Why are people breading cats

For instance, Scottish folds cats had faces that indicated they were in pain even when their expressions were neutral; and several breeds of cats with longer faces, including the Devon Rex cats, also had neutral faces which "indicated a greater absence of pain-like features, compared to the neutral landmarks of various other breeds.

As Finka wrote to Salon, these findings have important implications for people who love their cats and whose cats have faces that seem to indicate they are in pain. It also means that we may continue to prefer — and even encourage — the existence of breeds that often suffer from serious health problems and may struggle to express themselves clearly.

Finka also explained why people tend to gravitate toward animals with features that remind them of children. These types of cat faces "tap into our instincts to nurture, which is potentially very advantageous for human neonates who are vulnerable and need a lot of care. These features are more pronounced in the flatter faced cats. However they are associated with health problems and breathing difficulties and potentially also limit the ability of these cats to communicate clearly.

In terms of the evolutionary implications, Finka was direct: "When we heavily artificially select animals for certain traits that we find appealing, we potentially limit their abilities to clearly express themselves using these features. And, soon enough, to pet: It could not have been long before farmers realized the utility of keeping the cats around, which would have led them to support the cat population, "by a not killing them, and by b even helping them in various ways—letting them stay in the warmth, providing foods," Marshall said.

Unfortunately, though, there is not much evidence of that phase of the process. One solitary clue: One of the bones includes teeth that appear to be from a much older cat, suggesting "at the very least that it was doing well in that environment. Marshall says the evidence is " terribly exciting" because scientists have never before seen documentation this old of the pathway through which wildcats stepped over the threshold and into the home.

It's been speculated that for modern cat behavior that cats were attracted to early farmers, but it wasn't known for sure. But what this shows us is, yes, there was food for ancient cats in ancient farming villages, and that they helped the farmers out, making it a mutualistic relationship, by eating rodents.

Cats, Marshall explained, are very hard to find archaeologically, in part because humans do not tend to eat them. And we're just not going to find many cats," she said. Furthermore, it was a surprise to come across cat bones in China, as most of the existing evidence shows early cats in Egypt and around the eastern Mediterranean. Furthermore, modern genetics has shown that today's house cats are more closely to related to Middle Eastern wildcats than any other. Research is still being done on the DNA of the Shaanxi cat bones to determine whether there is any relationship, perhaps via an early trans-Asian trade route, between these ancient cats and the popular pet.

Whether they are related or not, Marshall agrees that the whole chain of events, from agriculture to rodents to cats to pets, is so unprompted, so self-starting, that it makes sense that it would have happened in many places at many points in time, anywhere there was both agriculture and wildcats.

Because cat domestication was a response to agricultural development, house cats are a much more recent creation than domesticated dogs, which first started hanging around hunter-gatherer hunting sites, long before agriculture. Wild wolves were likely attracted to the meat that humans hunted and, then, "people found them useful either to give alarm or to help in hunting. But, as for cats, this process is what scientists call a "commensal" pathway to domestication.

Unlike cows or sheep, which evolved from wild animals that humans hunted, dogs and cats came into a mutually beneficial relationship with humans through food. Nothing about the process was intentional; no human set out to try to domesticate a cat or a dog and make it into a pet, but a chain reaction was set off by a human practice, and one thing led to another, and our pets today are the result.

Is domestication, then, in a sense, natural? Another question we will hopefully ask is whether having more extreme facial features impacts on the other ways individuals may behave and attempt to communicate. Sarah: Such a fascinating study Lauren. Thank you for sharing. If you work in the veterinary profession and are able to help Lauren with acquiring photographs of pedigree cat faces, do get in touch with her at lauren. Article reference:.

Finka, L. Frontiers in Veterinary Science , 7 , Discussions around keeping cats strictly inside, or providing them with some form of outdoor access,…. Your purchase directly supports the leading global cat welfare charity, International Cat Care. They provide cat owners, veterinary professionals and those who live and work with cats the resources, support, and advice they need to better care for cats. We use cookies to improve our website to make sure you have a better browsing experience.

For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. Click Yes to help us continue to make these improvements. Our Other Sites Close. Our Other Sites. What did the study do? Where did all the pictures of cats come from? Why is this study useful? What does this mean for me and my cat?

Could the Scottish folds with the neutral faces actually just be in pain given that we know that the genetic abnormality they suffer from can cause pain in their joints? Another downside to the face types potentially appearing needy is that more people may select these breeds raising their popularity which is a problem when they suffer welfare problems. Lauren: Yes exactly, so we really need to raise awareness about the physical and social problems these breeds may face and the associated compromises to their wellbeing, so that owners can make better more informed choices regarding cat acquisition and breeders better choices about the cats they decide to breed Where will the results of this research take you next?

Any plans to continue researching this fascinating area? Article reference: Finka, L.