eBay was founded to help Omidyar's fiancee trade PEZ Candy dispensers was fabricated by a public relations manager in 1997 to interest the media. Many lost or abandoned pet cats join these colonies out of desperation. The first item sold was Omidyar's broken laser pointer for $14.83. Feral cats may live alone, but most are found in large groups called feral colonies with communal nurseries, depending on resource availability.

Founded in San Jose, California on September 4, 1995 by Pierre Omidyar and Jeff Skoll as Auctionweb, part of a larger personal site that included, among other things, Omidyar's own tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Ebola virus. Not only males will fight; females will also fight over territory or to defend their kittens and even neutered cats will defend their small territories vigorously. . Sexually active males may be engaged in many fights over their lives and often have decidedly weathered faces with obvious scars and cuts to the ears and nose. eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) manages an online auction and shopping website, where people buy and sell goods and services worldwide. Attacks usually comprise powerful slaps to the face and body with the forepaws as well as bites, but serious damage is rarely done, and usually the loser runs away with little more than a few scratches to the face. Another concern with "fee avoidance" is that most sellers will not refund shipping so if a $1 item with a $50 shipping fee turns up faulty, the buyer is only eligible to a refund for the $1. Fighting cats make themselves look larger by raising their fur and arching their backs.

This is called "fee avoidance" and is not allowed by eBay; such auctions are cancelled when they are reported. Outside of these neutral areas, territory holders usually vigorously chase away strangers, at first by staring, hissing, and growling, and if that does not work by short but noisy and violent attacks. Since eBay charges their fees based on final sales price and not shipping, this allows sellers to reduce the amount they pay eBay in fees and for buyers to avoid importing fees and taxes into their country. While each cat holds a distinct territory (sexually active males having the largest territories, and neutered cats having the smallest), there are "neutral" areas where cats watch and greet one another without territorial conflict or aggression. Some users sell items for extremely low prices (usually using the Buy It Now feature) and then make up for it by overcharging on shipping. Some breeds like bengal, ocicat and manx are very social, but these breeds are exceptions. Conversely, sometimes very cheap items, like envelopes, are sold for high prices because they come with free airline vouchers or concert tickets, in order not to violate the terms on these items. Despite its reputation as a solitary animal, the domestic cat is social enough to form colonies, but does not attack in groups as do lions.

This is not allowed by eBay. They may even present such victims, dead or maimed, to a beloved owner, perhaps expecting their owner to praise or reward them, or possibly even complete the kill and eat the mouse. Some users try to sell something which, on first glance, appears to be an expensive item for cheap (game console boxes are quite popular), and state clearly in the description that they are paying for an item which is not the one implied. Many pet cats successfully hunt and kill rabbits, rodents, birds, lizards, frogs, fish, and large insects by instinct, but might not eat their prey. [21] Sabbouha is a verb to describe shill bidding which originated from an old Lebanese Legend. Hunting in the barns and the fields, they kill and eat rodents that would otherwise spoil large parts of the grain crop. [20] Furthermore, shill bidding is a crime in many jurisdictions, and can be prosecuted under United States wire fraud laws. In rural areas, farms often have dozens of semi-feral cats.

(This is also known as "bid padding".) Shill bidding is not allowed on eBay. Indoor confinement of pets and TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) programs for feral cats can help in this situation; some people also use cat deterrents to discourage cats from entering their property. Shill bidding is the deliberate use of secondary registrations, aliases, family members, friends, or associates to artificially drive up the bid price of an item. Unaltered animals can engage in persistent nighttime calling (caterwauling) and defecation or "marking" on private property. [19]. In urban areas, some people find feral and free roaming pet cats annoying and intrusive. eBay's "proxy bidding" feature allows the buyer to specify the maximum they are willing to pay for an item regardless of "snipes". Recent studies have indicated the humans who are exposed to cats or dogs within the first year of their lives develop few animal allergies, while most adults who are allergic to animals did not have a cat or a dog as a pet in childhood.

Many other auction sites, such as Yahoo! Auctions, offer an option which extends the auction by some minutes when a last-minute bid is placed, in order to prevent sniping. Many chose to cope with cat allergies by taking prescription allergy medicine and bathing their cats frequently, since weekly bathing will eliminate about 90% of the cat dander present in the environment. This practice is allowed on eBay. However, in some instances, humans find the rewards of cat companionship outweigh the discomfort and problems associated with allergies. Bid sniping is placing a high bid during the last few seconds of an auction such that no time remains for other users to counterbid. Allergies to cat dander are one of the most common reasons people cite for disliking cats. Human parts and remains [17]. Some owners like to train their cat to perform "tricks" commonly exhibited by dogs such as jumping.

