Are cats getting tamer, or is it people who are changing?
Around 15 years ago, I created a Facebook page for my cat, Sandi. Friends thought it was weird. Today, social media accounts for cats attract millions of followers, cats travel in backpacks and strollers, and surveys consistently show that the overwhelming majority of owners regard their pets as family.
The article explores whether cats are becoming tamer or if it's human behavior that is changing due to the increasing presence of cats in our lives. It cites research led by biologist Kevin Parsons at the University of Glasgow, which found differences in the skulls of urban and rural red foxes, suggesting that urban foxes may be less fearful of people and better at exploiting resources provided by humans.
Similarly, researchers at University College Dublin found that some fallow deer in Dublin's Phoenix Park consistently approached people for food, with these bolder females producing heavier fawns. While cats have traditionally been seen as less domesticated than dogs, they have shown remarkable adaptability in their behavior, adjusting their social structure to live alongside humans when food is abundant.
The article suggests that cats may still be evolving, either through changes in their behavior or through selective pressures imposed by living in human-dominated environments.
Brief written by urgent.news from Phys.org's own syndicated text. Machine-written — read the original for the full account.
We haven't written up this one. Phys.org has the full story — the link below goes straight to it.




