14. The Pet That Domesticated Itself
Cat domestication did not result from deliberate human efforts. Instead, the process was initiated and driven by the cats themselves. Attracted by rodents that were attracted to human agriculture, wildcats deliberately sought out agricultural communities and their yummy rodents. After thousands of years in which wildcats lived alongside humans and preyed upon the rodents that infest our crops, they changed.
Eventually, enough genetic variation arose between wildcats that lived in human communities and those still out in the wild, that a new species emerged: the domestic cat. Humans did not deliberately bring that about, but simply tolerated and welcomed the wildcats that ate the rodents that stole our grains. So in that sense, we did not domesticate wildcats. Instead, wildcats domesticated themselves and transformed into beloved pets.
