Cats May Have Been Domesticated Twice (sciencemag.org)

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Cats May Have Been Domesticated Twice (sciencemag.org)

Posted by BeauHD on Monday June 19, 2017 @10:00PM from the pet-animals dept.

sciencehabit writes: Cats may have been domesticated twice, once in Turkey around 10,000 years ago, and again in Egypt, thousands of years later. That's the conclusion of a new genetic analysis of more than 200 ancient cats, including DNA extracted from Egyptian mummies. The scientists found evidence for an exodus of cats into the wider world from both ancient Turkey and ancient Egypt, but that these two waves of cats sported different genetic signatures. Whether or not the ancient Egyptians independently domesticated cats, their massive breeding programs appear to have further tamed the feline, turning cats from territorial and antisocial creatures into the lovable furballs we know today.

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Domesticated? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-19 22:05 · Score: 5, Funny

Cats have never been domesticated by humans. They domesticated us, and I for one welcome our feline overlords.
1. Re:Domesticated? by Opportunist · 2017-06-19 22:26 · Score: 2
  
  *purr*
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
2. Re: Domesticated? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 00:21 · Score: 0
  
  Lovable furballs my ass. My neighbour's cat is a fucking feline Cujo.
3. Re:Domesticated? by wvmarle · 2017-06-20 00:23 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Exactly. Turkey was just a trial run, after the analyses was done and the kinks worked out they really went for it in Egypt. All in the name of world domination! They succeeded, where many an evil mastermind has utterly failed.
4. Re:Domesticated? by OpenSourced · 2017-06-20 00:29 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  But it was done twice!. We can try now for the third one, see if this time it sticks!
  
  --
  Rome taught me patience and assiduous application to detail. Virtues which temper the boldness of great, general views.
5. Re:Domesticated? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 00:31 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  As they say about pet ownership: "Dogs have owners, cats have staff."
6. Re:Domesticated? by PolygamousRanchKid+ · 2017-06-20 00:47 · Score: 1
  
  Well, I'm sorry to Godwin this thread so early, but those seemingly benign furry faux friends are definitely up to something sinister: Kitlers http://www.catsthatlooklikehit...
  
  --
  Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
7. Re: Domesticated? by hey! · 2017-06-20 01:19 · Score: 1
  
  That's part of the attraction. If you've ever seen a cat play with a mouse, it's clear that they're utterly merciless killing machines, and yet they'll let you scratch behind their ears. If they're not hungry themselves, they may even bring you a gruesome present.
  
  --
  Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
8. Re: Domesticated? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 01:49 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I love cat "presents", because what they are saying with it is "you can't hunt for shit, but I like you, so here is some food so you don't starve".
9. Re:Domesticated? by cayenne8 · 2017-06-20 02:27 · Score: 1
  
  So, humans have been sneezing for over 10K years...??
  
  --
  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
10. Re:Domesticated? by whitroth · 2017-06-20 04:30 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Right. A better way of looking at the story is this:
  Dogs, we got together with 15? 20? 30? kyears ago, and what happened? We chased game, hung out, and licked or scratched our private parts.
  Then cats figured out how to domesticate us, and the next thing you know, we have agriculture and towns, then cities.
  See? That's why we're here....
11. Re:Domesticated? by filesiteguy · 2017-06-20 04:37 · Score: 1
  
  As a former servant to cats and current owner of a dog, I concur. That was my first thought. Cats put up with us.
  
  --
  The Kai's Semi-Updated Website Thingy
12. Re:Domesticated? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 06:41 · Score: 1
  
  It was not Turkey at the time. Turkey have only existed for 600 years. 10000 year ago we are talking the cradle of civilization - Tigris and Euphrates river area. It could have been Babylonians, even though the river sources a bit north of where Babylon user to be, it could have been Phoenicians, even though again the sources are way north of where Phoenicia used to be, but there were greek and other tribes living in that area, but they were certainly not Turkish. Turkish are savages that settled there and invaded Europe in the 1300s/1400s.
13. Re:Domesticated? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 09:50 · Score: 0
  
  It's a pity I can give you just one modpoint. Sir, you win teh Interwebs.
14. Re:Domesticated? by crunchygranola · 2017-06-20 10:24 · Score: 2
  
  There is the old joke about the difference between dogs and cats/
  Dogs think: “These people feed me, provide for me, give me shelter, and love me. They must be a God!”
  Cats think: “These people feed me, provide for me, give me shelter and love me. I must be a God!”
  
  --
  Second class citizen of the New Gilded Age
15. Re:Domesticated? by crunchygranola · 2017-06-20 10:28 · Score: 1
  
  Exactly. Turkey was just a trial run, after the analyses was done and the kinks worked out they really went for it in Egypt. All in the name of world domination! They succeeded, where many an evil mastermind has utterly failed.
  The abstract of the Nature paper does include this sentence: "While the cat’s worldwide conquest began during the Neolithic period in the Near East..."
  
  --
  Second class citizen of the New Gilded Age
16. Re:Domesticated? by loufoque · 2017-06-20 15:40 · Score: 1
  
  That river valley you speak of is modern Iraq, not Turkey.
17. Re:Domesticated? by RockDoctor · 2017-06-21 12:30 · Score: 1
  
  Humans sneeze.
  Cats sneeze.
  Guinea pigs sneeze (I used to infect the little buggers with TB - trust me on this, they sneeze.
  This is what is known as a "phylogenetic bracket" - the same character is seen in multiple, distantly related, lineages. While it is possible that the lineages have each independently developed the same character ("convergent evolution"), as the number of organisms and the number of associated characters increases it becomes increasingly likely that the origin of the character is by common descent, not by convergent evolution.
  I deduce that humans have only been sneezing for around 300,000 years (since that's the approximate age of the species), but that mammals have in general been sneezing for around 150 million years.
  I guess that you sneeze in response to what you think is an allergy to cats. If it was a choice between sneezing and starving to death next year because the rats had eaten your seed, I think you'd tolerate the sneezing better.
  
  --
  Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
18. Re:Domesticated? by RockDoctor · 2017-06-21 12:32 · Score: 1
  
  Have you not noticed that for every Evil Mastermind, there is a fluffy white cat on her lap. THe masterminds only succeed with the cat's permission.
  
  --
  Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
Who domesticated whom? by 140Mandak262Jamuna · 2017-06-19 22:16 · Score: 2, Informative

All those old ladies who live with dozens of cats living among the stench of them might have been infected with Toxoplasma virus. This virus infects the brain and creates a liking for cat urine and excreta! The life cycle of this virus is that it reproduces in cat bodies but matures in mice bodies. Makes the mice lose their fear of cats, and the cats eat them. It seems to have jumped to humans and humans find cats lovable because of this infection.
Thus one can seriously argue cats have been domesticating humans. We domesticated other animals and plants by careful selection and breeding programs. But cats have been domesticating us using a virus without either the cats or us being aware of it.

--
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
1. Re: Who domesticated whom? by Nidi62 · 2017-06-19 22:36 · Score: 2
  
  Are you sure cats aren't aware of it? Sounds to me like they are waging biological warfare on us.
  
