“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs
should relax and get used to the idea.”
― Robert A. Heinlein
should relax and get used to the idea.”
― Robert A. Heinlein
Anyone who has ever owned or lived with both dogs and cats will likely come to reckon why we say “A dog is a man’s best friend” and not a cat. They will experience for themselves a significant difference in the very essence of both animals and the relationships we have with them. By that I mean, unlike dogs, cats seem to be more wild and partially undomesticated.
One of the most basic examples regarding this difference can be seen when calling your pet dog and pet cat. The former appears to derive some kind of special joy whenever hearing their name being uttered, especially by their humans; while the latter may often look at you yet totally disregard your call or command; sometimes even without giving you any kind attention. Though as we’ll see further ahead, they may very well be pretending to ignore you; as if they do not care.
Obviously this isn’t the case of all four-legged mammals within both species. But rather, we’re investigating here a common pattern shared by a large number of individuals within the two. Having been sharing the house with my sister’s meaow meaow, Coutcha, for the past couple of months, I was genuinely curious to learn more about cats in general to widen my horizons. Equally to know how to deal with her. By then I knew quite a bit about dogs after having an English Cocker Spaniel, Caramella, for many years. Also due to her and I moving to Canada in 2010 where we were living with three more dogs.
With that in mind, have you ever wondered why cats are not dogs? What are the differences between them in terms of history, genetics, evolution, and domestication. Exploring such queries herein will hopefully help us shed some light on the reasons why felines appear more wild and somewhat untamed compared to canines?
I have always loved all animals and dogs were a favourite. My experience with cats didn’t start too well. Even from before, the idea that my pet wouldn’t do what I, its master, tell him or her seemed absurd. I would selfishly ask myself: “What’s the point then?” Then, the first true encounter in my adult life was with my parents’ not-so-friendly cat who wouldn’t let anyone near her — except my father and mother but only when she feels like it.
Once I was visiting their place along my late English Cocker Spaniel, Caramella, and at some point and for no apparent reason the cat flew à la Michael Jordan and scratched the sweet dog’s face. I despised her then and probably even tried to spank her. Another time, she just materialised out of thin air from underneath the bed just like a ninja to attack my feet. It was small scratch but I did bleed. The question was always: Why the heck? This time I remember retaliating by following her to the bedroom where she hides under the bed, took my dad’s slipper and threw it at her. Bull’s eye. Like an immature child, I felt slightly better.
After those two encounters the cat and I became sort of enemies. I agreed with my parents that whenever I would be visiting with Caramella, I would have to tell them beforehand so they lock the cat until I leave.
Then, something bizarre started to happen. Whenever she would be on heat, she would come closer to me out of all people, jump on my lap, then begin purring like a horny leopardess. I was utterly shocked the first time — and secretly enjoyed it — which made me freeze and go along with the moment. When the same happening was repeated several times I was reminded by an Arabic adage: (القط يحب خناقه) or “The cat likes/loves its choker”. Amusingly, once the “heat” is gone, so did the love and affection and we’re back to being fierce enemies. Well, perhaps not fierce. In actuality, this new connection between us made me dislike her less and less. I also recall that as she matured she stopped attacking me for no reason.
A couple of years ago the cat passed away, and, ironically, I was the one who went to the vet with my mother to give her that relieving shot she badly needed. In fact, my mother left the room while I was alone there with the vet during the procedure. After burying Chico, my African grey of 18 years as well as Caramella afterwards, my father told me that I’m becoming an expert in dealing with such sad losses, which made me volunteer and accompany my mother.
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| Poutsi Poutsi aka Michael Jordan during her last Summer on the Northern Coast of Egypt |
A little bit before, my sister had saved a cute kitty cat from the street of Cairo and adopted her. I would see her when visiting Cairo and sharing the house with them. This was the first time I truly bond with a cat. I dare saying that it changed the way I look at those majestic creatures. Last year, for instance, I was inspired to know Why Cats Give Massages, so I wrote an article about it.
Then with more purring and bonding, I was curious to know why they purr, so I checked that as well.
This year, as the four-year-old cat and I became even closer I came to observe yet another behaviour. Sometimes she would come near me and sneakingly stretch as a subtle way to show that she wants to be petted, yet she still wants to look as if she can keep her cool around me — as not that desperate. Apparently, this specific body language is called a “Greeting Stretch”, which is a posture used only towards someone the pet likes and with whom they are comfortable.
