One of my three meows.
Posted on 06/28/2007 12:45:32 PM PDT by Pyro7480
WASHINGTON - Garfield, Morris and the Aristocats get the fame, but look to the origins of today's furry felines and you find "lybica," a Middle Eastern wildcat. Domestic cats can be traced to wild progenitors that interbred well over 100,000 years ago, new research indicates.
"House cats — which includes fancy breeds and feral cats — those cats all form a genetic group that is virtually indistinguishable from ones in the Middle East," said Stephen J. O'Brien of the National Cancer Institute.
"So, domestication, for sure, took place in the Middle East where those cats live today," added O'Brien, co-author of a paper appearing in this week's online edition of the journal Science.
Carlos Driscoll, of Oxford University and NCI, and an international team of researchers studied the origins of those loving and aloof, graceful and finicky pets that entertain or supervise millions of homes.
It's serious research, because cats are a model for some human genetic diseases, such as polycystic kidney disease and retinal atrophy, Driscoll explained in a telephone interview. In addition, the work is expected to assist in conservation efforts for wild cats, he said.
Cats' ancestry was traced to five types of wild cats, but that doesn't mean they were domesticated five times, Driscoll said. Rather, these five types managed to interbreed at various times, with the result being Felis silvestris lybica, which appears to be the ancestor of modern house cats.
"This was an amazing experiment when animals came out of the wild," O'Brien said. "Cats are known for their ferocious, deadly nature," O'Brien said, so this is an extraordinary change for them.
Cats may have been domesticated once or many times, he said, adding that the most likely case is they were domesticated once and other wild cats bred with the domesticated ones.
"I wasn't there, but all the data supports that," he said.
The researchers found wild cats, with DNA identical to domestic cats, in Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
By studying the mitochondrial DNA of 979 domestic and wild cats from Europe, Asia and Africa the researchers concluded that the origins of the species — what O'Brien calls a feline Adam and Eve — developed between 130,000 and 160,000 years ago. Mitochondrial DNA is passed down from mother to child.
Domestication of cats began as long as 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, O'Brien said, as the earliest farmers domesticated grains and cereal. As that occurred, local wild cats adapted to hunting rodents in the grain and developed a relationship with humans.
The earliest archaeological evidence of cats and humans in association dates to 9,500 years ago in Cyprus.
Joan Miller, chair of outreach for The Cat Fanciers' Association, based in San Diego, Calif., said the most interesting aspect of the research "is the finding that some wild cats and domestic cats from the Near East were distinct from the other Felis silvestris subspecies long associated with domestic cat origins."
"Since the DNA samples were taken from cats in remote desert areas there would be less likelihood of hybridization occurring," she said. "I would like to know more about these cats."
"We have evidence of cat domestication by the Egyptians because of their prolific artwork. It would be interesting to try to investigate early artwork from Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain or Saudi Arabia," added Miller, who was not part of the research group.
Other wild cats in the study included the European wildcat, Felis silvestris silvestris; Central Asian wildcat, F. s. ornata; sub-Saharan African wildcat, F. s. cafra; and the Chinese desert cat, F. s. bieti.
The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
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One of my three meows.
Of course. But cats don't do their fur in putrid swamp mud or apply carrion conditioner as dogs are wont to do, and cats never apply skunky hair spray.
My boy brings me presents frequently, I like to think he is thanking me for rescuing him from the SPCA 5 years ago.
my cat had a hard life before I got it. After I got it home, it tried to escape once. she ran out on the porch, looked around and ran back inside. I think she finally realized that she found a safe harbor with three hots and many, many cots.
Now she whiles away the hours napping, eating and watching other animals and running upstairs to keep an eye on any invading Cats.
She is the best thing I ever got.
We must have his twin. The sweetest cat I’ve ever had.
Mew know what I’m talkin’ about. ;’)
Thanks Pyro, I missed your ping. I have a good excuse though...
I know what you mean. When we got him from the SPCA in January 2001, he had been declawed and neutered, he also hid for about the first 6 months. Because he was declawed I was afraid to allow him outside. Now that we have retired and moved home, we sit way back off the road on a farm, he is in and out about 20 or 30 times a day.
LOL!!!
Loved that pic. Most cats see themselves that way IMO—powerful and bored with humans.
Speaking of cats with roots, ever wonder about the attitude of a sabre tooth tiger in need of a root canal?
It would be like Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire Cat in reverse.
Looks like my Timmy was directly descended from Neanderthal kitties:
Rest in Peace old friend. You are greatly missed.
ROFL! That is ADORABLE!!
I love that pic!
Talcum has a look that says, “What?”.
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