  --
  The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
2. Re:Who domesticated whom? by squiggleslash · 2017-06-19 23:40 · Score: 1
  
  Toxoplasma is, as another sibling posting points out, a parasite, which means that it's not cats domesticating people or vice versa, it's toxoplasma controlling both - if you want to be paranoid.
  That said, as cats are domesticated and kept even in the absence of the parasite, it's not really a factor here. A sizable number of cats, including many outside of those practical to keep as pets, seem to be fairly easy to domesticate - bring up a cheetah cub yourself and it'll purr and let you do all the things you'd expect to be able to do with a Maine Coon without it ripping your head off, for example. As neither toxoplasma nor centuries of evolution explains that, you end up having to draw the conclusion that many, many, types of cat are just naturally comfortable and friendly towards those who bring them up.
  
  --
  You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
3. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 00:01 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  All those old ladies who live with dozens of cats living among the stench of them might have been infected with Toxoplasma virus.
  a) It's not a virus
  b) Most people get it by either eating or working with pork.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis#Transmission
4. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Oswald+McWeany · 2017-06-20 00:13 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  The feline brain is very similar in structure to the human brain, only obviously a lot smaller.
  Just like humans they are very adaptive and able to change with their environment. So if that environment includes humans, they adapt and learn to live with a human environment.
  
  --
  "That's the way to do it" - Punch
5. Re:Who domesticated whom? by wvmarle · 2017-06-20 00:25 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Then we should compare the love for cats in Muslim/Jewish communities with that in other, pork eating communities. If that parasite has any real influence, there should be a significant difference.
6. Re:Who domesticated whom? by someone1234 · 2017-06-20 01:08 · Score: 1
  
  I totally hate the smell of cat urine, but i like cats. So there is no "virus". Not even a parasite.
  
  --
  Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
7. Re:Who domesticated whom? by AmiMoJo · 2017-06-20 01:21 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  If you understand a few things about the cat brain, their behaviour makes a lot more sense.
  Cats don't understand cause and effect. They only learn by trial and error, positive and negative reinforcement. Often they will adopt less than optimal behaviours because they work and they don't have any concept of optimization. Sometimes this makes them seem very clever, appearing to have worked out how to perform a complex series of actions, and other times they seem really dumb. In every case it's just the result of trying stuff until something works, and cats have a lot of time to spend experimenting.
  Cats also don't have object permanence. When they see a toy, they don't think "that's the same toy I had yesterday, and it's where I left it". They only know it's their toy because it's shape is familiar and it smells like them. They only know where it is because they learned by experience that it's usually in a particular room.
  On a social level, they are basically sociopaths. They learn how to behave around humans but don't necessarily feel the emotions that drive us to act a certain way. Some behaviour is the same as they would have with their mother. Adult cats generally don't use their voices much, if they meow it's usually to get their human staff to do what they want, the same as they would meow to attract their mother's attention. Kneading is another kitten behaviour that they apply to humans - they are trying to milk you.
  The most important thing for cats is their personal domain. Moving house is very traumatic for them because they need familiar spaces. They don't really care who the human staff are; you being a constant during the move doesn't offer them much comfort. Some places have started offering apartments with cats, i.e. the cat lives in the apartment all its life while the humans come and go.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
8. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Zontar_Thing_From_Ve · 2017-06-20 01:24 · Score: 0
  
  The feline brain is very similar in structure to the human brain, only obviously a lot smaller.
  And a lot stupider. Insert obligatory joke about _______ voter here. But seriously, I used to work with a guy who was one of those "crazy cat people". I think he has had as many as 8 cats at a time living with him. Calling him a fan of cats is really an understatement. And I remember him saying that while he loved cats, they were in general pretty stupid and dogs, of which he had zero, were a lot more intelligent.
9. Re: Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 01:26 · Score: 0
  
  I've never seen more conclusive proof in my life ! Put it on Wikipedia
10. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Gilgaron · 2017-06-20 01:28 · Score: 1
  
  If you cook the pork you kill the parasite, so I'm not sure you'll find many places where it is easy to find an endemic parasitism in a broad human population. In modern times it is more like getting salmonella but it sticks around longer.
11. Re:Who domesticated whom? by arth1 · 2017-06-20 01:40 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Just like humans they are very adaptive and able to change with their environment.
  That's not my experience. Cats are bound to territories, while dogs are bound to the pack. The act of moving can push a cat into depression and behavioral problems, while a dog thrives on environmental changes, as long as the pack stays together.
12. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Kierthos · 2017-06-20 01:42 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  I think it's fairer to say that the intelligence range of cats and dogs can widely vary. I've known some dogs that were dumber than a bag of hammers.
  Okay, story time. One of the cats we had when I was younger was a Siamese that we got from a shelter. If she had a previous owner, that owner never let her outside. Well, all of our cats have been indoor/outdoor cats, so we didn't see any problem letting her outside after she had acclimatized to her new home.
  No, she didn't run away. She was, quite frankly, amazed at the outside. Kind of a "Oh, wait, there's more?"
  Anyway, a while after we got her, she's outside, sunning herself on the front walk when a neighbor's Golden Retriever sees her. Now, this dog was a very pretty dog (as Golden Retrievers tend to be), but it was so dumb it's brain might as well have been a flowchart.
  So, it sees the cat, and in it's doggie brain, the only possible response is "run at cat, barking madly" followed by "WHEN cat runs, chase it."
  Not, "IF cat runs". "WHEN".
  Well, of course, the cat had no idea what a dog even was, and being the most chill cat ever, waited until the dog came to a screeching halt, still barking, to get up, sniff the dog's face, do a little kitty shrug, and lie back down. The dog was not important to the cat.
  The dog wandered off back to it's own yard. It had no concept of what to do when the cat didn't run.
  
  --
  Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
13. Re:Who domesticated whom? by angel'o'sphere · 2017-06-20 01:49 · Score: 1
  
  That is basically true for all cubs, regardless of species.
  
  --
  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
14. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 02:04 · Score: 0, Offtopic
  
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  Thanks for telling us that you are "someone who, when they perceive an injustice, attempts to fix it with more injustice". Because why else post that phony definition unless you fit the real definition?
  
  Note, I never said anything about the injustice being fake. It can even be a real injustice that is perceived (though it can be fake too). The important distinction, when determining if someone is an SJW, is their reaction to said injustice. So again, thank you for telling us that you are someone who likes to try to fix injustice (real or not) by heaping on more injustice.
15. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 02:08 · Score: 1
  
  The "pork disease" is not toxoplasmosis, it's trichinosis. Yes, you can get toxoplasmosis from pork, but it's nowhere near as common.
  Toxoplasmosis is a bacterial infection caused by T. gondii.
  Trichinosis is a parasitic worm infection named for the roundworms in the Trichinella genus that cause the condition.
16. Re: Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 02:22 · Score: 0
  
  Are you sure cats aren't aware of it? Sounds to me like they are waging biological warfare on us.
  True biological warfare against humans tends to remove the concept of choice.
  This is not warfare, because no one is forcing humans to own fucking cats.
17. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Ogive17 · 2017-06-20 02:22 · Score: 1
  
  We have two cats. One of the cats will routinely "act out" to get attention.. from playing with the blinds or wires (she's a wire chewer) or jumping in front of the tv while it is on. I always joke that this cat is a perpetual 2 year old. Pushing the boundary to get what she wants.
  
