General Characteristics of Cats
Cats have evolved as predatory hunting animals with great agility and keen senses – particularly hearing, sight, and smell. From only a few weeks of age, the kittens of all species of cat (including our domesticated varieties) show instinctive behavior typical of hunter-killers. They are extremely alert to sounds and movements, stalk, ambush, convert rigid stillness into rapid movements to pounce on their prey, and they demonstrate the typical biting and clawing actions needed to bring down and kill prey quickly.
All cats (except the lion and some feral domestic cat colonies) are solitary animals that hunt and fend for themselves. They only come into contact with members of the opposite sex during mating periods when the scent in female urine attracts males to her from a long distance. Cats are also very territorial and mark out the perimeter of their “homeland” with their urine.
In urban areas our domesticated cats still exhibit these behavioral traits, creating serious problems for male tomcats that inevitably fight with each other as they cross each other’s territories in search of females. Neutering can help to reduce the nuisance caused by calling and fighting cats, as well as reducing the number of unwanted litters.
No one knows exactly when or how the cat first appeared on earth. Most investigators agree, however, that the cat’s most ancient ancestor roamed the earth some 40-50 million years ago. Evidence of modern small cats is estimated to be 12 million years old, however, archaeologists assume these were mostly wildcats. The earliest true record of domesticated cats comes from Egypt about 2,000 years ago.
Understanding how our dogs and cats evolved helps us understand who they are, where they came from, what we should be feeding them, and how we can add to their overall health, well-being, and length of life.
According to historians, modern-day dogs and cats belong to the order Carnivora, which means they are meat-eaters. The dog, Canis Familiaris, is a direct descendant of the gray wolf. DNA tells us that the wolf and modern dog are separated in their mitochondrial DNA sequencing by less than two-tenths of a percent. The transformation from wolf to dog began some 130,000 years ago. This means that wolves began to adapt to human society long before humans settle down and begin practicing agriculture. This casts doubt on the long-held myth that humans domesticated dogs to serve as guards or companions. Rather, wolves may have exploited a niche they discovered in early human society and got humans to feed them and take them in out of the cold.
Most of the 400 canine breeds and 40 feline breeds we know today have all come about in the last 400 years. This artificial evolution of the domestic dog and cat into the numerous breeds we have today required years of selective interbreeding by humans. One consequence of interbreeding to create man-made purebreds is that over the years many behaviors and disease-causing genes have been introduced and concentrated in these breeds, creating numerous pet health problems. The best way to avoid health issues is to strengthen your pet’s immune system – this can be accomplished through optimum nutrition.
Another possibility, she added, is that one or more subspecies of Asian wildcats were domesticated independently, only to later have their genetic material swamped by cats from Africa and the Middle East.
Dogs, it is now generally agreed, arose in the camps of hunting and gathering peoples perhaps 30,000 or more years ago. From the start, they appear to have filled a variety of roles as hunters, watchdogs, and guardians. No matter how we slice it, dogs also make excellent companions on the trail.
The differences date to the species’ beginnings. From genetic work, as far as we know, the Middle Eastern wild cat, Felis silvestris lybica, is the only maternal progenitor to the modern cat. This subspecies first appears in the burial of a high ranking individual around 9,500 on the island of Cyprus. Cat remains dating to 9,000 years ago appear in Jericho and about 4,000 years ago in Egypt. Despite ancient Egyptian prohibitions against trading cats, they seem to have been swapped throughout the Middle East and Europe.
That leaves a large gap in the fossil record that has now been filled unexpectedly by a team of American and Chinese researchers working in the Central Chinese village of Quonhucun. Previously, cat remains in China had been dated to 2,000 years ago. Now the researchers have unearthed evidence of cats some 5,560 to 5,280 years ago. Working with fossils, they carried out carbon dating and stable isotope analysis which allows researchers to see what animals were eating. The Qunhucun cats’ provenance is unknown, but they were clearly living in concert (in what the researchers term a “commensal relationship”) with people.
Indeed, it could be argued that the cat has been sought out over time because it is the not dog. Like the dog, it is a predator in our midst—but after that, the similarities end.
Is it Healthier to Own a Dog or Cat?
An estimated 30 percent of American households have at least one cat. About 40 percent have at least one dog. But how long have they been among us? Turns out that dogs and cats have been in the lives and homes of our ancestors for thousands of years.
Cats were first domesticated in the Near East about 10,000 years ago. The modern domestic cat is descended from a wild ancestor called Felis silvestris lybica. All 600 million housecats in the world can be traced back to five females of this species. They lived in forests before they moved into villages. Ancient Egyptians worshipped a cat goddess and had their beloved pets mummified and buried with them, along with mummified mice.
Cats are unique in that they are the only animals known to have domesticated themselves. When humans stopped following herds and began to farm, grains were staple crops. Harvested grains attracted rodents, which in turn attracted cats. Humans observed and appreciated the rodent control. They, in turn, allowed cats to stay, and they protected and fed them.
Dogs are thought to be the first animals to be domesticated. They have been our companions for 10,000 years — probably just a little bit longer, in the historical scheme of things, than cats. Some scientists believe that the ancestor of all dogs, both wild and domesticated, is the small South Asian wolf.
Dogs were domesticated by the lure of an easy meal. While humans were still hunter-gatherers following herds, canine ancestors were drawn to their camps by the smell of food and followed to scavenge leftovers. When humans realized they would bark when predators were near, they began to feed them willingly. Dogs have loyally followed and protected us ever since.
Leslie Carver has been a professional author since 2009. Her work appears on multiple websites. She has an associates degree in English with progress toward her bachelors at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She has been awarded an Outstanding Student Award in English and twice nominated for creative writing awards.