There was a demand for this kind of garment amongst sexual fetishists, and these garments would often fetch hundreds of dollars. finding a bug crawling on the floor for the owner to get rid of). Sellers would post descriptions specifically emphasising that they had worn these undergarments for days, a week or more, especially during exercise. The cat may also be capable of learning to communicate with the human using non-spoken language or body language such as rubbing for affection (confirmation), facial expressions and making eye-contact with the owner if something needs to be addressed (e.g. Dirty used clothing [16] This policy arose because a thriving market in used jock-straps and underwear had emerged on ebay. Other behaviors could include mimicking sounds of the owner or using certain sounds the cat picks up from the human; sounds representing specific needs of the cat, which the owner would recognize. Firearms and ammunition [15]. Such behavior may include a trip to the litter box before bedtime and snuggling up close to its companion in bed or on the sofa.

Bootleg recordings [14]. When a cat bonds with its human owner, at times, the cat may display behaviors similar to that of the human. Nazi paraphernalia [13]. Some people (known as cat lovers) go to great lengths to pamper their cats, sometimes treating them almost as if they were children. Alcohol (alcohol-related collectibles, including sealed containers, as well as wine sales by licensed sellers are allowed) [12]. Some humans keep cats for companionship as pets. Tobacco (tobacco-related items and collectibles are allowed) [11]. Human attitudes toward cats vary widely.

[10]. However, cats can be very affectionate towards their humans, especially if they imprint on them at a very young age and are treated with consistent affection. a European buyer sold a Vauxhall VX220 that was said to have been baptized. Thus, communicating with such an animal is problematic, and cats in particular are labelled as opaque or inscrutable, if not obtuse, as well as aloof and self-sufficient. [9]. No such communications skills are required of the lone hunter. The item failed to sell. This requires a cooperative effort, which in turn requires communications skills.

For $100, a man said that he would take a pair of jean his girlfriend made, and shoot them, and drag them behind his tractor, with a fee per shot/starting up the tractor. A dog's odor, on the other hand, is an advantage, for a dog is a pack hunter; part of the pack stations itself upwind, and its odor drives prey towards the rest of the pack stationed downwind. [8]. The "purpose" of this cleanliness is to help hide the cat's presence while stalking prey. A Coventry University student got £1.20p for a single cornflake. It is no coincidence that cats are also "clean" animals, the chemistry of their saliva, expended in frequent grooming, acting as a natural deodorant. [7]. Despite occasional cohabitation in colonies, cats are lone hunters.

The few tablespoons came from a plastic cup Presley sipped at a concert in North Carolina in 1977. The venerable simile "like herding cats" refers to the seeming intractability of the ordinary house cat to be trained in the manner of the dog. Water that was said to have been left in a cup Elvis Presley once drank from was sold for $455. A cat that is good at hunting rodents is referred to as a mouser. An incomplete package of diapers, bought and opened in the 1980s, raised more than $700US for the Children and Families Ministry at a United Church in Victoria, British Columbia (Canada). Unlike the dog, which also kills rodents, the cat did not eat grains, fruits, or vegetables. The owner of Cockeyed.com sold advertising space comprising a single pixel on its homepage for 21 days for $100 [6]. Since the benefit of removing rats and mice from humans' food stores outweighed the cost of allowing a formerly wild animal to enjoy the relative safety of a human settlement, the relationship between cat and human flourished.

A bargain considering he was one of the five best and most complete mammoth skeletons in the world, consisting of 90% of his original bone material. Cats, however, have done so for a much shorter time than almost all other domesticated animals, and the degree of domestication of cats is somewhat disputed. Max was put up for sale in 2004 by his Dutch owner due to lack of space and sold for £61,000. Like some other domesticated animals, cats live in a mutualistic arrangement with humans. With a minimum bid set at US $250,000. one blue eye and one amber eye. A 50,000-year-old mammoth. Apart from the Turkish Angora, there are also many non-pedigree white cats that have odd eyes, i.e.

A Sydney man pocketed AUS$1,035 after auctioning a piece of Nutri-Grain resembling ET, in Dec 2004. It was not until recently that colored Turkish Angoras were allowed to be shown, making deafness an issue in that breed. She promptly sealed it in a plastic bag where it remained, free of mold, for over 10 years until its sale on eBay. ^[21] Some breeds however, such as the Turkish Angora are based on all white cats and produce a higher percentage of deaf cats as a results. The seller claimed to see the Virgin Mary toasted into the bread when she made the sandwich in 1994. Many people believe that deaf white cats should not be used for breeding as it is not ethical to propagate such a disability, and instead deaf cats should be spayed or neutered to avoid passing the trait to their offspring. On November 23, 2004, a grilled cheese sandwich with a likeness of the Virgin Mary on it sold for $28,000 to the online casino GoldenPalace.com. Very few survive in the wild because of all the hazards that they cannot avoid as easily as other cats would in the same situation.

[5]. Around 5% of all cats are completely white, of which 10%–20% are deaf. The winning bid was $1691.66, and the winner rode in the front seat. Humans with common albinism, white skin and blue eyes generally suffer from visual problems, but in Tietz syndrome they suffer from deafness. There was at one point an auction for the first ride on Kingda Ka, the tallest roller coaster on Earth. This may diminish the cats' visual acuity, but the extent is not known. [4]. ^[20] Often, blue eyes will lack a tapetum lucidum and thus will not reflect like colored cat eyes.