  --
  "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
18. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 02:22 · Score: 0
  
  That does sound like a reasonable way to test it.
19. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Oswald+McWeany · 2017-06-20 02:42 · Score: 1
  
  I have one cat pushing 20 years. She just lays around doing nothing now- but when she was young she was a terror. She knew she wasn't allowed to play with the blinds (because she destroyed them). She also knew if I was in bed in one room, I was unlikely to get out of bed to discipline her if she went into the next room.
  When I was up and about, blinds were safe. The minute I went to bed she went to the neighbouring room and started destroying the blinds. The bedroom blinds she waited until I was at work to mangle to her satisfaction.
  
  --
  "That's the way to do it" - Punch
20. Re:Who domesticated whom? by thegarbz · 2017-06-20 02:56 · Score: 1
  
  nor centuries of evolution explains that
  Evolution explains exactly that. The differences in both brain and type of behavior between animals determines if they are suitable for domestication, and their utility to us determines if it is worth our while to do so.
  Case in point: Zebras. The only ones that have successfully be domesticated have been cross bread bringing in the evolutionary traits that were missing.
21. Re: Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 03:21 · Score: 1
  
  Are you sure cats aren't aware of it? Sounds to me like they are waging biological warfare on us.
  True biological warfare against humans tends to remove the concept of choice.
  This is not warfare, because no one is forcing humans to own fucking cats.
  I see the cats have you fooled.
22. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 03:31 · Score: 0
  
  The other vocalisations apart from meows are that "rrrrr" sound they make when confused by something. I've seen a mother cat make the "rrrrr" sound while brushing up against a kitten to ask if it is hungry or happy. There's hissing and spitting. Some cats do have different meows which almost sound like words "can't" "won't" and there are some species known as "talking cats" that will meow back if spoken too.
  They certainly know words like their own name, food sounds like, "tuna", "chicken", "turkey", cans of food being opened, serving spoons being tapped against dishes (positive reinforcement with food and smell).
23. Re:Who domesticated whom? by bluefoxlucid · 2017-06-20 04:28 · Score: 1
  
  It appears to not affect humans in that way.
  
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  Support my political activism on Patreon.
24. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 04:32 · Score: 0
  
  How confident are you about all this?
25. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 05:02 · Score: 0
  
  So we should cook our cats?
  I'm for it!
26. Re:Who domesticated whom? by eaglesrule · 2017-06-20 05:17 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  On a social level, they are basically sociopaths
  While it is true that cats tend to be independently minded, they also form bonds in a group and have an established hierarchy. They are very social, but also protective of each other when sufficiently bonded.
  I've experienced cases where when a cat senses one of their group to be in danger or trapped, it will go and try to seek help. They will vocalize when they feel something is wrong or requires attention.
  An example, one day one of our outside cats (an adopted stray) went missing. We didn't think much of it at first as its a pretty common occurrence, but after several days there was a change in behavior in one of the other outside cats. It became extremely vocal, following us around and demanding attention until we followed it. It led us to a small structure on a neighboring property and was acting very agitated. When we looked inside, we found the missing cat, which had been trapped and would have died had its partner not alerted us.
  That's not what I'd consider to be sociopathic.
27. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 05:33 · Score: 0
  
  Cats are not territorial, they roam...your cat was just depressed
28. Re:Who domesticated whom? by hawk · 2017-06-20 05:36 · Score: 1
  
  I observed a similar behavior with my cat, which I had had for years, and the new kitten.
  He did the head-butt to follow thing, and brought me to the litter box where the kitten had died, and meowed at me.
  (and it wasn't because he was smart--he couldn't figure out that there was food in the bowl unless someone stood there for him to start [you could leave once he started], nor that he could pee outside when he escaped [and that was when I lived two blocks from the ocean--I'd come home 12 hours later, an he'd be dancing on the porch, desperate !])
  hawk
29. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Rick+Schumann · 2017-06-20 05:50 · Score: 2
  
  Adult cats generally don't use their voices much
  Fact of the matter is, in the wild, cats rarely vocalize at all. Humans 'teach' them to 'talk', because we make so much (unncessary?) noise with our mouths. Cats learn to copy that because they discover it gets them what they want. This is something I picked up watching some shows on Animal Planet. :-)
30. Re:Who domesticated whom? by whitroth · 2017-06-20 05:53 · Score: 1
  
  Sorry, evidence proves you wrong that "cats don't understand cause and effect".
  Datum: I was there when a late friend was running a laser pointer for the cat's pleasure. She got tired of holding in the button and stopped.
  Cat looked where the pointer dot had been, looked at her hand, came over, and batted at her hand with the pointer: "the cat is not done playing...."
31. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Dorianny · 2017-06-20 06:08 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  The hype over T.gondii has been largely driven by popular opinion pieces such as “How Your Cat Is Making You Crazy” instead of high quality research.
  In-fact in what they call, "to our knowledge, the most comprehensive assessment of the possible link between T. gondii infection and a variety of impairments in a single cohort," Duke University researchers Karen Sugden suggests that there may be nothing to worry about after all. They report that toxoplasmosis is associated with essentially no behavioural abnormalities in humans. http://blogs.discovermagazine....
32. Re: Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 06:08 · Score: 0
  
  Ohhhhhh longgggggggg Johnson
  Memes kill people.
33. Re: Who domesticated whom? by Wycliffe · 2017-06-20 06:09 · Score: 2
  
  This is not warfare, because no one is forcing humans to own fucking cats.
  Depends on how you define "force". If a parasite creates a strong desire for you to own a cat, that's pretty close to force. Just like no one forces someone addicted to cigarettes to smoke, but once you are addicted, you have a very strong desire to continue to smoke. Some hard drugs are even worse where you practically die if you stop. If you stop eating for a few weeks, your body creates a strong desire that might not technically force you to eat but requires significant energy to resist. Along the same lines, the government doesn't force you to pay your taxes but if you don't it will make your life pretty miserable until you do.
34. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 06:11 · Score: 0
  
  Food being opened is a simple association, a bell ringing. They are mammals though, I expect they can handle basic abstract words if you spend long enough using them in a consistent, narrow way.
  You could probably teach one to say, oh, maybe "open". It wouldn't be an abstract verb, it would have to refer to a specific object, plural "doors" at best. And the "word" would obviously be tonal, our whole lip-tongue-glottal routine is arcane nonsense.
  You and I are also very coded to tonal communication. You interpret lots of phrases based on their prescripted, long-established, tone string; NOT the words spoken. This is why you can mumble the string and still be understood, or understand it in a foreign tongue. Common example, "I don't know".
35. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Wycliffe · 2017-06-20 06:19 · Score: 2
  
  nor centuries of evolution explains that
  Evolution explains exactly that. The differences in both brain and type of behavior between animals determines if they are suitable for domestication, and their utility to us determines if it is worth our while to do so.
  Case in point: Zebras. The only ones that have successfully be domesticated have been cross bread bringing in the evolutionary traits that were missing.
  Their natural traits explains why certain animals were domesticated while others weren't. Most wild animals can be raised in captivity and become handleable. Dogs and cats both have natural tendencies that make them desirable animals. Dogs tend to be loyal and can be trained to protect and hunt while cats naturally help kill pests. Also, dogs naturally want to poop away from their home and also want to please which makes them easy to house train. Likewise with cats, they naturally want to cover their poop and tend to always go in same spot which we can exploit by providing them a litter box. Some of the more exotic animals don't have the natural tendencies of either dogs or cats and housebreaking them is all but impossible.
36. Re:Who domesticated whom? by squiggleslash · 2017-06-20 06:27 · Score: 1
  
  Sorry, my point was probably unclear as I was answering a question that hadn't been asked. I was addressing the usual assumption that domestic cats are domesticated because once humans started trying to domesticate them, the evolution process favored cats that could live with humans.
  I frequently hear people assert that cats purr, meow, etc, because those are things humans favor, and so cats that do that were more successful (because humans helped them and bred them) than cats that don't.
  What's clear is that that isn't the case, cats were already easy to domesticate before humans started trying, and cheetahs are an example of a cat that does all those things (including meow!) despite having not having domestication as an evolutionary input.
  
