9781422274958

people’s intervention has helped it become the most diverse and widespread. Within all this biology, natural history, and history, the critical point to remem- ber in this tale of how the cat came into domestication is this: The cat made the initial decision to come into close contact with humans. With all of our other domes- ticated animals, such as the dog, the horse, and the cow, it was people who originally decided that those animals offered quali- ties that they could benefit from if they were “tamed.”

many that existed around that time made it to today. These groups are known as genera. The domestic cat is part of the genus Felis, which is made up of the smaller cats with a rigid hyoid bone at the base of their tongues that prevents them from roaring. Lions and tigers, the big cats, are in the genus Panthera. Their hyoid bones move freely, allowing them to roar. And the third genus, Acinonyx, contains only one species, the cheetah. Within those genera are about 40 spe- cies of cat that still exist today. Our domestic cat is just one of these, although

Two young cheetahs display the short muzzles, whiskers, and large eyes for which the family Felidae is known. Both cheetahs and lions live in prides, but most cats are solitary.

10