In September 2004, the owner of MagicGoat.com sold the contents of his trash can to a middle school language arts teacher, who had her students write essays about the trash. ^[19] However, blindness in cats has not found to be associated with the W gene. While he initially admitted he was selling the dress to earn some money for Mariners tickets, the bidding got into the thousands of dollars, and the seller actually had received a number of marriage proposals from viewers. This also occurs with dogs if they have white coat and blue eyes, and in the case of dogs, it can be equally common for them to be born blind. In more than one way, the seller received much more than he expected. Blue eyes can also result from the form of albinism characteristic of the siamese breed; white cats from this genetic background, sometimes called Foreign whites or Oriental Shorthairs may not have a problem with deafness, but it can happen if the cat inherits the W gene. In 2004, a Seattle man posted pictures of himself wearing his ex-wife's wedding dress. ^[18] Any cat that receives even one W from one parent may exhibit this.

[3]. Blue irises can result, and they are linked to deafness. The winning bid was made by the GoldenPalace.com online casino, known for their outrageous eBay purchases. This gene produces a white coat because it completely masks any other color or pattern the cat has. In May 2005, a Volkswagen Golf that had previously been registered to Cardinal Josef Ratzinger (who had been elected Pope Benedict XVI the previous month) was sold on eBay's German site for €188,938.88. The deafness is an effect of the W gene. In June 2005, Karolyne Smith sold the right to permanently tattoo an ad on her forehead to GoldenPalace.com for $10,000. Completely white cats (not due to albinism, but white because of the dominant epistatic white (W) gene) with two blue eyes have a forty percent probability of being born deaf.

[2]. Kittens are weaned at between six and seven weeks, and cats normally reach sexual maturity at six months (females) to seven months (males). In January 2006, the last 100 pixels of the milliondollarhomepage were sold for $38,100. The size of a litter averages three to five kittens, with the first litter usually smaller than subsequent litters. That sold for approximately $100,000 and one of the contestant podiums sold for nearly $10,000 (proceeds of the set's sale went to charity). The gestation period for cats is approximately 60 days. Actual portions of the 1996-2001 Jeopardy! set, including the 9-foot-high Jeopardy! logo that was etched in glass as the backdrop. Furthermore, cats are superfecund; that is, a female may mate with more than one male when she is in heat, meaning different kittens in a litter may have different fathers.

Round of golf with Tiger Woods ($425,000). Because of this, females are rarely impregnated by the first male with which they mate. Shoeless Joe Jackson's "Black Betsy" baseball bat ($577,610). The female needs this stimulation for ovulation to begin. Ferrari Enzo ($975,000, October 2004)[1]. Upon withdrawal of the penis, the spines rake the walls of the female's vagina. Diamond Lake Resort, western Kentucky ($1.2 million). The male cat's penis has spines which point backwards.

1909 Honus Wagner baseball card ($1.65 million). A heat period lasts about 4 to 7 days if the female is bred; if she is not, the heat period lasts longer and recurs at regular intervals. Grumman Gulfstream II jet ($4.9 million). Cats are seasonally polyestrous, which means they may have many heat periods over the course of a year. A 340-year-old copy of Shakespeare's Pericles, Prince of Tyre, which survived the Great Fire of London in 1666 (£5million). If a cat is continually exposed to water from a very young age, often it will develop a fondness for it; however, this rarely if ever occurs naturally. In 2005, the Australian NRL tried unsuccessfully to persuade eBay to prevent scalpers from selling grand final tickets online. Most cats dislike immersion in water, but one exception is the Turkish Van cat.

Normally, selling of charity tickets is legal under UK law. Although certain breeds such as the Norwegian Forest Cat and Maine Coon have developed more protection than others, they have little resistance against fog, rain and snow and struggle to maintain their 39 °C (102 °F) body temperature when wet. Following a statement from Bob Geldof that declared eBay a "cyber pimp", many of these auctions were bombarded with fake bids. Being closely related to desert animals, cats can withstand the heat and cold of a temperate climate, but not for long periods. On 14 June 2005 eBay removed auction listings for originally free tickets to the Live 8 charity auction amid hundreds of complaints about such auctions. People start to feel uncomfortable when their skin's temperature gets higher than about 44.5 °C (112 °F), but cats don't start to show signs of discomfort until their skin reaches about 52 °C (126 °F). eBay strongly supported Baazee. Cats like to be a lot warmer than humans do.

The Indian government attempted to make the case that Bajaj broke a law under India's IT Act, that forbids "publishing, transmitting or causing to publish" obscene material, even though the actual material was never published on Baazee's servers. Cats enjoy heat and solar exposure, often sleeping in a warm area during the heat of the day. The company denied knowing the content of what they were selling (because it is a venue, not a retailer) and removed the offensive material as soon as they became aware of it. In North Africa there are still small wildcats that are probably related closely to the ancestors of today's domesticated breeds. On 17 December 2004 Avnish Bajaj, CEO of eBay's Indian subsidiary Baazee.com, was arrested after a video clip showing oral sex between two Indian students was sold online. They are able to remain motionless for long periods, especially when observing prey and preparing to pounce. These offenses occurred prior to eBay's purchase of PayPal. Their feces are usually dry, and cats prefer to bury them in sandy places.

