Total Cat Mojo: The Ultimate Guide to Life with Your Cat

by Jackson Galaxy

From this information, they were able to determine some of the key genetic changes that occurred in domesticated cats. Genetic changes that are associated with: Better ability to form memories Better ability to make associations between a stimulus and a reward (such as humans offering them food) Less rapid fear conditioning—meaning today’s cat is not as quick to go into fight-or-flight mode Physical characteristics: Smaller body Shorter jaw Smaller brain Smaller adrenals, which control fight-or-flight instinct Lengthened intestines, for adaptation to scavenging human food All cats have long canine teeth that allow them to kill with a bite to the neck. Domestic cats’ teeth are more narrowly spaced than those of other cats, because they are adapted to catching smaller rodents—most domestic cats’ preferred prey. What Has Not Changed with Today’s Cat? Skull shape—the shape of the skull across all cat species is similar, and they have a specialized jaw designed to kill with a powerful bite. Our cats’ skulls may be a lot smaller than lions’ and tigers’, but the structure is very similar. Behavior! (To a large extent . . .) Most cats choose their own mates, which keeps the gene pool diverse. Cats still (for the most part) can survive without us.