Cats taming us ever earlier than estimated.

Manach

"Earliest evidence of cat domestication found in China
Even back then, people were taking care of the cats when they got old.
by Akshat Rathi - Dec 16 2013, 9:10pm GMTST

There has been much debate about how cats went from hunting in the wild to being a much-loved pet; we know little about their domestication. Now researchers have found the earliest case of cat domestication, which happens to be in China, along with the first direct evidence of how it may have happened."
- link.
They've evolved and now demand first choice of main meals.

Adam Khor

Very interesting. Wonder if they could be descended from the Chinese Mountain Cat (Felis bieti) instead:

JuliusCaesar

Instead of what? (Just interested, and ignorant! And surely the Chinese Mountain Cat is descended from some other archaic feline?)

Adam Khor

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

Instead of what? (Just interested, and ignorant! And surely the Chinese Mountain Cat is descended from some other archaic feline?)

I meant that perhaps those domesticated cats the article describes are descended from the Chinese Mountain Cat, and not from the Wildcat (Felis silvestris) like the formerly oldest known domesticated cats from Egypt and the Middle East.

Kind of like some say dogs were probably descended from different species of canid, instead of just one (cattle, too, but I'm not sure if that's considered true nowadays).

Capt'n Midnight

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121206203240.htm

Toxoplasma is a common 'cat parasite', and has previously been in the spotlight owing to its observed effect on risk-taking and other human behaviours. To some extent, it has also been associated with mental illness. A study led by researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now demonstrates for the first time how the parasite enters the brain to influence its host.

...


In one laboratory experiment, human dendritic cells were infected with toxoplasma. After infection, the cells, which are a key component of the immune defence, started secreting the signal substance GABA. In another experiment on live mice, the team was able to trace the movement of infected dendritic cells in the body after introducing the parasite into the brain, from where it spread and continued to affect the GABA system.

GABA is a signal substance that, amongst other effects, inhibits the sensation of fear and anxiety. Disturbances of the GABA system are seen in people with depression, schizophrenia, bipolar diseases, anxiety syndrome and other mental diseases.

"For toxoplasma to make cells in the immune defence secrete GABA was as surprising as it was unexpected, and is very clever of the parasite," says Dr Barragan. "It would now be worth studying the links that exist between toxoplasmosis, the GABA systems and major public health threats."

Adam Khor

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121206203240.htm

The authors of the study are dog people. They just want to make cats look bad.