Two Major Differences Between Domestic and Wild Cat Ancestor

The domestic cat is the same as the North African wildcat in terms of genetics; they both have 19 pairs of chromosomes (38 total). Therefore the domestic and wildcat can mate and produce fertile hybrids. But there are major fertility differences between these cats. Both are seasonal breeders but whereas the female wildcat has …

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Domestic cats have smaller brains than their wildcat ancestors

African wildcat compared with domestic cat

A study has concluded that the brains of domestic cats have shrunk during the time that they have been domesticated. And having shrunk I have concluded that domestic cats are probably more stupid today than they were at the time of the Ancient Egyptians. And I suspect that they will go on becoming a …

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Why human facial expressions are much more developed than those of domestic cats. Infographic.

Human facial expressions are significantly more obvious than those of domestic cats due to several key biological, evolutionary, and social factors: 1. Evolutionary Adaptations for Communication 2. Facial Musculature Differences 3. Domestication Effects 4. Role of Vocalization vs. Expression 5. Eyebrow Movement & Whites of the Eyes (Sclera Visibility) Conclusion: Human facial expressions evolved …

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Free or controlled feeding of domestic cats? Infographic.

The answer to the question in the title is largely common sense as the infographic indicates. The danger as I see it is that full-time indoor cats, neutered and spayed, are more likely to put on excess weight due to possible boredom and a lack of means to express natural behaviours and thereby expend …

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10 cat behaviours showing appreciation. Infographic.

Our bonding with the domestic cat is the result of a remarkable interspecies human-to-cat relationship. We can’t expect the cat to express their appreciation for our loving caregiving in our way. They show it differently; indirectly in ten ways as illustrated in the infographic below. It is nice to remind ourselves that this is …

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Sometimes cats don’t look at you when spoken to. Infographic.

People who are unsure about domestic cats sometimes say that they are aloof and standoffish. This alleged aloofness can be seen, they’d say, when they don’t turn their heads towards you when you speak to them. This is not aloofness in the human meaning of the word. It is the behaviour of a different …

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Smallest versus largest domestic cat weight difference. Infographic.

There are two points to make about this infographic. Firstly, I am a fan of infographics as they counteract the proliferation of articles on specific topics that contain far too much waffle. You have to plough through the irrelevant stuff to find the specific information that you are searching for. In a busy, competitive …

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Domestic cats operate on instinct placing a high level of responsibility on owners. Infographic.

Perhaps it is fair to say that sometimes cat owners (caregivers) forget that their feline friend operates on DNA hard-wired instinct as they are often seen as little human members of the family which is nice. Moreover, this DNA is inherited from their wildcat ancestor. The domestic cat’s behaviour is rooted in the behaviour …

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