Do cats have traits of the domestication syndrome?

Hello! Cats have traits of the domestication syndrome - True or False? Thanks. Mar.

Hello!  As a vet, evolutionary studies aren't my strongest point.  I have rarely heard the term 'domestication syndrome' used in relation to cats;  more often, to crops. I believe that it would refer to genetic changes that mark domestic cats as distinct from wild populations;  however, I do not know many wild populations of the domestic cat!  Scottish (European) Wildcats arguably look very different to pet cats but still interbreed with them, so this may be as close as you come.  Perhaps looking for the phenotypic differences between European wildcats and domestic moggies would help to answer your question?  There are vagabond cats in some cities that might have lived that way for several generations, but I do not know any that do not routinely use humans as a means of food or shelter.   If you have any comments on this (including how the question arose), I would be very interested to hear!

Hello! I'm studying an online course called Feline First Aid. When completing the first assessment I came across a challenging question which I haven't answer yet: "Cats have traits of the domestication syndrome - True or False?" I have contacted the course provider, but I haven't received a satisfying answer. I asked them for a clarification to that question as the course notes about this are limited without a straightforward answer. I tried to find clearer information online, but I mostly found articles saying that cats are semi-domesticated. This is the course customer services first reply: "All assessments are based purely on the study material provided (unless stated otherwise). Therefore, please only use the study material, for your answers." I asked again for a clarification with different words, and I got this reply: “Please find a little further explanation, from our course developers: "Cats will act as they would in the wild, whereas other animals, such as dogs, would appear to be more domesticated. Cats will continue to hunt even though they don't need to (if they are well looked after). Dogs won't fetch things such as small rodents as they rely on us for food." The following are the relevant course notes to this question (I have underlined the notes that do not confirm clearly that cats have traits of the domestication syndrome): “Domestication is defined as “a process by which a population of animals becomes adapted to man and the captive environment by some combination of genetic changes occurring over generations and environmentally induced development events recurring during each generation.” Domestication is a long process that can be broken down into two phases: Animal Keeping: capturing, taming, and keeping wild animals; Animal Breeding: regulating the animal’s reproductive behaviour. Domesticated animals have one important trait in common – the ability to be tamed by humans. Most of our domestic animals were first selected on tameness, or how friendly they were towards humans. Because of these common selection criteria across domesticated species, they tend to share similar characteristics. These characteristics are called the domestication syndrome. These traits include floppy ears, curly tails, juvenile characteristics, reduced stress hormones, reduced tooth size, docility, changes to fur patterns and changes in reproductive cycles. Unlike dogs, pigs and other domesticated species, cats remain relatively unchanged from their wild counterparts and therefore do not adhere to the traits of the domestication syndrome. While there has been selective breeding with cats, it is not nearly as widespread with cats as it is with dogs. Some may say that cats are more of a subspecies of their wild ancestors that ranges in its state of domestication based on time, culture, and ecological location. Cats also can live independently of humans, as seen in feral cat populations. Many domesticated animals are highly social animals as well and adhere to hierarchical social structures that made it easy for humans to integrate themselves into. Cats also lack this trait. Cats are unique among domesticated animals and possess few traits that were considered favourable for domestication and a lot of traits considered unfavourable. Favourable traits: Promiscuous mating; and Exploitation of human environments. It is widely hypothesised that cats domesticated themselves, rather than being actively domesticated by humans. Cat breeds were never created to fill specific working roles along with humans, as dogs were. Cats evolved as nocturnal hunters, but our domestic cats have adapted well to diurnal patterns, taking on the activity pattern of their owners. Cats will continue to hunt and kill even if they are not hungry and are provided with a healthy, well-balanced diet by their owners.” Then, the article in the link below (Published: March 22, 2022. Updated: April 6, 2022) says that: “Researchers find domestic cats have smaller cranial volume, aka brain size, than their ancestors. The researchers state that reduced brain size is a key characteristic of domesticated mammal species and is often cited as a key component of “domestication syndrome.” https://www.catwatchnewsletter.com/mindofyourcat/smaller-brain-size/ I think that cats have some traits of Domestication Syndrome, but not as many as other domestic animals, but they still do, so the right answer should be True. But the notes in this course do not provide a straightforward answer and lacks enough research information. According to the course it seems that the right answer may be False, but the fact that they have the trait of docility (mentioned in this course), plus further research outside this course that explains about the genetic mutation in the ears of Scottish Fold of cat, etc., the right answer should be True. Maybe these notes could be updated by the course developers. So, is it TRUE or FALSE that cats have traits of the domestication syndrome? Thanks. Mar.