
Study of ancient and modern cat genomes reveals an unusual history - sohkamyung
https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/06/cats-are-an-extreme-outlier-among-domestic-animals/
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myrandomcomment
I have 2 and they could not be more different. One is calm, lover type. Other
is spastic and a hunter type. It is funny to watch the calm one when the
spastic one wants to play. Love them both. They are part of the family. The
set before this I had for 20+ years. When they realized my wife was pregnant
they became very protective of her, getting between her and any stranger. The
younger one would sleep at the base of the crib after my daughter was born. If
my daughter cried she would come and get us. It was quite hard on her when we
did the, "okay you need to go to sleep and crying does not help bit." I miss
them to this day.

~~~
arethuza
Our two Burmese cats also have _very_ different personalities even though they
are from the same litter and have experienced exactly the same environment.

Their "official" names are quite descriptive:

Purfidelis Babe Magnet

Purfidelis Tasmanian Devil

[NB We just call them Cookie and Brownie].

~~~
noir_lord
I have willow (its hard to sex kittens, he's a boy) and ash (girl).

Couldn't be less alike. Only see willow when he wants feeding.

Ash is welded to my leg if I'm home.

Love them both.

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colbyh
> House cats also show none of the typical signs of animal domestication, such
> as infantilization of facial features, decreased tooth size, and docility.

this is probably false? your average house cat is obviously more docile than
an actual wild cat. Devon Rex, Cornish Rex, and Siamese all have exaggerated
infantile features (you could argue that all house cats have similar features
compared to say, a bobcat). and their teeth are all much smaller across the
board.

plus a host of other domesticated animals (chickens, horses) only meet one or
two of the above criteria. so if the question is "are cats as domesticated as
dogs?" the answer is definitely not. but the article seems to harp on a weird
definition of the word "domesticated"

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TheSpiceIsLife
Also, I've read that all(?) cats meow as kittens but wild cats lose the habit
as they mature whereas domestic cats retain it and that they don't meow to
each other but only to humans.

~~~
drdaeman
> they don't meow to each other but only to humans

My two cats actually "talk" a lot to each other, inviting to play, checking
each other statuses or indicating their discontent if other is disturbing.
Older cat was always making some sounds even when he's alone - he vocalizes
just about everything - even jumping down from a chair. Another cat was silent
when we've adopted him, but learned to "talk" in a few months, from the older
one. That's not exactly meowing - but they're making all sort of sounds. While
there's usually a human around, they "talk" to each other even when they're
alone.

And I heard two wildcats actually meowing loudly, in deep voices at each
other, as they were about to fight. Don't think they were forewarning humans
to step aside. ;)

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urethrafranklin
Caterwauling is not the same as mewing.

~~~
drdaeman
Ah, thanks! I didn't knew that word before. Thought "mewing" is a sort of
umbrella term for the sounds cats make. My bad.

Searched for words for cat sounds and found that there are a lot:
[http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/cat-behavior-sounds-cats-
ma...](http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/cat-behavior-sounds-cats-make-what-
they-mean-talking) Then, I guess it's right, I only heard cats meow to humans.
I think what my cats commonly use are variations of trills and burbles. Not
mewing.

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pmarreck
Interesting article!

I'm a relatively new "cat person" who grew up with dogs and it has struck me
how starkly different cat personalities seem to be from each other vs. dog
personalities. Also the wild behaviors (bunting to put their scent on you
because they like you, clawing anything of a rough texture, the hours of
preening, the wide variety of sounds they can make, etc.) Our cat is an
extremely chatty mush who has no odor whatsoever on her, she's like a living
stuffed animal, loves to sit on my lap, loves play, and we call her Granny
because in cat years she's actually the oldest in the house lol.

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bjornsing
> Or maybe cats will continue to defy domestication. They could carve out a
> place as one of the only animals to befriend humans without ever falling
> completely under our control.

Let's hope so. It doesn't strike me as a very healthy relationship that one
party controls the other's DNA... :P

~~~
ianai
They must be fighting it well enough. I know they suggested it's "early in the
domestication" but it seems doubtful much will change. Cats have apparently
changed very little in the last 10k years. (Assuming away sophisticated
genetic modification. That's probably likely at this rate though) guess what
I'm saying is cats may otherwise stay pretty wild without something like
actual genetic engineering.

I, for one, hope they're never fully domesticated. I think their curiosity
would be fast to go.

~~~
restalis
Curiosity is one of appreciated traits for a cat and I doubt it would be left
to disappear. I actually think it would be a trait sought after. I expect
first to go to be traits less appreciated in modern environment, like their
hunting instincts.

~~~
panglott
Our cats are not the best mousers, but since we have an old house and the mice
try to move in in the fall, their hunting instincts definitely keep the house
free of vermin. This is quite good.

We keep them inside, so they don't bring in songbirds.

~~~
restalis
I understand that there still are legitimate uses for keeping a cat around for
utilitarian prospective but these are becoming less and less common. Majority
don't rely on cats to fight vermin, the majority employ chemicals and keep
cats around solely as pets. I remember a family that actively trained their
feline to stay away from rodents, especially from dead ones. They said it's in
the cat's best interest, because most of the dead rodents must have been
poisoned. I think now that there is also the family's interest to keep their
cat as clean as possible so they won't worry when it interacts with children.

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jonmc12
I recently ran across "Tigers, Lions and Humans: History of Rivalry, Conflict,
Reverence and Love". [http://www.josephjordania.com/files/35-TIGERS-LIONS-AND-
HUMA...](http://www.josephjordania.com/files/35-TIGERS-LIONS-AND-HUMANS.pdf)

The book talks, in depth, about the convergent evolution of humans and lions
in the environment of the predator-ridden savannah (both species with
ancestors coming from trees).

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reitanqild
[http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/79/just-so-stories/1296/the-cat-
th...](http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/79/just-so-stories/1296/the-cat-that-walked-
by-himself/)

Not a cat person but I remember "The cat that walked by himself" from my
childhood.

