House cats have never completely lost their wild edge. Even the most affectionate indoor cat still retains its hunting instincts, as anyone who has been presented with a “gift” from their feline friend can attest.
This is because the domestication process for cats has been much more gradual than it was for dogs, with little artificial selection compared to other house pets.
Feral cats, in particular, demonstrate how quickly a population of domesticated cats can revert to a self-sufficient lifestyle. When pet cats are abandoned or left to roam, they form colonies, hunt their own food and avoid human contact — traits that show just how little they have changed from their wild ancestors.
The ability of intact cats to breed rapidly means that feral populations can explode in areas where they have no natural predators, creating ecological challenges for wildlife conservationists.
We created this article in conjunction with AI technology, then made sure it was fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.
