this post was submitted on 14 May 2025
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[–] I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world 39 points 1 day ago (3 children)

My cat chose to move in with me after being feral. She still spends the day outdoors, comes home for dinner, couch sleeping and breakfast.

She is taken to the vet against her will for vaccinations etc, but that’s really the only loss of autonomy she has.

[–] Lemjukes@lemm.ee 20 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Mine followed me inside one day and just said she lived here now. And then two months later I came home one morning and she leads me to under my bed and proceeds to have five kids and say ‘these are our problem now’

Feat. Mama and eldest child

[–] I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world 4 points 23 hours ago

She got a mini me 😻

[–] FinnFooted@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Cats are barely domesticated. What that essentially means is that cats, if placed in a wild colony, will thrive and blend right in. This is not true for other domesticated species. Research also indicates cats domesticated themselves more than people did. They found mice in grain silos and warm beds in peoples houses and fit right in without needing to adapt.

I don't think humans are robbing cats of their freedom and anyone asserting so really doesn't understand cats.

[–] BakerBagel@midwest.social 2 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

Cats are plenty domesticated, same as pigs and farm ducks. The difference is that they are quicker to go ferral than dogs, cows, or horses. Cats do great around human civilization, towns, and cities, but once they don't have humans keeping away predators, they quickly struggle. In North America, cats are now a staple in the diet of coytoes in urban and rural areas. Humans not only protect cats directly and indirectly, but we attract swarms of their favorite prey species.

[–] FinnFooted@lemmy.world 6 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (1 children)

Cats ate not native to north america. They're descendants of African wild (and sometimes Eurasian wild) cats. Return them to wild habitats, not just feral colonies, and the feral cats fit right in. They are nearly indistinguishable from their wild counterparts and don't struggle any more or less than them. That's the difference between cats and other domesticated species. Domestication is a genetic change. But, if the genetic differences from their wild counterparts are so minimal, how domesticated are they really?

[–] BakerBagel@midwest.social 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Dogs are fully genetically compatible with wolves, but are clearly domesticated.

[–] FinnFooted@lemmy.world 3 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

I didnt say genetically compatible. Domesticated cats are nearly genetically indistinguishable from African wild cats. Genetic studies are difficult because cat species are so similar. In fact, several cat species including the house cats have been argued by geneticists to actually be subspecies of the same species.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5612713/

This is truly not the same for dogs or any other domesticated species... Except maybe the pidgeon. I could see a similar argument for some pidgeons. Not the tumblers.

[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 3 points 22 hours ago

Cats have always been both predator and prey.

[–] RadicalEagle@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

And the fact that she comes back after the vet indicates that she’s willing to make that trade off.