PayPal was also forced out of this market, which accounted for some 6% of its volume. Wild cats are native to all continents other than Australasia and Antarctica. According to the settlement, PayPal between mid-2000 and November 2002 transmitted money in violation of various US federal and state online gambling laws. The wild cat, ancestor of the domestic cat, is believed to have evolved in a desert climate, as evident in the behavior common to both the domestic and wild forms. On 28 July 2003 eBay and its subsidiary PayPal agreed to pay a $10 million fine to settle allegations that they aided illegal offshore and online gambling. One popular, relatively inexpensive alternative to declawing is the application of vinyl nail caps that are affixed to the claws with nontoxic glue, requiring periodic replacement when the cat sheds its claw sheaths (usually every four to six weeks). The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case in 2006. In Britain, where the prevailing style of ownership is indoor/outdoor, shelters find it difficult to rehome imported cats that had previously been declawed.

As of Nov 2005, eBay has appealed to the US Supreme Court to effectively block injunctive relief to patent holder MercExchange. Some cats that are not declawed and cannot be retrained are either abandoned or turned in to animal shelters, where they may be euthanized. The decision was appealed to the US Federal Court of Appeals and was upheld in part and rejected on others. However, many American cats are still declawed, often when the owner finds that it is the only option for keeping the cat (sometimes it is mandated by landlords). The jury found for plaintiff MercExchange, which had accused eBay in 2001 of infringing on three patents (two of which are used in eBay's "Buy It Now" feature for fixed-price sales) held by MercExchange founder Tom Woolston. If a cat is not declawed at an early age, it becomes too dangerous to declaw them when they are older. On 28 May 2003 a US District Court federal jury found eBay guilty of patent infringement and ordered the company to pay US$35 million in damages. Additionally, some experts believe that declawed cats are more inclined to bite.

Returning items other than received. Declawing surgery requires anesthesia, which carries with it a small risk of death. Receiving merchandise and claiming otherwise. Some doctors believe that a loss of the cat's claws causes a loss of its ability to balance on thin objects, such as rails or balconies. Credit card fraud. Other experts mention difficulties with the cat's typical stretching and exercise habits, which can lead to muscle atrophy. Buyer than has free goods and has income equal to the amount he spent on the item.). Where it is legal, some cat veterinarians refuse to do this type of surgery because it deprives the cat of its main defense ability, although cats usually learn to donkey kick or rake with their hind claws in defense.

Filing a shipping claim for damaged merchandise and collecting the money from the shipping company, then filing a chargeback on paypal for damaged merchandise, then refusing to return goods. ^[17]. PayPal fraud (e.g. In Germany and Switzerland, declawing cats is explicitly forbidden by the laws against cruelty to animals.^[16] In many other European countries, it is also forbidden under the terms of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, unless "a veterinarian considers [such] non-curative procedures necessary either for veterinary medical reasons or for the benefit of any particular animal". Inflating total bid amounts by bidding against their own auction with a "shill" account. This operation is rare outside of North America. Selling stolen goods. Declawing is not a simple procedure; serious complications can arise, such as an increased risk of infections, or life-long discomfort in the cat's paws.

Counterfeit merchandise. Some people are opposed to declawing, claiming it is inhumane. Shipping faulty merchandise. This major surgery removes the tip of each digit (from the first knuckle out) of the cat's forepaws. Shipping items other than those described. Some cat owners choose to have their cat declawed (onychectomy). Receiving payment and not shipping merchandise. Indoor cats will also benefit from being provided with a scratching post so they are less likely to ruin furniture with their claws.^[15] Nails can be trimmed, but care should be taken to avoid cutting a vein in the quick of the claw.

A user may be reluctant to leaving honest feedback out of fear of negative retaliatory feedback (including negative in retaliation for neutral). ^[14]. Small and large transactions carry the same weight in the feedback summary. When training is complete, the cat uses the toilet by perching over the bowl. In August 2005, eBay bought Skype, a VoIP company, for $2.6 billion in stock and cash. For a short time, an adapter, such as a bowl or small box, may be used to suspend the litter above the toilet bowl. In June 2005, eBay acquired Shopping.com, a online comparison site for $635 Million USD. Training involves two or three weeks of incremental moves, such as moving and elevating the litterbox until it is near the toilet.

In May 2005, eBay acquired Gumtree, a network of UK local city classifieds sites. In addition, some cats may be toilet trained, eliminating the litterbox and its attending expense and odor. On December 16, 2004, eBay acquired rent.com for $30 million in cash and $385 million in ebay stock. Transmission risk may be reduced by daily litterbox cleaning. This was a Dutch competitor which had a 80% market share in the Netherlands, by concentrating more on small ads than actual auctions. Litterboxes may pose a risk of toxoplasmosis transmission to susceptible pregnant women and immuno-compromised individuals. In November 2004, eBay acquired Marktplaats.nl for €225 million. ^[13]) A litterbox is recommended for indoor-outdoor cats as well.