  --
  You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
37. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 06:45 · Score: 0
  
  Cats do have the intelligence of a 4-5 year old child. I had a break in at my house, with only the cat inside. When I came home she walked around, stopping at places where the criminals have searched or stolen something from and meowed a 60 to 90 second message in as much human language as she could muster. Of course I couldn't not understand it, but the little thing was trying very hard to communicate what has happened. I wasn't even aware of certain things missing until she pointed the areas where those things used to be and I had to account more carefully for what sued to be there.
38. Re:Who domesticated whom? by HornWumpus · 2017-06-20 08:13 · Score: 1
  
  You have to hire professional cat confusers regularly or that happens.
  
  --
  John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
39. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 08:50 · Score: 0
  
  From what I have seen from you here you don't have more brainpower than an averaage insect AmiMoJo https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10760489&cid=54652611/ since you couldn't handle that simple task yourself.
40. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 08:56 · Score: 0
  
  I'm not sure where you got your information from.
  A simple Google search reveals multiple studies on the object permanence of cats.
  There have been multiple studies on cat empathy as well - with more recent studies showing a large possibility for it.
  There have been studies showing that chickens have empathy.
  Most animals are a lot more developed than we might think. Also - it's a pretty large statement to make that "cat's are sociopaths" when our means of testing such a claim are shitty at best.
41. Re:Who domesticated whom? by markdavis · 2017-06-20 10:05 · Score: 1
  
  >"All those old ladies who live with dozens of cats living among the stench of them"
  Indoor cats (at least none I have ever encountered) don't have any negative smell or stench. Now, if you haven't trained the cat or don't clean the litterbox, yeah, cat urine smell is horrible. But I have had cats my entire life and have never had a problem with them urinating outside the box, and have zero smell in my house.
  Dogs are the animals that smell, especially wet (OMG)... as do humans. Cats are remarkably clean, and self-cleaning. Unfortunately they tend to get cat hair everywhere.
42. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Mkkby · 2017-06-20 12:34 · Score: 3
  
  Religiously trained people tend to think animals are robots that can only react to base survival needs. Nature is to be conquered, rather than understood/respected. Much too simplistic and ignores obvious facts. Story time. My cat sensed danger -- a significant change in the world -- and woke me up. This happened twice. A power outage and a snow storm. In each case, I immediately noticed something WAS wrong. It was much quieter than usual. The cat didn't think only of itself, i.e to hide or run away. It was concerned about others.
43. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Mkkby · 2017-06-20 12:38 · Score: 2
  
  If an insect is buzzing around the blinds, they are toast. It is too attractive a target.
44. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Mkkby · 2017-06-20 12:47 · Score: 2
  
  If you feed them a healthy diet there is no litter box smell. Dry cat food is far too high carb for cats (despite what the manufacturer may claim), and it results in an unhealthy cat and stinky box.
45. Re:Who domesticated whom? by sysrammer · 2017-06-20 19:47 · Score: 1
  
  Beep beep.
  
  --
  His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
46. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-21 00:53 · Score: 0
  
  I'm a religious nutter, but I still love cats and think of them as very intelligent :)
47. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-21 00:58 · Score: 0
  
  It depends on the cat... I have 2 cats... one loves new places and the other hates them...
  One loves driving in a car while the other hates it...
48. Re:Who domesticated whom? by david_thornley · 2017-06-21 04:44 · Score: 1
  
  Moving house is very traumatic for them because they need familiar spaces.
  
  Mine seem to be reassured by a familiar food dish, not by familiar humans. I know where I rate.
  
  --
  "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
49. Re:Who domesticated whom? by Ogive17 · 2017-06-21 12:34 · Score: 1
  
  My cat is the opposite, only does those things when I'm watching.
  
  --
  "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
50. Re:Who domesticated whom? by KozmoStevnNaut · 2017-06-21 19:10 · Score: 1
  
  There is no credible proof of that theory at all.
  
  --
  Eat the rich.
domestication vs castration by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-19 22:20 · Score: 0, Interesting

> turning cats from territorial and antisocial creatures into the lovable furballs we know today.
That's the result of castration/sterilization, not domestication. Most cats are still pretty much territorial and antisocial. Egyptians only learnt them a new hunt technic made of a mix of harassing, mewing, purring and rubbing against human being legs until they accept to release some food.
1. Re:domestication vs castration by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-19 22:46 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Well, you've actually very wrong there as castration/sterilisation have little to nothing to do with how friendly a cat is. That's actually almost entirely due to domestication and selective breeding. A small hint might be the fact that to be able to get more cats you need to breed them and this might surprise you but that isn't possible if you've castrated or sterilised the cat.
2. Re:domestication vs castration by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 00:25 · Score: 0
  
  I'm not saying they are friendlier. Domesticated animals are just more afraid of everything and tend to choose what they percieve is the easiest/safest route.
  Domestication isn't about love or friendliness. Quite the opposite actually.
  And no your dog do not love you. He is just stupid.
3. Re:domestication vs castration by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 03:53 · Score: 0
  
  Domestication isn't about love or friendliness. Quite the opposite actually.
  And no your dog do not love you. He is just stupid.
  With that attitude, a dog would have to be stupid to love you.
Cat people are weirdos by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-19 22:20 · Score: 0, Flamebait

If you own a cat you are a basement dwelling mouth-breather or a closet case, or both.
1. Re:Cat people are weirdos by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 03:38 · Score: 0
  
  3rd floor apartment and openly insane here. You're wrong.
2. Re:Cat people are weirdos by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 05:57 · Score: 0
  
  3rd floor apartment and openly insane here. You're wrong.
  His parents tell him they have 2 sub-basements. The rest was correct.
No, ZERO by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-19 22:21 · Score: 0

Humans, on the other hand...
It's not a virus! by Ihlosi · 2017-06-19 22:27 · Score: 4, Informative

It's not a virus, but a parasite. The fact that it has a "life cycle" comprised of several reproductive stages should be a strong hint. Viruses just get host cells to make more viruses.
Cats stopped being antisocial? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-19 22:27 · Score: 0

What is the summary talking about? Cats stopped being antisocial? I beg to differ, especially when cats are compared against dogs. While dogs largely have been tamed, largely becoming scavengers instead of predators, cats seem to retailers many more undomesticated attributes. The development of dogs from wolves was largely accidental, too, with the social skills of approaching human colonies for their scraps providing a significant survival advantage over wolves, which were far less social.
1. Re:Cats stopped being antisocial? by Oswald+McWeany · 2017-06-20 00:17 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  What is the summary talking about? Cats stopped being antisocial? I beg to differ, especially when cats are compared against dogs. While dogs largely have been tamed, largely becoming scavengers instead of predators, cats seem to retailers many more undomesticated attributes. The development of dogs from wolves was largely accidental, too, with the social skills of approaching human colonies for their scraps providing a significant survival advantage over wolves, which were far less social.
  Anyone that has lived with a cat can tell you that they are very social animals. They're just not DEPENDANT on people like dogs are. Dogs are stuck on the "look at me, pay attention to me" mode. Cats are more like people, they have times they want to be with others, and times they want to be alone. They are very social though. They get lonely when left alone, and enjoy the company of others, even if they don't want constant petting.
  Cats will typically want to curl up and sleep in whatever room you're in. They may not want you to touch them all the time, but they want to be near you.
  
