Scientific classification

he domestic cat was named Felis catus by Carolus Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae of 1758.[39] Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber named the Wildcat Felis silvestris in 1775. However, in opinion 2027 (published in Volume 60, Part 1 of the Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, March 31, 2003[40]) the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature "conserved the usage of 17 specific names based on wild species, which are predated by or contemporary with those based on domestic forms", thus confirming F. silvestris for the Wildcat and F. silvestris catus for its domesticated cousin.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat#Anatomy_and_morphology