(IAC), buying nearly 3 million shares of the Korean online trading company for 125,000 Korean won (about US$109) per share. It should be cleaned daily and changed often (depending on the number of cats in a household and the type of litter—clumping litter stays cleaner longer, but has been reported to cause health problems in some cats. In September 2004, eBay moved forward on its acquisition of Korean rival Internet Auction Co. This arrangement serves the same purpose as a toilet for humans. On August 13, 2004, eBay took a 25% stake in craigslist.org by buying out an existing shareholder who was once a craigslist employee. Indoor cats may be provided a litter box containing sand or similar commercial material (litter). On June 22, 2004, eBay acquired all outstanding shares of Baazee.com, an Indian auction site for approximately US $50 million in cash, plus acquisition costs. Cats expend nearly as much fluid grooming as they do urinating.

acquired EachNet, a leading ecommerce company in China, paying approximately $150 million in cash. Hairballs can be prevented with certain cat foods and remedies that ease elimination of the hair. On July 11, 2003 eBay Inc. Longhair cats are more prone to this than shorthairs. In July, 2002, eBay acquired PayPal, for $1.5 billion in stock. Some cats occasionally regurgitate hair balls of fur that have collected in their stomachs as a result of their grooming. In August, 2001, eBay acquired Mercado Libre, Lokau and iBazar, Latin Americas auction sites. Many cats also enjoy grooming humans or other cats.

In June, 2000, eBay acquired Half.com, which was later integrated with the eBay Marketplace. Some people who are allergic to cats - typically manifested by hay fever, asthma or a skin rash - quickly acclimate themselves to a particular animal and live comfortably in the same house with it, while retaining an allergy to cats in general. In 1999, eBay acquired the auction house Alando for $43 million, which changed then to eBay Germany. Their saliva is a powerful cleaning agent, but it can provoke allergic reactions in humans. In 1999, eBay acquired the auction house Butterfield & Butterfield, which it sold in 2002 to Bonhams. They groom themselves by licking their fur. In May, 1999, eBay acquired the online payment service Billpoint, which it shut down after acquiring Paypal. Cats are known for their cleanliness.

In some cases, cats have contributed to or caused extinctions — for example, see the case of the Stephens Island Wren. Cats can be destructive to ecosystems in which they are not native and whose species did not have time to adapt to their introduction. Because of their small size, domestic cats pose almost no danger to humans—the only hazard is the possibility of infection (or, rarely, rabies) from a cat bite or scratch. Some people discourage the use of laser pointers for play with pets, however, because of the risk of eye damage and the loss of satisfaction (especially for cats) associated with the successful capture of prey.

This is because, if the string is ingested, it can be caught in the cat’s stomach or intestines causing illness or, in extreme cases, death. However, string is more often being replaced with a red dot laser pointer. This propensity is probably related to their hunting instinct. This notorious love of string is often depicted in cartoons and photographs, which show kittens or cats playing with balls of yarn.

Many cannot resist a dangling piece of string, or a piece of rope drawn randomly and enticingly across the floor. Domestic cats, especially young ones, are known for their love of string play. Many "people foods" are not good for cats; chocolate, for example, can be fatal due to the theobromine found in chocolate (see theobromine poisoning). Additionally, cats have been known to develop a fondness for "people food" such as barbecued chicken, bread, french fries, pepperoni pizza, ice cream, tomato soup, carrot juice, olives, and carnitas burritos, as well as cat diet exotica such as corn kernels and diced cantaloupe.

This mostly happens when the vomeronasal, or Jacobson's, organ becomes sensitized to a specific food, at which point the cat will reject any food that doesn't fit the pattern it is expecting. Cats can be fussy eaters. ^[12]. Eating vegetation in this way may aid the cat's digestive system and can prevent hairballs.

They do not eat a lot in one sitting, but prefer to have it as a snack. Cats are also known to munch on grass, leaves, shrubs and houseplants. Some vegetarian owners feed their cats a vegetarian diet containing supplemental taurine. Despite this, however, the majority of brand-name cat foods are primarily grain based, often containing large amounts of corn or rice and supplemented with meats and essential vitamins.

This contrasts with domesticated dogs, which commonly are fed a mixture of meat and vegetable products and have been adapted in some cases to a vegetarian diet. Lactose-free milk is perfectly safe, but still not a substitute for meat. Cow's milk is a poor source of taurine and adult cats are generally lactose intolerant. This condition is called central retinal degeneration (CRD).

Specifically this applies to taurine, the absence of which causes the cat's retina to slowly degenerate, causing eye problems and (eventually) irreversible blindness. In captivity, cats cannot be adapted to an unsupplemented vegetarian diet because they cannot synthesize all the amino acids they need from plant material. Cats, including the great cats, have a genetic anomaly that prevents them from tasting sweetness ^[11], which is probably related to their meat-only habits. Whereas bears and dogs commonly supplement their diet of meat with fruits, berries, roots, and honey when they can get them, cats feed exclusively on meat, usually freshly killed.

