Tumblr User Hilariously Explains History Of Cats And Their Journey To Domestication

Cats and dogs are among the two most popular kinds of pets people can have. You’re either a cat person or a dog person, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you hate the other pet, you just have a clear preference for one or the other. That being said, there’s a huge difference between what kind of pet a cat is compared to a dog. It refers specifically to their kind of domestication. Because while dogs were bred for human use and utilization, cats are an entirely different story.

A Tumblr user extensively covered the history of what made cats into what they are today. They took us through the steps of what caused cats to become the strange domesticated creatures that they are now, and the funny thing is that, unlike dogs, which were bred into modern pets over the course of a hundred years or so, cats took thousands of years. Why? Because it was natural evolution instead of artificial selection.

The user is Koryos

Here are some extra facts from Purina!

Meows are the most frequent cat-to-human vocalizations. But they are uncommon in cat-to-cat communication. Cats communicate with each other through scent, facial expression, marking, body language and vocalization. Vocalizations used in cat-to-cat communication include caterwauls for mating, hissing to ward off an intruder or shrieking when hurt or afraid.

And they made an educating post

Part 1 Egyptian history

Kittens meow to solicit attention and care from their mothers. Once the kittens are grown, they stop meowing to other cats. Meowing is usually not part of adult cat-to-cat communication—it is used almost exclusively with humans. So why do cats meow to people? Because meowing is what works.

Mice

So many mice

Like, so so many.

Researchers have compared the vocalizations of the domestic cat to the vocalizations of its closest relative, the African wild cat, a species that also vocalizes a lot. They have also discovered that the vocalizations of the domestic cat have evolved to become more pleasant to the human ear.

The wildcat

Felis sylvestris

African wildcat

Piebald coloration

Their meows are less threatening, more high-pitched and more kitten-like. Humans are more sensitive to this type of sound and also more likely to respond positively, such as by providing care—like we do when an infant cries.

Antarctica

Part 2 Dog domestication

Flight distance

Mummy cats

Hieroglyphs and imagery

Tomb of Nebuman

Semi-domestication

Meowing can develop into a language used by your cat to communicate with you. Some scientists would say that cats have refined their meows specifically to manipulate people—and it works! Cats can learn to modify the characteristics of their meows, such as their frequencies or duration, to let people know exactly what they want.

Cat horde

Part 3 Feral and domestic

Cat colonies

Behavioral change

Research was done

Genetic differences

Graphical analysis

Neoteny

A forever baby

Mimicry

Not surprisingly, the more experience people have with cats, the better they are at understanding what their cats want when they meow at them. Some research suggests that, based on the sound alone, experienced cat owners can identify the meaning of about 40 percent of the meows. That’s a pretty remarkable result, considering that in that research, the respondents didn’t have any visual clues to help them.