student asking question

What's the difference between "cat" and "feline"?

teacher

Native speakerā€™s answer

Rebecca

That is a great question! The word "feline" refers to the entire family of mammals called Felidae, which includes domestic cats as well as other species such as lions, cheetahs, and tigers. The word "feline" is generally more scientific than "cat". Although you can still use the word "cat" to refer to all of the species in the Felidae family, sometimes the word "cat" implies a domestic cat, while "feline" can apply more generally to all species.

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