Unlike most carnivores, cats eat almost no vegetable matter apart from that found in the digestive tracts of their prey. These papillae are small backward-facing hooks that contain keratin and assist in their grooming. The cat's tongue has sharp spines, or papillae, designed to retain and rip flesh from a carcass. While this is present in canines, it is highly developed in felines.

The premolar and first molar together compose the carnassial pair on each side of the mouth, which efficiently functions to shear meat like a pair of scissors. Cats have highly specialized teeth and a digestive tract suitable to the digestion of meat. An exception is the leopard, which commonly hunts rabbits and many other smaller animals. Although, theoretically, big cats can kill most of these species as well, they often do not due to the relatively low nutritional content that smaller animals provide.

The domestic cat can hunt and eat about one thousand species—many big cats will eat fewer than 100. They ambush and dispatch vertebrate prey using tactics similar to those of leopards and tigers by pouncing; they then deliver a lethal neck bite with their long canine teeth that severs the victim's spinal cord, or asphyxiate it by crushing the windpipe. Relative to size, domestic cats are very effective predators. The scent glands on the underside of their paws release small amounts of scent onto the person or object being pawed, marking it as "theirs" in the same way they would urinate to mark their territory.

Pawing is also a way for cats to mark their territory. As a result, cats that are hand-raised by humans may lack this reflex. It is instinctive to cats, and they use it when they are young to stimulate the mother cat's nipple to release milk during nursing. The action is often referred to as paddy-pawing, making muffins or treading paws.

Cats often use this action alongside purring to show contentment and affection for their owners. When cats are happy, they are known to paw their owners, or that on which they sit, with a kneading motion. Touching noses is a friendly greeting for cats, while a lowered head is a sign of submission. Tailless cats, such as the Manx (cat), who possess only a small stub of a tail move the stub around as though they possessed a full tail, though it is not nearly as communicative as that of a fully tailed cat.

A scared cat may puff up its tail and the hair along its back and turn its body sideways to a threat in order to increase its apparent size. A tail held high is a sign of happiness, while half-raised shows less pleasure, and unhappiness is indicated with a tail held low. Cats will twitch the tips of their tails when hunting or angry, while larger twitching indicates displeasure. Shorthair cats are more prone to this problem.

Although this condition can be treated through the addition of a small amount of bran to each meal, it may require veterinary attention. Anal irritation, possibly shown by the cat rubbing its bottom on the floor and frequent licking of the area, can be a sign that the cat's anal sacs are not being emptied when waste passes ^[10]. During moments of excitement or other strong emotions, a cat's anal sac may discharge, releasing a foul-smelling brown liquid. These scent-producing anal sacs are found in all predators; those of the skunk are used for self-defense, for example.

When passing solid waste, cats, like many types of predators, release from anal glands a small amount of liquid that scents their feces, to mark their territory. Since this feline expression often involves a mouth movement similar to the one they would use to kill their prey (their "killing bite"), they may be trying to practice this mouth movement in anticipation. When directed at out-of-reach prey, it is unknown whether this is a threatening sound, an expression of frustration, or an attempt to replicate a birdcall (or replicate the call of a bird's prey, for example a cicada). Cats are also known to make chirping noises when observing prey, or as a means of expressing interest in an object to nearby humans.

Cat scratches can easily become infected, and in extreme cases can result in cat scratch fever. With cats who are improperly socialised and do not know their own strength, this can result in inadvertent damage to human skin. Some may engage in nipping behavior or batting with their paws, either with claws extended or retracted. Most cats growl or hiss when angered or in danger.

For example, cats have been known to purr when hurt. However, purring may also be a way for the cat to calm itself down. In addition to purring, happy cats may blink slowly or partially close their eyes to break any possible stares and communicate their ease in the situation. It is possible for a cat to call out and purr simultaneously, although this is typical only in very vocal cats.

Currently, though, it is believed that purring is a result of rhythmic impulses to the cat's larynx. Until recently, there were many competing theories to explain how cats purr, including vibration of the cat's false vocal chords when inhaling and exhaling, the sound of blood hitting the aorta, vibration of the hyoid apparatus, or resonation directly in the lungs. Cats purr among other cats—for example, when a mother meets her kittens. Cats can also produce a purring noise that typically indicates that the cat is happy, but also can mean that it feels distress.

Some cats, however, do not exercise their voices a lot, so their call may remain similar to that of a kitten through adulthood. A kitten's call first starts out as a high-pitched squeak-like sound when very young, and then deepens over time. Cats are capable of about 100 different vocalisations, compared to about 10 for dogs. Some cats are very vocal, and others rarely call out.

Usually cats call out to indicate pain, request human attention (to be fed or played with, for example), or as a greeting. The cat's pronunciation of this call varies significantly depending on meaning. Heinlein's The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, was written as "blert", while the sound made by Bill the Cat in Berkeley Breathed's comic strip Bloom County was generally described as "ack". The sound of an increasingly annoyed cat is transcribed in James Joyce's Ulysses as "mkgnao", "mrkgnao" and "mrkrgnao" ^[9], and the sound made by Pixel, the title character of Robert A.