  --
  "That's the way to do it" - Punch
2. Re: Cats stopped being antisocial? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 00:48 · Score: 0
  
  Arguments don't work; dog people tend to prefer the companionship of stupid creatures which blindly follow them / live to serve. They are therefore not generally open to criticism or otherwise admitting to being wrong. ;)
3. Re: Cats stopped being antisocial? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 01:37 · Score: 0
  
  -- Arguments don't work; dog people tend to prefer the companionship of stupid creatures which blindly -- follow them / live to serve. They are therefore not generally open to criticism or otherwise admitting to -- being wrong. ;)
  Spoken as only a true cat owner would; arrogant, egotistical, aloof and pretentious. I'm a dog owner and cat owners hate when I'm right.
  Cat owners and their ego...they never learn.
4. Re:Cats stopped being antisocial? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 02:34 · Score: 0
  
  Cats stopped being antisocial? I beg to differ, especially
  I beg to differ with your begging to differ.
  The difference is that dogs HAVE TO like you. It's genetic, and they can't help it. They're friendly and all, but they have very little choice in the matter.
  Cats make their own decision about which humans to be affectionate with. They can be highly affectionate creatures, but it isn't automatic. The cat has to decide that for itself, which it may or may not, and on its own terms.
5. Re:Cats stopped being antisocial? by Theaetetus · 2017-06-20 02:47 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Anyone that has lived with a cat can tell you that they are very social animals. They're just not DEPENDANT on people like dogs are. Dogs are stuck on the "look at me, pay attention to me" mode. Cats are more like people, they have times they want to be with others, and times they want to be alone. They are very social though.
  Or, as an analogy, dogs are like five year olds, constantly wanting and needing attention; cats are like teenagers, mostly independent but occasionally affectionate.
  /also explains their sleeping habits
6. Re: Cats stopped being antisocial? by thegarbz · 2017-06-20 02:58 · Score: 2
  
  I'm a dog owner and cat owners hate when I'm right.
  Cat owners and their ego...they never learn.
  These are the funniest two sentences I've read in a row in a long time.
7. Re:Cats stopped being antisocial? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 05:37 · Score: 0
  
  By comparison with their ancestors (wolves), dogs are stuck in a state of perennial puppyhood. Dogs became domesticated by never growing up - they're always stuck in a childish state.
8. Re: Cats stopped being antisocial? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 06:19 · Score: 0
  
  False. I have a dog and 1 cat. Both exhibit the same behavior when it comes to our family. Each animal has a favorite and least favorite person in the family. My dog won't even go near some people, but if I'm home he is always by my side.
9. Re: Cats stopped being antisocial? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 06:34 · Score: 0
  
  Spoken like a true Burmese python owner. I have nothing clever to observe.
10. Re: Cats stopped being antisocial? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 07:55 · Score: 0
  
  It's not a difference of maturity or intelligence, but the differing social structures of canines and felines. Canines tend to live in packs and do accept humans into their packs. It's their nature, because they evolved that way to live in packs, and not because canines are less intelligent than felines.
11. Re:Cats stopped being antisocial? by crunchygranola · 2017-06-20 10:17 · Score: 1
  
  By comparison with their ancestors (wolves), dogs are stuck in a state of perennial puppyhood. Dogs became domesticated by never growing up - they're always stuck in a childish state.
  Neotony is a big part of it, as has been shown by Dmitri Belyaev in the Russian Red Fox experiment, but that is not the whole story. Belyaev's work showed significant domestication (and emergence of neotenous traits) in only a few dozen generations. But dogs have undergone selection for about 10,000 generations, and also have developed some other remarkable traits beyond just accepting humans.
  For example dogs have a remarkable ability to learn and respond to words and can learn to recognize several hundred words, similar to the ability of a two and a half year old (roughly). They process word recognition in the same region of the brain that humans use for speech. Dogs also exhibit a "theory of mind", being able to guess what human intentions are. If you point at something, a dog will look at what you are pointing at, showing that they understand your intention in making the gesture. No other animal, not even apes, show this ability.
  It has been difficult to do comparative intelligence studies in cats because cats aren't interested in cooperating.
  [BTW claiming that dogs are as smart as a 5 year old, as some posters here do, is ridiculous. They aren't that smart.]
  
  --
  Second class citizen of the New Gilded Age
12. Re:Cats stopped being antisocial? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 12:58 · Score: 0
  
  Dogs were always more scavengers than predators. Even wolves, the most predatory of canines get a significant portion of their food from scavenging.
13. Re: Cats stopped being antisocial? by sysrammer · 2017-06-20 19:50 · Score: 1
  
  I have a dog and a cat. Does that make me bi?
  
  --
  His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
14. Re: Cats stopped being antisocial? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 21:35 · Score: 0
  
  I have a dog and a cat. Does that make me bi?
  Yes, if you have sex with them and one is female and the other male.
15. Re: Cats stopped being antisocial? by thegarbz · 2017-06-21 00:29 · Score: 1
  
  No, but if a sexual description is what you want a masochist would probably fit nicely :-)
A lot of people don't understand cats by DeplorableCodeMonkey · 2017-06-19 22:37 · Score: 4, Informative

Cats can be highly social, loving animals if you don't raise them like a feral that happens to live in your house. When ours were kittens, we used to cart them around the house all of the time like babies, holding them, petting them, etc. And quelle surprise... they had a lot more in common with the average dog in terms of affection than the average cat many people know.
Plus discipline. Set boundaries and set them hard from a young age. Cats generally will accept them.
1. Re:A lot of people don't understand cats by Lumpy · 2017-06-19 23:35 · Score: 1
  
  My cats fetch and happily accept a leash on the collar. you can train cats quite easily, it's just that most people are too lazy to even try.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
2. Re:A lot of people don't understand cats by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 00:03 · Score: 0
  
  ...can be trained easily as kittens.
  Training adult cats is orders of magnitude harder.
3. Re:A lot of people don't understand cats by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 00:54 · Score: 0
  
  ...can be trained easily as kittens.
  Training adult cats is orders of magnitude harder.
  Just like humans.
4. Re:A lot of people don't understand cats by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 01:19 · Score: 0
  
  Cats are the buffoons of the animal world.
5. Re:A lot of people don't understand cats by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 01:23 · Score: 0
  
  Cats are the buffoons of the animal world.
  I thought that was nigroes
6. Re:A lot of people don't understand cats by Carewolf · 2017-06-20 02:24 · Score: 2
  
  It also depends on the race. The common housecat is a terrible domesticated breed. The classic breeds the near east are much more domestic.
7. Re:A lot of people don't understand cats by Carewolf · 2017-06-20 02:27 · Score: 1
  
