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The domestication of the cat says something important about our ancestors.
- Thread starter PersonAndStuff
- Start date
Just rewatched Alien tonight and I think my disdain for cats is because I watched that film in my early formative years.
The Xenomorph might be a bloodthirsty killer, but Jonesy was a willing accomplice, leading several crew members to their death or near-death. That cat knew what it was doing. It's the true monster and villain of the film.
The Xenomorph might be a bloodthirsty killer, but Jonesy was a willing accomplice, leading several crew members to their death or near-death. That cat knew what it was doing. It's the true monster and villain of the film.
Not completely related, but it's also one of the reasons I laugh in the face of anyone who uses "adrenal fatigue" unironicly. "Our ancestors were never faced with the constant stress we have today!" Yep, they certainly never faced dismemberment not only from hunting animals, but even a large portion of the prey they chased on a day to day basis.
What the hell does the Clinton administration have to do with the reasons behind cats being domesticated?
That's a weird tangent right there.
That's a weird tangent right there.
For the most part, we didn't. Dogs are a heavily modified animal due to humans selectively breeding them for various purposes for centuries. Cats are almost identical, especially genetically, to the wild cats that they're originally descended from. As CGP Grey puts it, a dog is a designed tool of humanity, while a cat is a tiny tiger that lives in your house.
They tolerate us, thats basically the nature of our coexistence.
At my old apartment complex there was a group of about 15 or so feral cats that wandered the complex. Soon I started feeding them cat food, and then I would fill up a dish and sit next to it, forcing the cats to eat it while I was sitting next to them. After a few sessions of me just sitting there while they ate, I started to pet them as they ate.
Within a week of starting to pet them they would rush up to me any time I opened the door to get some lovin'. I think it's fairly obvious what happened historically. Compared to other animals that can adapt to humans and rummage through trash like raccoons, cats will take the next step beyond just tolerating humans to get some food and become ready companions to humans. The brain of a cat will need that affection once they experience it.
Within a week of starting to pet them they would rush up to me any time I opened the door to get some lovin'. I think it's fairly obvious what happened historically. Compared to other animals that can adapt to humans and rummage through trash like raccoons, cats will take the next step beyond just tolerating humans to get some food and become ready companions to humans. The brain of a cat will need that affection once they experience it.
imagine being like, the first person in your group to have a domesticated cat. it'd be like having the latest iphone on release day, you'd be so cool.
Older models becoming less effective, slower and requiring more frequent recharges. Analogy checks out.
This is what it looks like when you die in your apartment.here kitty kitty kitty
In Egypt, they were believed to have come from the God "Bast", who warded off evil.
Reality : We're here to knock shit off shelves and leave dead birds in your bed.
That's not accurate.
Cats don't hunt for fun. They just have a very strong chase instinct. (Hence why it's so easy to get them to chase after pieces of string and whatnot.)
A full cat won't go actively looking for prey, but it will happily chase any that it happens to come across. This can result in the behaviour commonly referred to as "playing with their food", where they will catch something, then release it, then grab it again. They don't eat it because they're not hungry, but when it tries to run away the chase instinct kicks in and they pounce on it again, over and over. This rarely happens with cats in the wild since they're nowhere near as well fed. (The exception being when mother cats cripple prey then give it to their kittens to practice on.)
You are wrong.
The key word in there is "constant".
Being chased by a bear is no doubt extremely stressful, but it's relatively brief. A bear doesn't stress you out for weeks or months the way, say, not being able to pay your kid's medical bills can.
Obviously our ancestors would have had their share of long term stress. Having a sick kid couldn't have been any more fun back then than it is now, but you're comparing apples to oranges.
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Yeah, whoever thinks cats don't hunt moving things unless they're hungry must not have had any cats. Do you guys think those videos of cats chasing around everything from flies to roombas are of cats left starving by their owners? There's a reason farmers still use cats to control vermin, even to this day.
As one of the biggest cat lovers on Era, I'm really skeptical of this "they were cute" justification. Especially since the whole point of domestication is to make them friendlier to humans, which back them they probably weren't.
I can do one better!
