Experts Say Living With Humans Has Had A Strange Impact On Cats
Every cat owner will know the joy of their furry companion curling up beside them. But have you ever stopped to think about what’s going on behind those piercing eyes? Maybe they’re plotting the ultimate revenge on next-door’s poodle or devising a plan to reach that pesky nest that just won't give. Luckily, a new study might just have the answers. As it happens, domesticated moggies have evolved in ways far more staggering than most of us could have ever predicted. It’s time to discover just how wild your house cat really is, according to science.
Cat crazy
There are certainly a lot of cats in the United States, with nearly 60 million of them calling the Land of the Free their home. More than a quarter of U.S. households have a pet cat, and most of those owners have more than one. They’re a fixture in our lives, for sure, with so many of us slotting them right into family life. But perhaps fewer owners would welcome them so readily after learning the true extent of their drastic evolution.
Where it all began
All of these cats have had to come from somewhere, though. And it turns out that every single one has descended from a single ancestor species. It all started with the North African/Southwest Asian wildcat — if we’re being scientific, that’s Felis sylvestris lybica. As well as knowing where our fur babies originated from, scientists have also uncovered a peculiar change taking place. What’s more, it’s us humans that are bringing about the unexpected adaptation.
Ancient friends
When we say cats have been with us for a long time, we mean a long time. People first started turning wild animals into furry sidekicks during the Neolithic era — or New Stone Age. While Southwest Asia played a big part in paving the way for pettable cats, it was the ancient Egyptians who really took things to the next level.
They lived among us
Surprisingly, cats had actually been our neighbors for millennia before we first tamed them. That’s right: wildcats lived among us even though we weren’t feeding them. And in the time they’ve stayed near us, their genetic make-up has hardly altered. All except for those adorable tabby coats, and the slow-burning internal shift that’s going on under the surface.
