question about ferals that have been ferals for many generations

chausiefan

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Hello

I just had a question regarding feral cats that have lived in the wild for generation after generation without human interference and influence do they begin take on a Consistent Pattern Appearance and color???

I know feral cat can be any breed any color any shape form etc..

But after generations and generations of being feral i wonder if they begin to form a specific look?

LIke dogs for example after generations and generations of being feral or wild dogs eventually begin to look like like wolves I wonder if cats are the same way?

On islands where cats ahve run wild without humans interferring with their breeding for generations and generations are whites oranges calicos blacks etc.. eventually bred out ? Hope i make sense
 
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chausiefan

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I believe thousands of years ago our cats came from the wild cat http://members.aol.com/cattrust/silvestr.jpg which still runs wild in africa and europe. Its a bit bigger much much more agressive then the domestic version but I wonder do feral cats turn back into the african wildcat after being left alone to run wild for so long?


here are some kitten wild cats look so much like some domestics!

http://www.lioncrusher.com/images/wildcat-african.jpg

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/cats27.jpg
 

StefanZ

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Originally Posted by chausiefan

I believe thousands of years ago our cats came from the wild cat which still runs wild in africa and europe.
Not quite. the wildcat in Europe Felix silvestris ssp silvestris is different then the african Felix silvestris ssp lybica - I believe they are called.

The european wildcat looks pretty much like common european moggies so to speak, but cant be tamed.
Whereas practically all ferals can be tamed - and many, perhaps most can be turn into loving homecats.

And the Lybica is fully possible to be tamed - and probably also be a family cat.

Thus our domestic cats, Felix Catus or Felix silvestris ssp catus is nearer relative to the Lybica then the european wildcat. Although there must have been some interbreding during the centuries.
 
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chausiefan

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the african wild cat and the european wild cat are considered to be the same species but just 2 sperate sub species of wild cats because if the 2 breed the offspring will be fertile


I have never heard that if you get a real african wild cat as a tiny ki8tten that it will grow up to be the freindly gentle sweet loving cats we have in our houses? im sure their wild instincts take over as they grow and will turn our houses inside out and crap all over the place the way most wild animals would (not keen on using the litter the way our amazing pets do lol)

Also according to studyies real wild cats never form colonies around garbage dumps the way ferals do
 
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