Another Snapple Fact I’ve recently learned is that it is believed that cats produce the hissing sound as a warning to mimic that of a hissing snake in order to deter opponents. Seriously. How impressive if that is true.
On a parallel note, check Big Cat Hybrids to see what happens to their magnificent cousins, the Big Cats, when they happen to mingle.
Finally, I went deeper with my search to find out why cats are not dogs in the sense I mentioned earlier; why they appear to have stronger personalities and more of a character. What I found turned out to be equally fascinating.
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| Sister’s cat became a companion during those trips to Egypt. Little did we know that I'll be fully hers soon after. |
Dogs as we know them are all descendants of the grey wolf. They were the first animals to be domesticated by humans. It is estimated that it occurred about 12,000-15,000 years ago; other findings suggest it may have happened as far back as 35,000 years ago. That’s way before we began planting or herding. Scientists, though, still argue where exactly the domestication took place; some claim it was Europe, others in the Middle East or East Asia.
Dogs Decoded is an informative PBS documentary raising the question of who domesticated who: Was it man who first approached wolves — possibly when they came across some pups which they raised — or did the opposite happen as a form of self-domestication?
As for modern felines, it was previously believed that they were domesticated in Ancient Egypt about 4,000 years ago. More evidence proposed that domesticated cats were bred there about 6,000 years ago. In fact, the ancestors of Coutcha among today’s kitty cats were actually highly revered by Ancient Egyptians. They even had feline deities like Mafdet, Bastet, and Sekhmet going back to several millennia ago.
In 2004, however, a 9,500-year-old human burial in Cyprus, which included cat bones, has shown that the origin of feline domestication goes further back into history.
When the full cat genome was sequenced in 2014, it was found that their common ancestor is a species of wildcat called Felis silvestris. The split between wild cats and domesticated cats occurred about 9000 years ago. This was about the same time humans shifted to agriculture in the eastern Mediterranean region and Turkey; hence the existence of more rodents populations that were attracted to the grain stories and lived off the harvests. When farmers noticed how cats kept the rodents’ populations in check they probably encouraged them to stay by sharing their scrapes of food, which led to the domestic cat — as they did some thousand of years earlier with grey wolves, though for different reasons, which led to dogs.
According to genetic analysis, another few thousand years later cats spread around the world in a second wave when they went on board ships along sailors, merchants, and Vikings. Again, when those discovered the usefulness of cats in controlling rodents they kept them hanging around, generating more domestication.
What is remarkable is that when researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine compared between the genomes of wild cats and their domesticated brothers and sisters it was found that while some characteristics changed when the split occurred — hair colours, fur patterns, facial structure as well as docility — others features like their exceptional sense of smell and the carnivorous diet remained the same.
Another related find is that house cat shares about 95.6% of its DNA with tigers. Impressive.
The cats that stuck around humans were the breeds with the genes that encouraged interaction with humans. Becoming accustomed to them for food rewards encouraged “Selection for docility” in cats, which, as researchers speculate, was most likely the major force to alter the first domesticated cat genomes. However, unlike canines, the genes of felines haven’t evolved to make cats dependent on humans for food, leaving them more untamed, one could say.
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| Cataclysmic — Neighbours’ cat in Venice Beach |
That said, cats have not evolved to become domesticated enough to obey orders given by humans. In another study published in the Animal Cognition Journal, it was revealed that between fifty and seventy percent of cats can recognise their owners’ voices when they are being called by name — either by moving their heads or perking up their ears. However, and that’s the funny part, only a meagre 10 percent actually responded to the call, by meowing or moving their tails.
Despite having a more intense response to their owners’ voice, said rates were about the same whether the cat was being called by strangers or by an owner. Sorry if it sounds a tad harsh for all you ladies and lovers; but in other words, your kitty cat can indeed hear your call, it just doesn’t care enough to respond. And it’s all in their genes. So we cannot blame them or expect them to act differently. Perhaps another few thousands years would do the trick when they would become more dog-like. Perhaps not.
