Domestic House Cats: Descendants of the Wild
Published November 22, 2011
Did you know that the origins of the domestic house cat are linked to a wildcat of the Middle East?
An article titled House Cat Origin Traced to Middle Eastern Wildcat Ancestor reports that scientists studying the origin of the domestic house cat have discovered the maternal lineage between the Near Eastern wildcat (which still roams the deserts of several mid-eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Israel) and the modern domestic house cat.
The co-author of the study, Stephen O'Brien of the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland said, "It's plausible that the ancient domestic cat lineages were present in the wildcat populations as far as 70,000 or 100,000 years ago."
The first people most likely to domesticate the wild cat were farmers, who used them as helpers in hunting rats and mice and other pests which besieged their fields of crops in their early farming settlements. Over time, these felines (who were at one time totally wild) became companion animals to people, moving with the human tribes who traveled throughout the ancient world. It was definitely a win-win situation for both the human and the cat.
But based on our two Oriental Shorthairs, Dr. Hush Puppy and Sir Hubble Pinkerton’s "finicky" feeding behavior, sometimes I find it hard to believe that these two magnificent cats are actually descendants of one of the most successful and intelligent predators on the planet.
Do you think for a moment that the small undomesticated cats living in the wild would have turned up their noses at prey when they are ravenously hungry to find a meal much more to their liking? Of course not! But sometimes when my husband Marty and I are enjoying seeing the antics of our two diminutive felines crouched in the “ready to pounce” position, haunches and belly to the floor, ears forward and eyes glued to their target as they hunt down even the tiniest bug, their predatory moves are identical to the stalking behavior of wild cats in pursuit of prey, which makes their wild ancestry completely apparent to us.
So those of us who are kept by felines are really sharing our hearts and homes with kitties who have a very long line of genetic input flowing through their blood. Isn’t it exciting to have little bit of the wild keeping us company to remind us of our own ancestral background? I will have to share this information with our two miniature wild cats who wear their Oriental Shorthair costume with a great deal of pride. Pun intended!
Read more about the wild cat here!
What behaviors do you observe in your cats that demonstrate their wild ancestral background? Share them in a comment.
Shortly after retiring as a social worker and psychotherapist, I discovered my "writer's voice"…
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Comments (5)
I have seen my cats "stalk" my dogs, which is terribly comical. Oh, and the techs that work for my vet will attest to the fact that Kitty Castaway is DEFINATELY a descendant of wild cats. She has been dubbed the "exorcist kitty" due to the fact that the day she was implanted with a HomeAgain chip she all of a sudden had three heads, thirty seven legs and over a hundered teeth and claws which she used ALOT! LOL. Some days, she is fine at the vet and you'd never know that incident ever occured and then other days....LOOK OUT! :)
Hmmm, you just about stumped me. I thought it was just the nature of the cat to kill mice, hiss, scratch, etc. I have always known the difference between the big cats such as the tiger, lion, etc. but never put it together that they are all in the same catagory. i guess their behavior at times is rather wild. I'll remember that the next time Tiger bites me.
Thank you for this insightful and educational article, Jo! Yes, it's true -- and cats are often referred to as the least domesticated of "domestic animals" for good reason. This truth keeps me mindful when cats display any of the behaviors of their free ancestors, and patient and understanding thereof!
My Shadow - a short-haired tortie girl - was a feral rescue as a little kitten (along with her littermates). She displays a LOT of "wild" behavior. She has a very strong prey drive and I will often find her chasing down one single piece of kibble (that she has tossed out of her bowl)all over until she finally pounces on it and "kills" it and eats it. She will also toss a piece of kibble into the water bowl and "fish" for it. A feathered toy on a wand ..oh boy... she turns into a real hunter! She LOVES those and stays focused for quite a long time. She also buries what she does in the litter box REALLY, REALLY well and then RUNS away from the box as fast as she can (so any predator that may have caught the scent won't catch her I believe)
We love seeing the cats do their "I'm Wild" thing. My daughter's cat is the type that sleeps most of the day but once the sun heads down she becomes a very efficient hunter. As winter approaches the mice and moles are busy finding winter habitat. Willow brings in mice and moles from the cat enclosure. She is always proud of her catch and it is almost always dead. Then she "plays" with her catch. All the cats are interested and try to participate. There is no doubt that there are WILD cats in our house.