The State of Cats Before Domestication

Do Cats See Homes Like the Wild?

Cats lived on Earth long before humans became its dominant species. Tens of thousands of years ago, before humans had built their homes, streets, and in short, their living spaces, they had not yet domesticated cats. At that time, cats were predatory animals, like the predators we fear today. They would hunt small animals like frogs and fish, and become prey to larger animals like wolves and bears. That is, before being domesticated and cared for in homes for the past few hundred years, cats had been either prey or predator in the wild for tens of thousands of years. Although it might seem that a cat has gotten used to a home after living in it for years, it still carries its old wild instincts. For this reason, it is quite logical for their hunting or escape instincts to still be prominent. However, cats kept in homes almost never face the problem of hunting or being hunted. This situation causes their instincts to become confused. Because a cat cannot reconcile its inner feelings with its current environment, it may exhibit strange behavior for no apparent reason. This situation is not due to a unique characteristic of the cat, but solely arises from them living in a safe environment.

Why Do Cats Try to Fit into Small Spaces?

Most animal scientists agree that the answer to this question is yes. Cats sometimes still see the homes they live in as the wild where their ancestors tried to survive for tens of thousands of years, because they carry the genes of those ancestors. Although they often recognize their owners and trust their homes, this is why they sometimes react to movements in the house. For example, a cat that jumps in place at the sound of a suddenly opened door might mistake the sound for that of a predator trying to hunt it. Or, a fly buzzing in the room can trigger the cat's predatory nature without the cat realizing it. Often, the reason they chase strings is more about this than playing. However, satisfying the hunting instinct can be equivalent to play from their perspective. The reason the hunting instinct emerges so frequently is that domestic cats do not expend energy to get food. A cat's brain tells it to attack to feed itself, but the food is in its bowl. This situation strikes them as strange and confuses them. For this reason, a cat that is eating might suddenly attack an object on the sofa. Another characteristic of cats that seems strange to humans is their attempt to fit into spaces too small for them. The reason for this stems from the wild environments they used to live in. In natural conditions, the most suitable places to sleep or rest are small areas that predators cannot see. This is also observed in other animals in documentaries. Even though cats live in a safe environment at home, they sometimes try to enter small spaces because they still think they are in the wild. Thus, they believe they will hide from predators and survive.

Will Cats Stop Their Strange Behaviors in the Future?

Animal scientists say that in a hundred years, cats will become more accustomed to domestic environments and lose their old instincts. The reason they say this is that a hundred years ago, their strange behaviors were even more pronounced. As years pass, cats will become more adapted to living in homes because they will inherit more genes from their mothers who live in homes. In a hundred years, cats that have lived in homes for at least 200 generations will have developed instincts suitable for domestic life. Thus, they may abandon these strange behaviors. However, whether this is good or bad is a big question mark, as animal lovers say they love cats so much because of their peculiar behaviors.