
Ancient Egypt may have given cats the personality to conquer the world (2017) - benbreen
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/06/ancient-egyptians-may-have-given-cats-personality-conquer-world
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seibelj
What I love about cats vs. dogs is that cats only do what they want. If they
sit on you, cuddle, want pets, hang out, it’s because they like you.

I’m not saying dogs don’t like you. It’s just that they are “man’s best
friend”. I had a dog growing up and it was never as interesting to me as the
cats. I had 3 cats growing up (if one passed or disappeared, we would
replace), and as soon as I had my own place post-college, I got three more
cats! They are truly one of the inexpensive pleasures of life to me. I highly
recommend everyone get a cat! The Egyptians knew it 12,000 years ago!

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dbcurtis
Cats understand work/life balance, and dogs don’t.

For a dog, the highlight of the day is running with the pack, regardless of
how much effort that is. Thus, the success of the dogsled.

The cat’s highlights are the daily private hunt, followed by a nap. There is
no such thing as a catsled. Channel that thought during your next daily
standup.

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o_nate
It's interesting that dogs are seen as the more practical, helpful pet. And
certainly for much of history, that was true. However, in a modern, urban
environment, I'd say the situation has reversed. Apart from the intangible,
emotional companion benefits, I'd argue there isn't much practical use of a
dog for a city-dweller. On the other hand, a cat at least has the benefit of
keeping unwanted rodents out of your apartment.

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gwern
Paper:
[https://www.gwern.net/docs/catnip/2017-ottoni.pdf](https://www.gwern.net/docs/catnip/2017-ottoni.pdf)
(I host it for a book review I wrote on cat domestication:
[https://www.gwern.net/Cat-Sense](https://www.gwern.net/Cat-Sense) .)

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RcouF1uZ4gsC
> Either way, type A and type C cats eventually intermingled in Europe and
> beyond. Today’s cats are likely a blend of both Turkish and Egyptian cats.

It would be really interesting to compare type A and type C with DNA from
modern cat breeds to find if/how much each of these types of cats contributes.

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scirocco
Dogs have owners, cats have staff :)

