I agree and when it comes to the local social order - Matilda prefers to be
on top of things.

How true! At times there's nothing better than a good "hissy fit." Keeps
life interesting and the ball rolling. :c)

Judy

Domestication
Definition:       

  1. [n]  accommodation to domestic life; "her explorer husband
resisted all her attempts at domestication"
  2. [n]  the attribute of having been domesticated
  3. [n]  adaptation to intimate association with human beings


    Synonyms:        tameness

    Antonyms:        wildness

    See Also:        accommodation, adaptation, adjustment,
flexibility, tractability, tractableness

---
http://www.lam.mus.ca.us/cats/P24/
n the beginning, cats were probably tolerated by humans because they
killed the mice and rats that ate their food stores. Full domestication
of the cat as a household companion likely occurred in Egypt about 4,000
years ago. To overcome the natural fear that wild cats had of humans,
they were most likely captured as kittens and hand-reared.

---
http://wildlife.wisc.edu/extension/catfly3.htm
Domestic cats originated from an ancestral wild species, Felis
silvestris, the European and African Wild Cat. The domestic cat is now
considered a separate species, named Felis catus. In appearance,
domestic cats are similar to their wild relatives, and many of their
behaviors, such as hunting and other activity patterns, remain
essentially unchanged from their ancestral form. Cats were first
domesticated in Egypt around 2000 BC [1]. Domestic cats spread slowly to
other parts of the globe, possibly because Egyptians prevented export of
the animal they worshiped as a goddess. However, by 500 BC the Greeks
had acquired domestic cats, and they spread cats throughout their sphere
of influence. The Romans introduced the domestic cat to Britain by 300
AD. Domestic cats have now been introduced around the world, mostly by
colonists from Europe.

-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Jesus saves, Allah protects, and Cthulhu
thinks you'd make a nice sandwich.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

Bob,

    I respectfully disagree with you. "Domestic" cats tend to be solitary.
They do not form large groups with complex social structures as do dogs.
Cats are also very territorial by nature, some more so than others. However
because their social organizations are somewhat flexible, some cats are
relatively tolerant of sharing their house and territory with multiple cats
socially. It is not uncommon for a cat to tolerate certain other family
cats, but not get along with others in the house. In general, the more cats
you have, the more likely it is that some of your cats will begin fighting
with each other. I tend to presuppose that if the cat has been solitary the
majority of its life, and another cat is introduced there is a fifty, fifty
chance of the solitary cat accepting the new cat. The topic we are disputing
has been argued centuries, and will continue to be argued for many more.

Regarding, the domestication of the common cat; technically speaking, cats
still are in the early stages of becoming a domestic animal, but the cats of
today are very much domesticated. What we do know is that the common cat
hasn't changed genetically much from the Egyptian times, although smaller in
size and stature. Needless to say, I think you are misunderstanding the
definition of domestication. It means to train or adapt (an animal or plant)
to live in a human environment and be of use to humans, or to introduce and
accustom (an animal or plant) into another region; naturalize. So, by
definition the common house cat is domesticated. We as a class of humans
continued to domesticate cats, just as the Egyptians did, and for the same
reasons. Unfortunately, today the vast majority of cats are more for
novelty, and not for utility, not that there is necessarily anything wrong
with that. As you and I both already know, cats make great pets. The role of
the common cat has changed, unless you have a rodent problem or you live on
a farm.

Furthermore, regarding your opinion of "One reason cats moved in with man is
that it gave the cat even greater scope for social relationships - both with
humans and with other cats" that may be true, but again I respectfully
disagree. As early as 3500 B.C., Egyptians were domesticating wildcats from
Africa. These domesticated wildcats became treasured pets, and were honored
in many forms of artwork for their skill in hunting and killing rodents,
such as snakes, rats and mice. Cats first came to Europe and the Middle East
about 1000 B.C., most likely from Greek and Phoenician traders. The ancient
Greeks and Romans also highly valued cats for their ability to control
undesirable rodents. Europeans once more began to realize the important role
cats played in controlling rodents, and cats gradually regained their
popularity. Traders, explorers and colonists brought domestic cats with them
to the New World during the 1600's and 1700's, and settlers continued to
take their cats with them as they moved towards the West. Most all the cats
of today in North America are descendants of these cats. Moreover, cats didn
't move in with man, we moved them in with us for utility. The rest is
history.