Читать книгу 77 Things to Know Before Getting a Cat - Susan Ewing M. - Страница 7

All carnivores, including felines and canines, evolved from a common ancestor, the miacoids, which existed from 66 to 33 million years ago. The first true feline didn’t make an appearance until about 30 million years ago. According to an article on MessyBeast.com titled “Prehistoric Cats and Prehistoric Cat-Like Creatures” by Sarah Hartwell, this was Proailurus, a long-bodied, short-legged animal. Ten million years later, Pseudaelurus arrived on the scene, and it is generally believed that Pseudaelurus is the ancestor of all modern-day cats.

The genus Felis arrived about 12 million years ago and gave rise to many kinds of small cats, known as “purring cats,” for the obvious reason that they purr. Three million years ago, the “roaring cats” of the genus Panthera appeared. Modern-day “roaring cats” are generally big cats, like lions and tigers. The cheetah, however, is a big cat who purrs. Because of their throat structure, cats who purr do not roar, and cats who roar are unable to purr.

Prehistoric cats roamed throughout Asia, Europe, and North and South America, but many types became extinct. Genetic evidence indicates that all domestic cats are descended from the African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica). These cats, weighing between 6–14 pounds (2.7 and 6.4 kg), still exist throughout Africa and the Middle East in a variety of habitats. They look similar to today’s tabby cat but with a reddish tinge to the ears, the abdomen, and the backs of the hind legs.

Most of today’s big cats are classified as “roaring cats.”

Domesticated cats helped farmers with rodent control.

Domestication began between 10 and 12 thousand years ago in the Fertile Crescent as humans started to settle rather than lead nomadic lives. Instead of depending on wild sources of food, people began growing, harvesting, and storing grains. These stores of food drew rodents, and the rodents drew the cats, who were happy to find a concentrated food source that required less energy to catch than prey in the wild.

The farmers were more than happy to have the cats around to help protect their grain. Because humans offered no threat to the cats, the cats gradually moved closer and closer to human settlements, taking up residence near the grain stores and eventually becoming domesticated.

Through the years, what started out as a tabby wild cat has evolved, with man’s help, into a species that ranges in size from 4 to more than 20 pounds (1.8–9.1 kg), has a seemingly endless number of colors and color combination, and has a variety of coat types or no coat at all. Cats are still appreciated for their rodent-killing skills but they are mainly loved for their grace, beauty, and companion-pet qualities that offer gentle affection as well as entertainment.

Today’s African wildcat, Felis silvestris lybica.