Ancestor to most house cats entered homes thousands of years ago

• Jonathan Losos’ latest book, North African Wildcat, focuses on this species.
• Humans first interacted with cats around 10,000 years back, and they became the common ancestor to most domestic cats. 

• The wildcats and humans share very few genes. 

A few years back, I had an opportunity to travel. SafariIn southern Africa. It was thrilling to go out in the night and look for predators. Lions, leopards, hyenas.

As we drove through the darkness, though, our spotlight occasionally lit up a smaller hunter – a slender, tawny feline,Faintly spotted, or striped. The small cat would be caught by the glare for a brief moment, before darting back into the darkness.

I assumed it was a pet, but then realized that the cat had been abandoned in the middle of a forest. Further inspection revealed two distinctive features: slightly longer legs than most domestic cats and a black-tipped, striking tail.

If you were to see one in your backyard, the first thing that would come to mind is “What a beautiful cat!” and not “How did that African wildcat make it all the way from Africa?”

Evolutionary Biologist, I’ve spenT my career studying how species adapt to their environment. My research has focused on reptiles, and I have investigated the workings natural selection on lizards.

Since we adopted our first shelter cat at the age of five, I have always been fascinated and in love with felines. As I have thought more about the African wildcats, I am more impressed by their evolutionary success.

The species that has the most to boast about is: African wildcats are the ancestors of our beloved household pets. Their descendants are now among the two most popular companions in the world, despite very little change. (Numbers are fuzzy, but the global population of cats and dogs approaches a billion for each.)

It is clear that the few evolutionary modifications made by the domesticated cat have allowed it to find its way into the hearts of humans and their homes. How did they manage it? This question was explored in my book, “The Cat’s Mow: How Cats Have Evolved From the Savanna To Your Sofa.”

Why the African wildcat?

Big cats – like lions, tigers and pumas – are the attention-grabbing celebrities of the feline world. Of the 41 different species of wild cats, the majority are smaller than a housecat.

Few people know about the Borneo cat, the kodkod or the marbled cat. It is clear that the little-cat part of the feline clan needs better public relations.

It is possible that any of the species listed above could have evolved into the domestic cat. recent DNA studies demonstrate unequivocally that today’s house cats arose from the African wildcat – specifically, the North African subspecies, Felis silvestris Lybica.

Why did the North African wildcat, which is the source of our domestic companions, give birth to so many little pusses?

It was, in short, the right species at the right location and time. Civilization began in the Fertile Crescent about 10,000 years ago, when people first settled into villages and started growing food.

This area – spanning parts of modern-day Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Iran and more – is Home to many small catsAmong them are the caracal, jungle cat, sandcat, serval and other cats. But of these, the African wildcat is the one that to this day enters villages and can be found around humans.

African wildcats are among the friendliest of feline species; raised gently, they can make affectionate companions. The European wildcat, on the other hand, is not as affectionate, even when treated with tenderness. Growing up as a vile person.

These tendencies make it easy to see what most likely happened. The people settled down, and began to raise crops. They stored the surplus for times of need.

The rodent population exploded in these granaries. Some African wildcats – those with the least fear of humans – took advantage of this bounty and started hanging around. They were treated kindly by the people who saw their benefit and provided shelter or food to the cats.

The boldest cats entered huts and perhaps allowed themselves to be petted – kittens are adorable! – and, voilà, the domestic cat was born.

Where exactly domestication occurred – if it was a single place and not simultaneously throughout the entire region – is unclear.

You can also read about it here Tomb paintings and sculptures show that by 3,500 years ago, domestic cats lived in Egypt. Genetic analysis – including DNA from Egyptian cat Mummies – and archaeological data chart the feline diaspora.

They moved from the north to Europe (and eventually to North America), then south to Africa, and finally east to Asia. Ancient DNA even demonstrates that Vikings played a role in spreading felines far and wide.

What cat characteristics did domestication enhance?

Wildcats lack the variety of colors, patterns, and hair textures that domestic cats have. Some cat breeds have Unique physical features, like munchkins’ short legs, Siameses’ elongated faces or Persians’ lack of muzzle.

Many domestic cats are virtually indistinguishable. Only Natural selection has altered 13 genes during the domestication process. By contrast, Almost three times as much DNA changedWhen dogs descend from wolves.

Only two methods can be used to identify a wildcat. You can measure the size of its brain – housecats, like other domestic animals, have evolved reductions in the parts of the brain associated with aggression, fear and overall reactivity.

Or you can measure the length of its intestines – Domestic cats can live longer to digest vegetable-based food provided by or scavenged from humans.

The behavior of cats has undergone the most evolution during domestication. The popular belief that domestic cat are aloof, loners is far from truth.

When lots of domestic cats live together – in places where humans provide copious amounts of food – They form social groups that are very similar to the lion prides. Composed of related females, these cats are very friendly – grooming, playing with and lying on top of each other, nursing each other’s kittens, even serving as midwives during birth.

To signal friendly intentions, an approaching cat raises its tail straight up, a trait shared with lions and no other feline species. Cats also send this message to people, as anyone who has lived around cats knows.

Evolution of the master manipulator

Household cats are quite vocal to their human companions, using different meows to communicate different messages. It is important to note that this tail-up display does not mean they are treating us like a part of the clan. Quite the contrary, cats rarely meow to one another.

The meows of these cats have become a familiar sound. Domestication is the process of domestication. to more effectively communicate with us. Listeners rate the wildcat’s call as more urgent and demanding (“Mee‑O‑O‑O‑O‑O‑W!”) compared with the domestic cat’s more pleasing (“MEE‑ow”).

Scientists suggest that these shorter, higher-pitched sounds are more pleasing to our auditory system, perhaps because young humans have high-pitched voices, and domestic cats have evolved accordingly to curry human favor.

Cats similarly Purrs can be used to manipulate people. When they want something – picture a cat rubbing against your legs in the kitchen while you open a can of wet food – they purr extra loudly. This purr isn’t the contented cat’s thud, but a chainsaw brrr-oom insistently demanding attention.

Scientists digitally compared the spectral qualities of the two types of purrs and discovered that the major difference is that the insistent purr includes a component very similar to the sound of a human baby crying. People, of course, are innately attuned to this sound, and cats have evolved to take advantage of this sensitivity to get our attention.

Anyone who has lived with cats will know that this is true. Even though cats are easily trainable – they’re very food motivated – cats usually train us more than we train them. According to an old saying, “Dogs are owned by owners and cats by staff.”

Jonathan Losos is a William H. Danforth distinguished university professor for the Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.