  In cats they are called panthers.
8. Re:A lot of people don't understand cats by Aero77 · 2017-06-20 02:57 · Score: 1
  
  Agreed. We have a kitten that plays fetch. (He drops it your hand about 50% of the time.) This one and a couple others are as talkative as dogs and will follow you around the house. The key is high socialization.
9. Re:A lot of people don't understand cats by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 03:36 · Score: 1
  
  Our family were once given the task of civilising a feral cat and her kittens. The kittens took a month. The mother ran away at first, but only to the end of the garden. We just let food out for her. Eventually, she managed to entice a kitten to escape with her. But they would end up sitting at our doorstep waiting for food. We'd leave the door open and the mother actually started tucking her kitten into a basket under a table while she went out hunting. It wasn't our intention for the basket to be used for that purpose. Within a few months, she was sleeping in the basket, along with her grown up kitten. Now she sleeps on a sofa next to the nearest human when she can.
10. Re:A lot of people don't understand cats by avandesande · 2017-06-20 04:08 · Score: 1
  
  It's so true I raised a kitten this way, it used to sleep on top of my head at night if followed me everywhere, easily as attentive as a dog. Unfortunately hit by a car :-(
  
  --
  love is just extroverted narcissism
11. Re:A lot of people don't understand cats by bluefoxlucid · 2017-06-20 04:31 · Score: 1
  
  I have nfc what's going on with this cat. It was following me a lot. I petted it and it tried to run, but then got confused, and came over, got petted, ran back and forth a lot, looked terrified. Then started following me.
  Fed the cat. Cat eats, runs to me, needs to be petted to continue eating. What? Food, dammit. Eat the food. What does it want?
  Eventually I let the cat into my house, because it kept trying to come inside with me. It found four smaller cats under my couch; I never knew they were there.
  Now the cat keeps following me, meowing a lot, and wants to be petted all the time. Why does this cat want so much god damned attention?! Won't even stop purring.
  
  --
  Support my political activism on Patreon.
12. Re: A lot of people don't understand cats by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 06:37 · Score: 1
  
  Was it pregnant? And had the kittens under your couch ?
13. Re:A lot of people don't understand cats by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 08:00 · Score: 1
  
  True, but generally you're better off letting your cat be a little bit independent (not so much they get viscous, just enough that they enjoy their own company). That way they're friendly but not so utterly co-dependent as to be irritating like dogs can be.
14. Re:A lot of people don't understand cats by tehcyder · 2017-06-20 19:36 · Score: 1
  
  Plus discipline. Set boundaries and set them hard from a young age. Cats generally will accept them.
  I think someone sold you a puppy and told you it was a kitten.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
15. Re:A lot of people don't understand cats by demonlapin · 2017-06-21 07:43 · Score: 1
  
  Lots of variability there. I've had cats that were like dogs - one would hear the garage door open when I came home from work and immediately run over to greet me, stand still for me pick him up, and lounge on my arm as we walked around the yard. Another, though she was always a somewhat-unfriendly stray, was sleeping on the other side of my bed within a week of moving in. Had to put a towel down to keep her from shedding all in the bed. And I had one that was feral to the core and never warmed to anyone. Of the current pair, one is very loving, while the other is much more moody.
  
  I've had dogs that were ferociously smart, and others that were so dumb you wondered how they found the food bowl.
Or not at all... by Type44Q · 2017-06-19 22:41 · Score: 2

Or not at all, depending on how you define "domesticated." ;)
hymenless monkeys pity us? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-19 22:41 · Score: 0

like a pack of wild humans... cease fire stand down.. sing along.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-kA3UtBj4M cats are wacky sensitive..
Waves observation by billybob2001 · 2017-06-19 22:47 · Score: 5, Funny

...these two waves of cats sported different genetic signatures.
Don't forget that cats exist as both waves and particles!
1. Re:Waves observation by Opportunist · 2017-06-19 23:41 · Score: 1
  
  Not only that, they can be pointy and scratchy and fluffy and soft at the same time, too.
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
2. Re:Waves observation by cyberchondriac · 2017-06-20 04:00 · Score: 1
  
  And let's not forget they can be both dead and alive at the same time.
  
  --
  
  Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
3. Re:Waves observation by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 12:09 · Score: 0
  
  I believe Schrodeinger had an empty box and a pissed off cat in the next room. They can teleport you know.
People who start the comment in the subject box ar by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-19 23:06 · Score: 1

e retards.
Re: Go raise a bobcat or mountain lion then get ba by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-19 23:19 · Score: 0

Challenge accepted!
Subject lines in comments are by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-19 23:21 · Score: 0

retarded
What about the Silver Spoon? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-19 23:28 · Score: 0

Or Little Boy Blue and the Man in the Moon, for that matter?
Re:Go raise a bobcat or mountain lion then get bac by Opportunist · 2017-06-19 23:40 · Score: 1

Do Tigers count? They're easier to deal with.

--
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Civilization by bestweasel · 2017-06-19 23:51 · Score: 5, Funny

Turkey around 10,000 years ago:
Well Tiddles, I don't know about you but a lot of us have had enough of this abuse, kicking us when any little thing goes wrong, tormenting us for their sport, even murdering our poor children, so we're heading out to the desert until they've evolved a bit.
Egypt, thousands of years later:
As you all know, some members of the exploration committee went in to town - and let me tell you we were all a bit scared after those tales we heard as kittens - spent a few weeks cautiously interacting with the humans and trying to teach them our language, generally being friendly and helping to put food on the table and you know what? They treated us like gods.
1. Re:Civilization by cfc-12 · 2017-06-20 02:38 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Turkey around 10,000 years ago: Well Tiddles, I don't know about you but a lot of us have had enough of this abuse, kicking us when any little thing goes wrong, tormenting us for their sport, even murdering our poor children, so we're heading out to the desert until they've evolved a bit.
  Egypt, thousands of years later: As you all know, some members of the exploration committee went in to town - and let me tell you we were all a bit scared after those tales we heard as kittens - spent a few weeks cautiously interacting with the humans and trying to teach them our language, generally being friendly and helping to put food on the table and you know what? They treated us like gods.
  Austria, 1935:
  What am I doing in this box?
2. Re:Civilization by jafiwam · 2017-06-20 07:06 · Score: 1
  
  Turkey around 10,000 years ago: Well Tiddles, I don't know about you but a lot of us have had enough of this abuse, kicking us when any little thing goes wrong, tormenting us for their sport, even murdering our poor children, so we're heading out to the desert until they've evolved a bit.
  Egypt, thousands of years later: As you all know, some members of the exploration committee went in to town - and let me tell you we were all a bit scared after those tales we heard as kittens - spent a few weeks cautiously interacting with the humans and trying to teach them our language, generally being friendly and helping to put food on the table and you know what? They treated us like gods.
  Austria, 1935: What am I doing in this box?
  Simultaneously, Austria, 1935:
  ...
3. Re:Civilization by RockDoctor · 2017-06-21 12:44 · Score: 1
  
  Austria, 1935: What am I doing in this box?
  Leaving.
  You've heard the story about the cat that invented time travel to get out of Schrodinger's box?
  
