Why did cats become domesticated?

#Middlebury #Cats

DEAR PAW’S CORNER: I know it’s a running joke that cats rule people and not the other way around. But if cats can’t stand people, why did they become domesticated in the first place? How did that happen? – Trisha G., San Bernadino, California

DEAR TRISHA: While cats seem aloof and rarely fawn over people in the same way that dogs do, they do love their humans. They express their devotion in ways that are weird to us – like quietly placing a dead mouse in front of us and sitting expectantly until their triumph is acknowledged. Or, like bumping their forehead against our hand, or even our nose. Or meowing incessantly when we’re in the bathroom, worried that we will never come out.

When cats were domesticated – scientists think that happened about 12,000 years ago – they approached humans for much the same reasons that dogs did. There was food available. Cats, like dogs, earned their keep: dogs by keeping watch over their humans, and cats by protecting their food. When humans developed agriculture and began storing grain, rodents became the bane of their existence. Cats, on the other hand, saw a smorgasbord of tasty rats on the menu. Over time, they became domesticated, and our symbiotic existence was cemented.

Cats were revered by ancient societies, and yes, jokes about cats ruling the household are probably as old as the early Egyptian pharaohs. Their behavior – as territorial hunters who move quietly and strike quickly – probably did not need to change as dramatically as wild dogs’ behavior had to evolve. Yet, they did become tame and companionable as well – although much more aloof.

Archaeologists and sociologists have studied the domestication of cats quite a bit, because it helps to answer many questions about ancient peoples. In a way, it helps to outline why cats today behave the way they do.

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