How Comparable Housecats Are to Their Wild Ancestors: Olga’s Wild Streak
Hello, I’m Christopher! Learn my introduction to study extra about me and my foolish Russian Blue cat, Olga.
The African Wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) is the ancestor of home cats. Though they aren’t endangered, they’ve suffered from interbreeding with housecats. They’ll catch the identical ailments as pet felines, and the healthiest populations dwell in arid, mountainous areas away from human settlements.
Olga doesn’t have to hunt for her meals and can’t sit up as straight as an African Wildcat. African Wildcats have longer entrance legs, and after they’re in a sitting place, their poses resemble these depicted in drawings by historic Egyptians. Nonetheless, that’s the place their variations finish; she’s simply as wild as Felis lybica, however she’s trapped in a suburban residence.
Feline and Canine Domestication
Cats appear wilder than canine as a result of people haven’t selectively bred them for particular traits for very lengthy. The farmers within the Fertile Crescent didn’t prepare their new mates to hunt rodents and had no want to control their breeding pool.
They supplied shelter, and the cats had been completely satisfied to prowl round and eat rats. However, canine have been with us because the Mesolithic Age once we had been hunter-gatherers. We domesticated them earlier than different mammals and educated them to be hunters, guardians, and companions.
Olga’s Wild Methods
Like most felines, Olga doesn’t need or have to carry out a service that advantages people. She’s an African Wildcat with a grey coat who loves attacking inanimate objects. It took years earlier than she grew to become comfy sitting in my lap, and she or he nonetheless has a low tolerance for extreme petting.
She’s not as agile or athletic as my final cat, however she’s wilder.
I learn a narrative on an unique cat discussion board that jogged my memory of Olga. An proprietor of an African Wildcat talked about that his cat wasn’t a lot totally different than a Home Shorthair, however he had scars on his legs and arms from her playful assaults. He additionally mentioned that the cat was extra affectionate within the daytime, and she or he grew to become extra aggressive when the solar went down.
After Olga has had her ninth or tenth nap of the day and loved a wholesome meal earlier than nightfall, she will get a lift of vitality. It’s unusual as a result of she acts extra like a hunter when her stomach is full. She runs laps round my home and assaults the again of my legs if I get in her method.
An Proprietor’s Duties
If I ignore her, she slams my bed room door and howls if she has hassle opening it. She needs me to take part in her searching video games however solely from a distance. In addition to being her caretaker, Olga additionally thinks I’m an property supervisor or gamekeeper.
I’m in command of maintaining the property stocked with wildlife (toys), and if I fail in my duties, I don’t get fired like a supervisor of an English property; I develop into the prey. I love Olga’s wild nature and am glad she acts extra like her ancestors than her cousins. Though I don’t have a rodent drawback, I can at all times depend on my blue panther to maintain my residence insect-free.