  --
  Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
Didn't work either time though by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 00:20 · Score: 0

Third time's the charm?
loverable furballs? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 00:21 · Score: 0

"...turning cats from territorial and antisocial creatures into the lovable furballs we know today."
You clearly haven't met my cat.
1. Re:loverable furballs? by PPH · 2017-06-20 02:12 · Score: 1
  
  I think this pretty much sums up cats.
  
  --
  Have gnu, will travel.
2. Re: loverable furballs? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 18:14 · Score: 0
  
  I've been around cats all my life and never had one do that.
3. Re: loverable furballs? by PPH · 2017-06-21 14:59 · Score: 1
  
  Only because of the anthropic principle. Or in this case the reverse of it. You are here to report that you have never seen it because, having seen it, you would no longer be here to report back.
  
  --
  Have gnu, will travel.
Foxes. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 00:42 · Score: 0

It occurred to me that we could repeat that same fox experiment with cats to see if we can get a truly domesticated one. But I don't know whether that would be a desirable thing after all -- cats are useful as they are, because they essentially kill whatever moves, keeping our houses free from a lot of undesired vermin. Should they become as useless as a lap dog, I wonder if a statue (maybe decorated with synthetic fur) wouldn't provide the same "value" to owners.
Regarding the parasite: we have cats at home, so we might have been already exposed. Nobody here likes the smell (or rather, the stench) of the cats' urine -- there's even an ongoing fight over who has to clean it. The Wikipedia page someone linked elsewhere has info on possible human symptoms and about their certainty, or lack thereof. Anyway, it's a worldwide problem and, given the possible association with schizophrenia, IMHO it's mandatory to increase prevention initiatives.
turning cats from territorial and antisocial .... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 01:05 · Score: 0

turning cats from territorial and antisocial creatures, into cute, territorial and antisocial creatures, who believe they rule the universe, that we know today. I love cats, mainly because of this evolution.
anti-social creatures by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 01:12 · Score: 0

... lovable furballs ...

Try putting a cat on a leash, or leaving it in a room alone all day, or punishing it for stealing food, then see how social it is. The anti-social abuses that dogs tolerate do not extend to this domesticated animal. Dogs have evolved to direct their hunting instinct into toys while cats are one of the few animals that kill for entertainment. Cats eat almost anything (including rodents, birds, reptiles, frogs, bats and possums), quickly making them the dominant species and cats born in the wild can be quadruple the size of their domestic equivalent.
1. Re:anti-social creatures by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 01:26 · Score: 0
  
  cats born in the wild can be quadruple the size of their domestic equivalent.
  I think you're confusing domestic cats with mountain lions.
2. Re:anti-social creatures by arth1 · 2017-06-20 01:46 · Score: 1
  
  Dogs have evolved to direct their hunting instinct into toys while cats are one of the few animals that kill for entertainment.
  Drop a cat into a dog park and check whether you want to re-evaluate that statement...
3. Re:anti-social creatures by BronsCon · 2017-06-20 04:04 · Score: 1
  
  Last time my 6lb calico got into a scrape with a rather large (I'd estimate over 100lb) aussie sheppard, 'twas the dog who needed stitches. She tore up the dog's chin and chest while being held between the dog's jaws and escaped without injury.
  
  --
  APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
4. Re:anti-social creatures by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 05:42 · Score: 0
  
  Well, as Bellatrix said, "the caster must really intend harm on the victim". This brings into question the actual motives of the dog.
5. Re:anti-social creatures by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 06:11 · Score: 0
  
  Ok. Try that same experiment with a 100lb cat and see who hunts for sport.
6. Re:anti-social creatures by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 07:06 · Score: 0
  
  Apparently the dog's motives involved getting fucked right the fuck up.
7. Re:anti-social creatures by HornWumpus · 2017-06-20 08:24 · Score: 1
  
  So you think the dog was incapable of biting down? The dog was playing the cat was fighting for it's life.
  My dogs' cat, Chewtoy, plays back. Cause he knows he's safe.
  
  --
  John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
8. Re:anti-social creatures by BronsCon · 2017-06-20 09:08 · Score: 1
  
  A dog does not play with a cat by picking the cat up in its mouth. I've seen cats and dogs play and they do "play bite" each other, but this was not that. This was a dog trained to eradicate small pet-sized animals, as explained by my friend (and at the time roommate) who owned the dog. I offered to keep the cat confined when the dog was out, but his solution was for the dog to live with his mother because he was certain it would happen again due to the dog's training; and because it was better for the dog to have more land to run around on and hunt as it was trained to do.
  
  --
  APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
9. Re:anti-social creatures by BronsCon · 2017-06-20 09:08 · Score: 1
  
  pest-sized...
  
  --
  APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
10. Re:anti-social creatures by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 09:23 · Score: 0
  
  I think you're confusing domestic cats with mountain lions.
  Nope, ferral cats are, well, ferral. When we finally trapped a ferral cat that had been beating up our domestic cats and stealing their food it weighed over 14kg. Simply massive. And Australia doesn't have mountain lions. (Allegedly we don't have Tasmanian Tigers any more, either, but that's still open for debate.)
11. Re: anti-social creatures by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 18:17 · Score: 0
  
  a ferral cat that had been beating up our domestic cats and stealing their food it weighed over 14kg. Simply massive.
  I think you're confusing ferral cats with ferric cats.
12. Re:anti-social creatures by HornWumpus · 2017-06-21 01:15 · Score: 1
  
  If it had the cat in it's mouth and wanted to kill it the cat would be _dead_. Dogs that are attacking small things grab and shake, over fast.
  
  --
  John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
13. Re:anti-social creatures by BronsCon · 2017-06-21 02:18 · Score: 1
  
  And how did it pick up the soft and squishy cat, wiggling and struggling to not be picked up, in its mouth without squeezing? Her retaliation occurred within one or two shakes, my friend. Kitty was quick about it; we're honestly not sure how the gouges on the dog's chest happened; all we know is they were not there before I let the cat out of my room (I had just gotten home and the cat had not yet been fully introduced to the dog -- thus this incident when they met) and she ran immediately on sight of the dog so we know they didn't happen before the attack. Once she freed herself from the dog's mouth, she bolted, she didn't stick around to further attack after freeing herself. The chest scratches had to have happened in the 1/4 second in which she was in the dog's mouth, but it happened so quickly none of us saw it.
  
  I've seen dogs hunt; my friend, the hunting dog's dog owner (whose mother also happens to have trained dogs professionally when he was growing up -- something she also trained him to do so he could assist), certainly has seen dogs hunt, another of our friends who was present when it happened has likely also seen dogs hunt. Neither friend was too fond of the cat when the attack happened, but the three of us unanimously took on the view that the dog was the aggressor and was certainly on the hunt.
  
  Also, this is a dog that sniffs and licks her playthings before chasing them. She did not sniff or lick my cat; she did not have the opportunity to do so, as my cat bolted upon seeing her. That's when the chase was on.
  
  And I've seen this dog play. With a tiny pomeranian, about the size of my cat and just as fast, as a matter of fact, who also runs on sight of this big dog. When the pom is cornered, as my cat was, Kima, the aussie sheppard in question, does not pick her up; she sniffs and licks, maybe nudges a little with the tip of her nose, then turns around and walks away.
  
