Are All Cats the Same Species?

Our furry kids come in so many breeds, shapes, sizes and colors that it's easy to think their DNA comes from all over the map.  Sandy, Morris and Mickey are great examples of this fact!  Many scientists have studied the origins of today's house cats and have come up with some definitive answers.

Cats are considered part of the Felidae family, which includes three big groups:
     Acinonyx - cheetahs and cougers and etc.
     Felis - smaller cats including our familiar house cats
     Panthera - roaring cats like lions, leopards, jaguars, tigers and etc.

Within their group, the scientific name of our cats is Felis catus. Their closest relative around today is the European wild cat, called Felis silvestris lybica, that commonly lives in forest and mountain areas of Turkey and the Caucaus and sometimes spotted in the Scottish highlands. Looking at a modern cat's DNA, it is almost identical to DNA found in Egyptian cats, who were frequently buried with their owners.  Remember, Egyptians had a cat god called Bastet cats were worshiped in that culture - pretty sure they haven't forgotten that!

While many animal species that were around thousands of years ago have gone extinct, the ancestors of house cats did not.  Amazingly, that DNA continues in the Felis silvestris lybica, a wild cat who lives in the part of the world from India to China.  What all these cats have in common is that they started off as wild animals who hunted to survive.

Since cats are very smart, they quickly figured out they had a better chance of surviving if they stayed around humans when they came along, so they adapted to make the most of that. Over time, this led to the domestication of cats, when they moved in with humans, to the benefit of both.  The first evidence of cats and humans living together came about 3,600 years ago in Egypt.  However, some evidence of cohabitation between cats and humans was discovered in Cyprus in a tomb 9,500 years old!

If all cats are descended from Felis catus, why do they look so different?  There are as many body type variations as there are coat colors and patterns.  The reason is that, over thousands of years, no one really tried to manage how cats reproduced in any place where they lived.  In some cultures, cats were bred for friendliness or to be better hunters to keep mice and rats out of homes and storage bins, but that was it.  A vast majority of cats just reproduced on their own, which led to the amazing variety of cats we see today.  Only in modern times did people start breeding cats for their appearance.

So, the answer is Yes!  All cats - Siamese, Scottish Fold, Maine Coon, Tabby, Ragdoll, Persian, Tuxedo and all the others who look so different - ARE the same species!  When you spend time with your own cat, think about the amazing DNA history he or she carries!

CLICK HERE to read more about this history of Felis catus!