CatEra |OT| Share your pics, read our tips, ask any questions OT
This is a thread by and for cat lovers! You can also find its sister, dog-themed thread here. CAT TIPS: Keep food and water as separate from each other as possible, because cats associate proximity of food with the fact that the water may be tainted (dead animals rotting in it), and tend to...
www.resetera.com
I can do one better!
CatEra |OT| Share your pics, read our tips, ask any questions OT
This is a thread by and for cat lovers! You can also find its sister, dog-themed thread here. CAT TIPS: Keep food and water as separate from each other as possible, because cats associate proximity of food with the fact that the water may be tainted (dead animals rotting in it), and tend to...
Oh damn! I knew there was a general ERApet thread and even already posted in it, but feels like I found a new home to spazz in now! Anticipate pictures of my cat there very soon!
It has to be more than just instinct, since cats will bat around inanimate objects and chase them on their own volition.
And our ancestors didn't enjoy the same kind of food security we do today, which would have been highly stressful.
It goes even further than that. One of our cats knows that we control their toy and will pretty much ask us to play with her. She is fully aware that the stick with the feather on the end does not work unless we wave it around.
I used to think cats sucked. Then I got a crazy furball and it changed everything.
That was a really confusing statement. Could you clarify OP? I don't mean to insult or argue I'm more genuinely intrigued where that came from in your mind (something you heard/read, personal experience, etc.). I'm 36 and thought I could sort of relate on an anecdotal level but that's probably just showing my biases.
I also think we need to reconsider the term "ancient". We've been around 200k years and we're talking less than 30 years ago.
I used to like them. Then I married someone that had two.
Never again.
There is a breed of dog here in Spain called "bodeguero", selected to kill rats and mice, also very good as pets if you want an active dog.
Apparently there's a size threshold on domestication.Just waiting on a time when we have domesticated Bears.
So then cats are a menace to bird populations because...?
Yeah no, cats have high prey drive.
In general, felines are some of nature's finest killing machines. Housecats are basically toy-sized nerfed leopards.
People who think ancient people were stoic and serious have clearly never looked into Roman graffiti. Those Romans were nasty bastards.
Why do people have such strong anti-cat feelings? Just because you feel entitled to touch their bodies however you want with no prior relationship or consent and not all of them let you? Sounds like a you problem.
cats came into our lives when we stopped being nomadic tribes and become sedentary farmers.
Farms attracted mice, mice attracted cats.
Farms attracted mice, mice attracted cats.
It's widely speculated that while dogs were being artificially selected into existence to do jobs, cats just sort of "moved in" when the agricultural revolution occured and their food sources were plentiful on farms and such. Other than being bred for aesthetics, they've barely changed.
And our ancestors figured out pretty quickly cats are.great for pest control.
If the OP didn't misundrstand the Netflix documentaty the there is a problem with random Netflix docs being full of bullshit. I tend to avoid Thier documentaries unless it's from the BBC or PBS for precisely this reason.
So many editorials masquerading as docs.
Certain breeds of dogs are far more effective at killing rats and stuff than cats are but they require training, attention, just far more investment in general you may not want to bother with.
Cats required little maintenance on the part of the human while they deter and kill pests, the trade off is they'll kill on their own time. You aren't easily training a cat to go outside with you and don't stop until you kill 100 rats like you can with a dog.
Cats required little maintenance on the part of the human while they deter and kill pests, the trade off is they'll kill on their own time. You aren't easily training a cat to go outside with you and don't stop until you kill 100 rats like you can with a dog.
There has to be willingness to be domesticated. Raccoon and fox are around people but remain wild. Not every species of animal can be domesticated. Bonds can form in specific circumstances, but that's not species domestication.
I think the dog probably took the same route as the cat. Wolves would hang around campfires for scraps, eventually gained enough trust to be hand fed and petted. Both cat and dog figured out these humans could not only be good providers but really enjoyed the affection they provided as well.
There's a guy on Youtube who has a pet fox. Probably a rescue. They can be playful sometimes but just don't like to be trained or handled. They are disobedient and destructive. It's like he understands "no" but has no interest in obeying just to please his human. A fox is definitely not a good pet. They might like the food, but do not seek the same social interaction as a cat or dog.
I've had cats and dogs as pets over the years and I'll never understand how vehemently some people dislike cats. It's fucking weird.
It's possible cats don't like them, and they take that as cats being assholes.
