# Origin of cats
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-cats/24272
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 1, 2000, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-cats/24272 "2000-07-01T13:07:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@howardsims](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howardsims)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2000, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-cats/24272/1 "2000-07-01T13:07:41Z")
I have heard that domesticated dogs are descendents of wolves. Makes sense to me, even though my 4.5 lbs. Yorkie ain’t no wolf!
But from what wild species did domesticated cats originate?
---
### Author:  [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2000, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-cats/24272/2 "2000-07-01T14:22:02Z")
For the shocking truth about the origin of cats see here- [http://www.catsarefrommars.com/](http://www.catsarefrommars.com/)
Seriously though I would imagine that the modern house cat is descended from some or all of the 13 genera of sub-Family Felinae of the family Felidae, but that’s just an IG (informed guess)
---
### Author:  [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2000, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-cats/24272/3 "2000-07-01T14:26:29Z")
Short answer: the european or african wildcat.
You can see a previous discussion on the subject in this thread, in this same forum:
[where have domesticated dogs and cats come from?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=13868) - 21 replies
---
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2000, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-cats/24272/4 "2000-07-01T17:29:50Z")
It’s just difficult to understand because most of the wildcats most folks are familiar with are much larger than housecats. However, there are a few varieties in the 20-pound range, which puts them at about the same size as a VERY large housecat. (Yes, I have seen a few specimens of Felis domesticus that weighed that much, and not just from fat, either).
---
### Author:  [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2000, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-cats/24272/5 "2000-07-01T17:57:37Z")
Arnold:
> [@](#):
>
> \*\*
> the european or african wildcat.
> \*\*
Airspeed velocity, please?
---
### Author:  [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2000, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-cats/24272/6 "2000-07-01T18:06:17Z")
And the European wildcat is Felis Silvestris - thufferin’ thuccotash! He’s a throwback …
---
### Author:  [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2000, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-cats/24272/7 "2000-07-01T23:58:57Z")
I have read that Domestic Cats descended exclusivly from North African wild cats (felis lybica IIRC). The European wild cat apparently doesn’t have the gene for domestication (or whatever). Both species look almost exactly like house cats.
interestingly, some cats–the Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat–are breeds that went feral and were re-domesticated. This is why these breeds have thick managable coats, while “artificialy” bred long hairs like the Persian need constant grooming.
---
### Author:  [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2000, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-cats/24272/8 "2000-07-02T00:51:48Z")
My four-year-old domestic shorthair weighs 17 pounds. He’s been big from the start, although I’m told he was the runt of the litter. Although he does have a bit of a belly, he’s doesn’t have the same look or feel as overweight older cats I’ve seen. He has plenty of loose skin – I think that’s a good sign. (?)
It is **so** funny to watch him grooming, when he sits on his butt, leans back, then forward a bit to clean under his tail and around his nether regions. His belly spreads out into a pool of tiger-striped fur. I laugh at him and he stops, looks up at me as if to say “ha! don’t you wish **you** could do this?”
He’s plenty active – jumps up on the counter just like his leaner, meaner housemate (not me, the other cat).
---
### Author:  [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2000, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-cats/24272/9 "2000-07-02T09:05:21Z")
> [@](#):
>
> originally posted by Joe\_Cool:
>
> Airspeed velocity, please?
That depends on how many coconuts they’re carrying.