New study shows: Domestic and feral cats avoided mating

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For a long time, domestic and wild cats showed little interest in mating and preferred to stay away from each other. This was revealed by genetic analyzes by an international research team led by paleontologist Laurent Frantz of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and Greger Larson of the University of Oxford.

The domestic cat (Felis catus) is the domestic form of the African ducat; It reached Europe via the Middle East more than 2000 years ago. Since then, it has lived in the same distribution area as the European wildcat (Felis silvestris).

As LMU explains, experts have now analyzed the genome of wild and domestic cats. These include 48 contemporary examples and 258 examples from archaeological sites dating back 8,500 years. It was examined whether there were transitions and to what extent. The result: Domestic and feral cats generally avoided mating.

To date, less than ten percent of the ancestry of most modern domestic cats can be traced to wild cats. “Our studies show that the biology of domestic cats is very different from that of wild cats and that they cannot normally mate with each other,” Frantz said.

“This is probably because domestic cats and feral cats have adapted to very different ecological environments and exhibit different behaviors: Feral cats are solitary animals, while domestic cats can live in much higher densities.”

However, feral cats are under pressure and their populations are endangered, encouraging mixing with domestic cats. Researchers at the University of Bristol have managed to prove this specifically for the Scottish wildcat population. Frantz was also involved in the work. The rate of intersections can then increase rapidly. “This hybridization is a result of modern threats. Habitat loss and persecution have pushed the wildcat to the brink of extinction in the UK,” said Jo Howard-McCombe, lead author of the study.

Scottish wildcats are said to be the most threatened population in Europe. The results for Germany suggest that the population there is probably not declining as quickly and therefore is not yet subject to the same pressure. “We will need more genomic data to be able to monitor the situation in the future and prevent us from facing the same problems as in Scotland,” LMU researcher Frantz said. (SDA)

Source : Blick