  It's almost like dogs have personalities and you have to actually meet one to be able to tell when it's playing or hunting. Yes, understanding general dog psychology can help you guess, but there are subtle behavioral nuances, which I didn't take the paragraphs to detail in my initially summary of the incident, which make all the difference in determining the dog's intent.
  
  TL;DR: You weren't there and you don't know this dog, its temperament, how it was raised or trained, how it plays, how it hunts, how the situation unfolded, or, really, anything about the incident other than the handful of details I've written here (what I can recall definitively about an incident nearly a decade ago) and, possibly, some generalizations about dog psychology which are really only useful as a starting point for learning the personality traits of an individual dog. Those generalizations are not blanket truths that apply unilaterally.
  
  --
  APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
14. Re:anti-social creatures by HornWumpus · 2017-06-21 03:05 · Score: 1
  
  Again: It's very simple. If the dog was in kill mode, the cat would be _dead_. Even a 'friendly' Australian shepherd only takes ONE shake to break a cat's spine. If it's fangs didn't penetrate the cat, it didn't even bite down.
  Give the dog a little credit. It tried to play with the cat and got lit up.
  
  --
  John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
15. Re:anti-social creatures by BronsCon · 2017-06-21 03:12 · Score: 1
  
  Well, if what you say is right, it would be the first time it she had picked up one of her living "playthings". Please understand why I have my doubts.
  
  --
  APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
16. Re:anti-social creatures by roc97007 · 2017-06-21 11:08 · Score: 1
  
  Doesn't mean some dogs aren't rather rough with their toys...
  
  --
  Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Re:Go raise a bobcat or mountain lion then get bac by slazzy · 2017-06-20 01:15 · Score: 1

Like this guy? https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

--
Website Just Down For Me? Find out
Cats are pussies by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 01:43 · Score: 0

and don't you forget about that, because this stuff matterz.
Stubborn by sycodon · 2017-06-20 02:09 · Score: 4, Funny

Cats are just so stubborn that they HAD to be domesticated twice.

--
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
1. Re:Stubborn by whitroth · 2017-06-20 05:49 · Score: 1
  
  I just stole your sig, and have had everyone laughing at it.
2. Re:Stubborn by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 07:46 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah 10,000 years and they still shit in your slippers.
the Internet ... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 02:34 · Score: 1

Cats have never been domesticated by humans. They domesticated us, and I for one welcome our feline overlords.
The Internet is the feline third wave, we are doomed.
Obligatory Futurama Reference by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 03:34 · Score: 0

Kittens give Morbo gas.
Re:Go raise a bobcat or mountain lion then get bac by sims+2 · 2017-06-20 03:42 · Score: 1

What about these?
https://i.imgur.com/3E0bmQm.gi...
https://i.imgur.com/9N928qW.gi...

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Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
Re:Go raise a bobcat or mountain lion then get bac by BronsCon · 2017-06-20 03:44 · Score: 2

I've got one that's half bobcat half siamese (neither of which is particularly known for being very friendly) and he's the most lovable cuddly fluffball ever. My calico is a hellcat, though.

In my childhood I had a housecat who befriended a group of bobcats (that was puzzling enough as it is) who eventually started hanging around the house. They seemed friendly enough, as well; they did circle around me one night, but when Ben (my cat at the time) came up and rubbed on my leg, they stood down, most of them sitting, some of them laying. From that point, they were either neutral or friendly toward me; I couldn't tell them apart but I would guess the ones who sat were the ones who became neutral and the ones who laid were the ones who became friendly.

TL;DR: My cat became friends with a group of bobcats and saved my life (and made me some new bobcat friends) when I was a kid.

If I can do it by luck, you can do it by skill.

--
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
Black Sea Atlantis Hypothesis by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 04:12 · Score: 0

On some of the weirder sites on the internet there are theories that an ancient civilization in the northern Black Sea was flooded around 8,000 BC and became the basis for the legend of Atlantis after some of the survivors settled in Egypt. Maybe they brought their cats.
Anatolia/Black Sea Area, not Turkey. by suss · 2017-06-20 05:14 · Score: 1

Turkey didn't exist 10.000 years ago. Call it Anatolia or the Black Sea Area. There's no reason to dumb down this stuff on Slashdot, is there?
1. Re:Anatolia/Black Sea Area, not Turkey. by crunchygranola · 2017-06-20 10:41 · Score: 1
  
  Turkey didn't exist 10.000 years ago. Call it Anatolia or the Black Sea Area. There's no reason to dumb down this stuff on Slashdot, is there?
  Here is a correction to the article:
  
  *Correction, 19 June, 3:50 p.m.: The map has been updated to reflect the fact that type A cats came from Turkey, and type C from Egypt. It has been further updated because the original version mislabeled the Black Sea as the Caspian Sea.
  At least they are no longer calling the Black Sea the "Caspian Sea"!
  
  --
  Second class citizen of the New Gilded Age
2. Re:Anatolia/Black Sea Area, not Turkey. by tehcyder · 2017-06-20 19:43 · Score: 1
  
  Turkey didn't exist 10.000 years ago. Call it Anatolia or the Black Sea Area. There's no reason to dumb down this stuff on Slashdot, is there?
  That is ridiculous pedantry.
  On that basis 10,000 years ago "Italy" or "the United States of America" didn't exist either.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
3. Re:Anatolia/Black Sea Area, not Turkey. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-22 12:36 · Score: 0
  
  That is ridiculous pedantry.
  The Greeks and the Turks have hated one another for centuries because of something you consider "ridiculous pedantry".
  Anatolia was the heartland of the Eastern Roman Empire, which was Greek in all but name. The great cities there were shining beacons of civilization when most of Europe was lost in the Dark Ages.
  The Turks - a wandering tribe from Asia - conquered most of Anatolia following the battle of Manzikert, slaughtering most of the inhabitants along the way. They would eventually try to conquer the rest of Europe, instigating warfare that would last centuries. They succeeded in conquering Greece itself, and Greece only won it's freedom in the 19th century.
  There were many atrocities over the years, and the Greeks have never forgiven nor forgotten. The fact that the Turks are Islamic and the Greeks Christian makes matters worse: Islam has refused to adopt to the modern world for centuries and that refusal creates major modern day conflicts.
  Show some respect for history, or you'll likely badly embarrass yourself by saying something else really dumb, should you someday go to that part of the world.
Re:John Merola is a fag by TheCastro1689 · 2017-06-20 05:32 · Score: 1

Harvard Office number?
Twice? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 07:07 · Score: 0

They (cats) only let us think on occasion that we have domesticated them. Cats are infinitely cunning.
Cat socialization by Anonymous Coward · 2017-06-20 09:10 · Score: 0

Cats, when neutered, also become stuck in a long term kittenhood. They play more and are more affectionate as a result of the flood of hormones not overpowering these impulses.
Makes sense by pubwvj · 2017-06-20 09:27 · Score: 1

Makes sense since other animals and animals were domesticated in multiple places and times too. Good ideas keep happening.
Wait, what? by roc97007 · 2017-06-21 11:05 · Score: 1

"turning cats from territorial and antisocial creatures into the lovable furballs we know today."
Really? Have you ever shared a home with a cat? They're pretty much the definition of territorial, and I'd substitute "sociopathic" for "antisocial". It's like TFA was written by a cat. No really, we're lovable furballs. Really. Lovable. Furballs. Now feed me immediately, or I'll wiz in your shoes. I might anyway.

--
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.