Information On Cat
Information On Cat
Were common house cats bred from large cats?
Author: admin11 Sep
When I say "bred" I mean for domestic purposes, like dogs were from wolves. Or did these house cats develop naturally (without human interference) through evolution?
No modern housecat’s evolutionary history is without human interference, otherwise they wouldn’t be housecats. Docile, people-friendly wildcats were the ones most likely to be selected for domestication by humans, therefore the wildcats with docile, people-friendly genes were the ones most likely to live long enough to reproduce and make docile, people-friendly babies. Multiply the effect by a few thousand years and you have the modern domestic cat.
Many purebred cats were more deliberately cultivated, either to serve a specific function or as a status symbol (ex. Siamese & Persian). Others evolved on their own and were then gradually domesticated, a process still driven by natural selection (ex. Maine Coon and Turkish Angora).
**Added** Actually the modern cat’s closest relatives are African and Near Eastern wildcats, as well as the Chinese desert cat. There’s no way a 200lb Puma could interbreed with an 8lb house cat
2 Responses for "Were common house cats bred from large cats?"
No modern housecat’s evolutionary history is without human interference, otherwise they wouldn’t be housecats. Docile, people-friendly wildcats were the ones most likely to be selected for domestication by humans, therefore the wildcats with docile, people-friendly genes were the ones most likely to live long enough to reproduce and make docile, people-friendly babies. Multiply the effect by a few thousand years and you have the modern domestic cat.
Many purebred cats were more deliberately cultivated, either to serve a specific function or as a status symbol (ex. Siamese & Persian). Others evolved on their own and were then gradually domesticated, a process still driven by natural selection (ex. Maine Coon and Turkish Angora).
**Added** Actually the modern cat’s closest relatives are African and Near Eastern wildcats, as well as the Chinese desert cat. There’s no way a 200lb Puma could interbreed with an 8lb house cat
References :
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/science/29cat.html
http://www.hdw-inc.com/historyofcat.htm
http://www.coolcatpages.com/housecathistory.html
Domesticated house cats as we know them today are closely related to Puma, Lynx or other species of small cats. They aren’t related to the larger breeds of cats like lions and tigers.
References :
Retired kennel supervisor at an animal shelter.
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