A Michael Broad Blog
I feel confident enough to state that there can only be one reason why domestic cats have different coat colours and types. I put forward my thoughts on this page. Orignal domestic cats were brown tabbies We know that the original domestic cats were all brown, spotted tabbies because the original domestic cats were …
Polydactylism occurs in cats because of a spontaneous genetic mutation.
Yes and no. Munchkin cats are dwarf cats: normally pedigree cats with short legs and normal bodies. The dog equivalent is the Dachshund. This dwarfism in companion animals is caused by an inherited dominant, genetic mutation. Mutations occur all the time in nature which is why humans evolved. Genetic mutations are entirely natural. On …
I’ll answer the question in reference to domestic cats, if you don’t mind. The question was asked on Quora.com under ‘domestic cats’. The answer can take many different forms. These are my instant thoughts. There are two stages in the evolution of the domestic cat (1) the wild cat phase when the North African …
‘The earliest cat-like carnivores, which were to evolve into the family Felidae appeared between 30 and 40 million years ago, in the Late Eocene and Early Oligocene. Two main branches developed: the Sabre-tooths and the True Cats.’ – Dr Desmond Morris in Cat World. Sabre-tooths These cats had huge curved canine teeth for killing …
The answer is found in evolution. Through evolution nature created the Big Cats. Conventionally, these are referred to as cats who have the ability to roar, namely the leopard, lion, tiger and jaguar. Evolution has not provided us with wild dogs which are as big as the Big Cats. As I understand it, the …
How has the domestic cat evolved over the approximate 10,000 years of its domestication from the Near Eastern wildcat? We have the beginnings of an answer at least. In 2014 scientists collected DNA samples from cheek swabs of 22 domestic cats. Unfortunately (for me) they were all purebred cats of various breeds including the …
How did the domestic cat evolve? I am going to answer this without reference to anyone’s work. Anyone is free to add information in comments. The first domestic cat was a North African wild cat and domestication happened around 10,000 years ago in or near Cyprus. This small wildcat is quite naturally predisposed to …