The unique sound a small cat makes is written onomatopoeically as "meow" in American English; "meow" or "miaow" in British English; "miaou" or "miaw" in French; "miao" in Mandarin Chinese and Italian; "miau" in German, Spanish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Polish, Croatian, Romanian and Portuguese; "miau" or "מיאו" in Hebrew;"miyav" in Turkish; "mjäu" in Estonian; "mowa'a" in Arabic; "nyaa" or "nyan" in Japanese; "meong" or "ngeong" in Bahasa Indonesia; "ngiau" in Malay; "yaong" or "nyaong" in Korean; and various ways in other languages. Some scientists believe this is related to the cat's diet being naturally high in protein, though it is unclear whether it is the cause or the result of it. According to National Geographic (December 8), cats cannot taste sugary foods due to a faulty sweet receptor gene. Whiskers point forward when the cat is inquisitive and friendly, and lie flat on the face when the cat is being defensive or aggressive.

Whiskers are also an indication of the cat's attitude. The whiskers also spread out roughly as wide as the cat's body making it able to judge if it can fit through an opening. It is thought that a cat may choose to rely on the whiskers in dim light where fully dilating the pupils would reduce its ability to focus on close objects. The upper two rows of whiskers can move independently from the lower two rows for even more precise measuring.

Whiskers may detect very small shifts in air currents, enabling a cat to know it is near obstructions without actually seeing them. Whiskers (technically called vibrissae) can aid with navigation and sensation. Whiskers may also be found on the cat's "elbows." The Sphynx (a nearly hairless breed) may have full length, short, or no whiskers at all. Cats generally have about a dozen whiskers in four rows on each upper lip, a few on each cheek, tufts over the eyes and bristles on the chin.

Gaping is the equivalent of the Flehmen response in other animals, such as dogs and horses. This is called gaping. When a cat wrinkles its muzzle, lowers its chin, and lets its tongue hang a bit, it is opening the passage to the vomeronasal. Cats also have a scent organ in the roof of their mouths called the vomeronasal, or Jacobson's, organ.

Cats have twice as many smell-sensitive cells in their noses as people do, which means they can smell things we are not even aware of. A domestic cat's sense of smell is about 14 times stronger than a human's. Cats can judge within three inches (7.5 cm) the location of a sound being made one yard (approximately one meter) away. When listening for something, a cat's ears will swivel in that direction; a cat's ear flaps (pinnae) can independently point backwards as well as forwards and sideways to pinpoint the source of the sound.

Cats can hear 2 octaves higher than humans, and one-half octave higher than dogs. Humans and cats have a similar range of hearing on the low end of the scale, but cats can hear much higher-pitched sounds, even better than dogs. If a cat chronically shows the third eyelid, it should be taken to a veterinarian. This membrane partially closes if the cat is sick; although in a sleepy, content cat this membrane is often visible.

Cats have a third eyelid, the nictitating membrane, which is a thin cover that closes from the side and appears when the cat's eyelid opens. Cats can apparently differentiate among colors, especially at close range, but without appreciable subtlety. Instead of the fovea which gives humans sharp central vision, cats have a central band known as the visual streak. Field of view is largely dependent upon the placement of the eyes, but may also be related to the eye's construction.

As with most predators, their eyes face forward, affording depth perception at the expense of field of view. Average cats have a visual field of view estimated at 200°, versus 180° in humans, with a binocular field (overlap in the images from each eye) narrower than that of humans. Variation in color of cats' eyes in flash photographs is largely due to the interaction of the flash with the tapetum. The tapetum and other mechanisms give the cat a minimum light detection threshold up to 7 times lower than that of humans.

In very bright light, the slit-like iris closes very narrowly over the eye, reducing the amount of light on the sensitive retina, and improving depth of field. While this enhances the ability to see in low light, it appears to reduce net visual acuity, thus detracting when light is abundant. Cats, like dogs, have a tapetum lucidum that reflects extra light to the retina. Testing indicates that a cat's vision is superior at night in comparison to humans, and inferior in daylight.

These along with the cat's highly advanced eyesight, taste, and touch receptors make the cat extremely sensitive among mammals. While a cat's senses of smell and hearing may not be as keen as, say, those of a mouse, they are superior in many ways to those of humans. Measuring the senses of any animal can be difficult, because there is usually no explicit communication (e.g., reading aloud the letters of a Snellen chart) between the subject and the tester.. Thus extending the claws is an involuntary action.

It is only by stretching, such as swatting at prey, that the connecting tendons are pulled taut, forcing the claws to extend. This is done to keep the claws sharp by preventing wear from contact with the ground. This is actually a misnomer because in their normal, relaxed position the claws are sheathed with the skin and fur around the toe pads. Like many predators, cats have retractable claws.

