THE ROAD TO LESS WILD: THE “DOMESTICATION” STORY
It is difficult for scientists to form a really clear timeline of the recent domestication of cats, because genetically, physically, and behaviorally they are so similar to their closest wild relatives
(so much so that there’s been a lot of interbreeding among domestic cats and other wildcat species).
(so much so that there’s been a lot of interbreeding among domestic cats and other wildcat species).
In fact, the word “domestic,” when applied to cats, has always struck me as fundamentally . . . well, just wrong. I don’t believe cats have ever been fully domesticated. This speaks to my insistence at seeing the rawness in your cat at all times. To me, in each moment that you identify the Raw Cat in your cat, you are disproving the very notion of domestication. That said, as we continue with our story here, let’s take a look at what we do know about how the Raw Cat gradually transformed into what we now call the “house cat.”
For thousands of years, cats lived with and around people but were never completely dependent on them. F. s. lybica—the ancestral species—appears to be one of the more tameable of all the closely related wildcats, suggesting a predisposition for living with humans.
Ultimately, though, the pathway to evolution was laid by the benefits that cats and humans mutually provided for each other. As agriculture began to flourish in our earliest human settlements, the rodent population drastically increased.
Ultimately, though, the pathway to evolution was laid by the benefits that cats and humans mutually provided for each other. As agriculture began to flourish in our earliest human settlements, the rodent population drastically increased.
This made proximity to humans attractive to cats, and the natural pest control they provided attractive to humans.
This would prove to be a recurring “win/win” theme throughout history.
This would prove to be a recurring “win/win” theme throughout history.