Categorically walking on the wild side

Washington

YOUR house cat isn't as domestic as you think. Unlike dogs, which have been distinct from their wolf ancestors for over 10,000 years, cats only started living with humans at all around 9,000 years ago. In other words, they started the domestication process after Fido had already finished.

But there are obviously differences between a cuddly pet kitten and a fierce wild bobcat, so scientists have compared a few cat genomes to pinpoint what distinguishes them genetically. Their findings are reported in The Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences.