Narz
keeping it real
How come I can't get a cat that fits in my teacup or a 50lb 4 foot long lapcat? 
Why so much variability among dogs but not cats?
- Thread starter Narz
- Start date
KmDubya
King
My guess is that dogs are useful while cats are pretty much just ornamental or vermin eradicators, which they do pretty well already. People bred dogs for bird hunting, fox hunting, sheep herding, predator protection, rescue and other useful productive jobs. They even bred some like pugs for purely ornamental purposes. Also dogs are much smarter than cats and can be trained.
hobbsyoyo
Deity
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2012
- Messages
- 26,575
Please don't ask me for a source (because I'm lazy and don't care enough about the topic) but I read an article that explained that dogs have a certain DNA replication quirk that makes them both highly variable and easily manipulable.
From what I remember, their genes were more likely to make multiple redundant copies of themselves within the genome. Even though it was the same gene, differing numbers of it would cause different traits to be expressed. The bull terrier was pointed out as a good example of this as a gene dealing with skull growth was duplicated generation over generation causing their distinct curved noses.
Factor in their obvious utility and mankind's firm breeding hand and you wind up with this massively diverse, awesome species.
From what I remember, their genes were more likely to make multiple redundant copies of themselves within the genome. Even though it was the same gene, differing numbers of it would cause different traits to be expressed. The bull terrier was pointed out as a good example of this as a gene dealing with skull growth was duplicated generation over generation causing their distinct curved noses.
Factor in their obvious utility and mankind's firm breeding hand and you wind up with this massively diverse, awesome species.
Oerdin
Deity
Dogs are thoroughly domesticated and have undergone extensive artificial selection by human breeders. Cats are, at best, only semi domesticated.
Cats are much more awesome than dogs too. It's hard to improve upon cats.
My cats said to tell you they approve of this post.
I just got a mental image of giant tabbies playing with cows and sheep the way normal cats torture mice.
Timsup2nothin
Deity
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2013
- Messages
- 46,737
There's this feline compound not far from where I live. They provide a breeding environment for zoos...like when you don't want your tigers to get inbred but you don't want to trade with some other zoo to bring in new blood to your limited facilities you send one of yours and they send one of theirs off to this place for a little honeymoon action...anyway.
They provide "toys" and you can see these big f'ing cats playing with a ball...and they look just like your housecat knocking around a pingpong ball. Bat it back and forth between their paws, it 'gets away' and they tear after it repeatedly batting it along; every cat owner knows the imagery. Except the 'toys' they give these cats are old bowling balls.
civvver
Deity
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2007
- Messages
- 5,855
probably cus you can't teach cats to be docile and to follow your commands that well, so it'd be too dangerous to bread huge versions of them. They'd probably kill you at some point out of boredom or spite. Or pee in your bed and drown you cus they got mad you ignored them. Or something.
Meanwhile we can have gigantic great danes and they are perfectly passive. Or vicious but insanely loyal other breads. Dogs have the physical tools to be dangerous but the temperaments to be controlled.
Meanwhile we can have gigantic great danes and they are perfectly passive. Or vicious but insanely loyal other breads. Dogs have the physical tools to be dangerous but the temperaments to be controlled.
hobbsyoyo
Deity
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2012
- Messages
- 26,575
That's not really how domestication works. The more you interfere with a species breeding, the more docile it tends to become. It's a side effect of the process that is a useful feature. What I'm getting at is that you likely wouldn't wind up breeding a strain of megacats that are not docile unless you were performing a very carefully controlled breeding experiment.
Lohrenswald
世界的 bottom ranked physicist
pets are dumb
10,000 downvotes.
I've had various species of pets throughout my life: dogs, goldfish, cats, and a very long time back when my dad had his car repair business, a customer paid him with 4 geese. We didn't eat the geese; they became pets. And actually, they were pretty decent "watch dogs" since they had a tendency to run after and peck strangers.
And now I have two cats and an assortment of pet rocks. It's the only way I'm allowed to have dogs here; one pet rock is a beagle and the other is a pug. They're cute, and don't bark. I don't have to walk them, and they cost nothing to feed. I just have to dust them occasionally.
Narz
keeping it real
Yeah, I want one! Would be so much fun to cuddle!
Lexicus
Deity
Pets are awesome. One of the few sources of unalloyed joy in the world.
Similar threads