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| By the end we were holding hands |
Interestingly, I can sense this wildness every night in bed whenever Coutcha comes lie on my belly, asking for a neck-head-and-ear rub. She closes her eyes, starts purring, even drooling sometimes, for about four to eight minutes, never more. Following this trance-like state, she opens her eyes, looking a little perplexed, before suddenly jumping away and keeping her distance. It is as if her wild instinct cannot believe she had submitted to me and went against her own solitary nature for those few minutes. This type of behaviour echos of a teenage girl playing hard to get with her boyfriend.
Oftentimes, right after the massage the disbelief makes her gently bite or scratch my hand before jumping away. She would stay away for perhaps a few hours before coming again for more petting and purring. On other occasions, she would make her unexpected escape much sooner, which would surprise me since it’s all dark and quiet. And the thing is, you never know, because cats are mysterious like that. Although I learned that when she has had enough she begins wagging her tail, so at least I stopped getting surprised.
Most dogs, on the other hand, completely surrender to your petting and never, ever, want you to stop. As mentioned earlier, though, not all cats or all dogs act in a similar way. For instance, kittens that grew up surrounded or raised by dogs will be more dog-like. Because, it’s nature and nurture — bearing in mind that Epigenetics work for animals, we now know that genes have the ability to change. I also play fetch with this one using a ball made of paper, which isn’t too cat-like if you ask around.
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| Dahab learning how to Zen from a local street cat |
Amusingly, those past several years three women I know became legitimate cat ladies. One of my cousins has 22, her twin sister 17, and then a friend has 12. I’m not kitten meow, but visiting the latter at home feels like you’re stepping into hissterical catatonia. Fur real.
Now that we know that cats are genetically made up in such a way, making them wilder, all these differences between them and dogs make purrfect sense. The next time you call your kitty cat because you’re in dire need of some attention or trying to show off and you get ignored, do not take it personally. Remember it’s not you, it’s them. Well, mostly them. Equally remember that your cute little fluffy pet is 95 percent mighty tiger. Roarrr.
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| Same couple meeting again 2 years later when Dahab came visiting Coutcha at home who by then was fully mine |
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| Zen |
EDIT [November 2021]:
One late evening in El Ein El Sokhna on the Red Sea I heard some meaowing coming from the garden. Outside, I found a cute black kitten, no more than one-month old. Naturally, I went inside and brought him some of Coutcha’s dry food. He did not seem afraid from the commotion and ate everything I gave him. I even snapped a photo to commemorate the event. A part of me somehow knew that we’ll probably meet again.
Indeed, the next day around the same time the black kitten was back, but he wasn’t alone! Another same-size blond(e?) kitten came along. While the newcomer was a tad more shy, both devoured all their food. Naturally, I thought the dark one to be a male and the blond to be a blonde female. So, I named the boy Flop while the girl Flop. Unlike Flop’s, Flip’s testicles could be seen hanging. Flip is a boy and Flop is a girl! Or...?
The following four months were spent as follows:
In Sokhna, wake up between 5-7:00 am to find Flip and Flop outside the glass door jumping up and down — eagerly anticipating their breakfast. Once fed dry food in the garden, I open the door for Coutcha to go out. She still hadn’t fully accepted them yet and was curious about their food. Though she always appeared kinder to Flop compared to Flip. Two theories of mine were: Because she is a female like her. Because she is lighter in colour, also like her.
They, on the other hand, were still somewhat afraid from her. Maybe rightly so — in the cat world she was the resident queen while they were the newcomers.
Flip and Flop remained living outdoor, gathering twice a day for dry-food meals, occasionally some fish leftovers. Being only few-month old, however, required them having food and water around the clock. So there was always some in the designated area. Probably around five months through, my online cat-lady friends began repeatedly bringing one topic up: Spay & Neuter. That’s the right thing to do, especially when dealing with “wild-street-feral” kittens.
The day then came when I took them back to Cairo straight to the vet’s clinic. Based on my newly-found knowledge, apparently the procedure is simpler for males than it is for females. Since for females there is an incision and an opening, it is recommended they remain in a clean sterile environment following the operation. The plan was they remain at the vet for as long as it is required then back with to Sokhna. Then on that first night I received an unexpected call from the vet: Hello.
Yes, is everything alright?
Yes, is everything alright?
Yes, we just wanted to tell you that both cats are males by the way.
Say what? Are you serious?
Yeah, we’re pretty sure.
But Flop’s balls were not hanging as they did in his brother’s case.
Yes, sometimes they take longer to descend. [I think that was what he said]
Well then I guess the plan is still the same. Thank you!
O