They are capable of walking very precisely, placing each hind paw directly in the print of the corresponding forepaw, minimising noise and visible tracks. Cats, like dogs, are digitigrades: they walk directly on their toes, the bones of their feet making up the lower part of the visible leg. Certain breeds that don't have a tail are a notable exception, since a cat moves its tail and relies on conservation of angular momentum to set up for landing. ^[8] It always rights itself in the same way, provided it has the time to do so during a fall.

During a fall, a cat can reflexively twist its body and right itself using its acute sense of balance and flexibility. They do usually, but not always. A popular belief holds that cats always land on their feet. For a cat at rest, the average heart rate should be between 150 and 180 bpm, depending upon level of activity.

A domestic cat's normal heart rate ranges from 140 to 220 beats per minute, and is largely dependent on how excited the cat is. Comparatively, humans have a normal temperature of approximately 37 °C (97 to 100 °F). The normal body temperature of a cat is between 38 and 39 °C (101 and 102.2 °F).^[7] A cat is considered febrile if it has a temperature of 39.5 °C (103 °F) or greater, or hypothermic if less than 37.5 °C (100 °F). Shorter haired cats tend to be skinnier and more active, while cats with longer hair tend to be heavier and less active.

Cats' temprament can vary depending on the breed and socialization. The term cat nap refers to the cat's ability to fall asleep for a brief period; someone who nods off for a few minutes is said to be "taking a cat nap". Some cats can sleep as much as 20 hours in a 24-hour period. Daily durations of sleep are various, usually 12–16 hours, with 13–14 being the average.

Cats conserve energy by sleeping more than most animals, especially as they grow older. (Scottish Folds are one such exceptional genetic mutation.) When angry or frightened, a cat will lay its ears back, to accompany the growling or hissing sounds it makes. Unlike dogs, flap-eared breeds are extremely rare. Most cats have straight ears pointing upward.

Thus a cat can move its body in one direction and point its ears in quite another direction (such as pointing backward toward its owner). Thirty-two individual muscles in the ear allow for a manner of directional hearing; ^[6] the cat can move each ear independently of the other. The oldest feral cat was Mark who was maintained by the British charity Cats Protection and who reached 26 years of age. Feral cats in maintained colonies can live much longer; the British Cat Action Trust reported a 19-year-old feral female.

Spaying and neutering a cat also decreases the risk of testicular and ovarian cancer, and female cats spayed before their first heat or litter benefit from reduced risk of mammary cancer.^[5] Feral cats living in modern urban environments often live only two years, or less. In captivity, indoor cats typically live 15 to 20 years, though the oldest-known cat lived to age 36.^[4] Domestic cats tend to live longer if they are not permitted to go outdoors (reducing the risk of injury from fights or accidents) and if they are spayed or neutered. This is very unhealthy for the cat, and should be prevented through diet and exercise (playing), especially for cats living exclusively indoors. Some have been known to reach up to 23 kg (50 lb), due to overfeeding.

Cats typically weigh between 2.5 and 7 kg (5.5–16 lb); however, some breeds, such as the Maine Coon can exceed 11.3 kg (25 pounds). . The cat's association with humans leads it to figure prominently in the mythology and legends of several cultures, including the ancient Egyptians, Vikings, and Chinese. Because the domestication of the cat is relatively recent, cats may also still live effectively in the wild, often forming small colonies.

They communicate by calling ("meow"/"miaou"), purring, hissing, and gesturing. They are also intelligent animals: some are able to manipulate simple mechanisms such as lever-handled doors and flush toilets. They are skilled predators and have been known to hunt over one thousand different species for food. There are dozens of breeds of domestic cats, some hairless or tailless, and they exist in a variety of different colors including multicolored.

The ratio of pedigree/purebred cats to random-bred cats varies from country to country. Purebreds are less than one percent of the total feline population; cats of mixed ancestry are referred to as domestic longhairs and domestic shorthairs or commonly as random-bred, moggies, mongrels, mutt-cats or alley cats. A pedigree cat is one whose ancestry is recorded, but may have ancestors of different breeds. In strict terms, a purebred cat is one whose ancestry contains only individuals of the same breed.

A cat whose ancestry is formally registered is called a purebred cat, a pedigree cat, or a show cat (although not all show cats are pedigree or purebred). An immature cat is called a kitten (which is also an alternate name for young rats, rabbits, hedgehogs, beavers, and squirrels). A group of cats is referred to as a clowder, while a male cat is called a tom, and a female is called a queen or quean. The history of the domestic cat may stretch back even further, as 8,000-year-old bones of humans and cats were found buried together on the island of Cyprus^[3].

The cat has been living in close association with humans for at least 3,500 years; the Ancient Egyptians routinely used cats to keep mice and other rodents (mostly rats) away from their grain (and also believed that cats were sacred to the goddess Bastet). Its most immediate pre-domestication ancestor is the African wild cat, Felis silvestris lybica. The cat, also called the domestic cat or house cat, is a small feline carnivorous mammal of the subspecies Felis silvestris catus. URL accessed on November 29, 2005..

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Domestic longhaired.