Nowadays, pets mainly refer to cats and dogs, the hot pet cats and dogs is only in the last decade or so, but pets have actually entered the human society in the ancient times. Since ancient times, the pet world has "dogs do not mind the poor", "cats are traitors, dogs are loyal subjects", "dogs do not keep cats, cats and dogs are different" and other statements. Our ancient people also derived many words related to cats and dogs, such as "wolf heart and dog lungs", "cat fancy", "fishy", "greedy cat " and so on.
Today,I will take you from the perspective of historical domestication and cat and dog habits, so that you can understand "why dogs are more loyal than cats" "why cats are more greedy than dogs" "how cats and dogs actually A series of mysteries in the minds of pooper scoopers, such as "why dogs are more loyal than cats", "why cats are more greedy than dogs", and "how do cats and dogs become pets?

I. History of cat and dog breeding: dogs were domesticated before cats

Historically, it is generally accepted that dogs around the world were domesticated from a species called the "East Asian wolf," and that dogs were first tamed into human life 15,000 years ago.
Based on DNA analysis of hundreds of dogs in Africa, Europe and North America, scientists have shown that the East Asian wolf, which was once active in China, is the ancestor of all dogs in the world. The stronger evidence of this is that the offspring of wolf-dog hybrids are capable of full reproduction. Both in appearance and blood, the two are very similar. This is also the main point of the authoritative American journal Science.
While the domestication of cats has only passed 5,000 years, current studies generally agree that the Indian bobcat is the ancestor of all domestic cats, and there are also claims that domestic cats began in ancient Egypt in the Middle East about 6,000 years ago, and were raised by Egyptian and Indian women for entertainment and to get rid of rodents and insects, and held a high status.

The living conditions of human society in that period had greatly improved, and after entering the agrarian society, survival resources were no longer scarce, and even began to have surplus food, so it was already possible for people to keep a pet. The rise of the granary also made the cat, a natural rodent catcher, the most powerful guardian of the granary.

The history and present of pet cats in Europe and China
The history of pet cats in Europe is relatively dark compared to China. From the 15th century to the 17th century, Europe launched a vigorous witch-hunting movement, and cats were regarded as the pets of witches and began to be hunted on a large scale. It lasted for as long as 2 centuries, resulting in cats being almost in a state of extinction in Europe at that time, and the reduction of European cats also directly laid a major hazard for the later spread of the Black Death.

However, nowadays in Europe, probably to redeem themselves, various countries have set up fairly well-developed small animal protection laws, and there is rarely any abuse and abandonment of pets anymore.

Cat breeding in China reached its peak in the Song Dynasty, where people kept cats, not to prevent rats, but to truly treat them as family. This is why there were many cat-themed documents and ink paintings in the Song Dynasty. If you want to keep a cat, it requires a very heavy sense of ritual, and "hiring a cat" became popular at that time, and people needed to welcome the cat as a family member with a bride price.

The history of pet cats in Europe and China is simply one above and one below, but now, it must be said that all pets in Europe are treated better than those in China.

II. Why dogs are more loyal than cats

The answer to this, besides the fact that dogs have been domesticated for longer than cats, is mainly because cats and dogs are different by nature. Edward Wilson, a professor of biology at Harvard University, believes that dogs are more protective of their masters. Wilson, a professor of biology at Harvard University, believes that the tenacity and courage dogs show in defending their masters comes from the united nature of their ancestors (wolves) when they lived in packs.

Because wolves are animals that live in packs and hunt together, while felines are mostly solitary, each individual has a strong ability to fight in the field and is a good hunter.

Dogs with wolves as their ancestors will show obedience to their powerful leaders, which also explains from a genetic point of view: why dogs never refuse their masters' orders and will defend their masters' rights to the death.

In addition to the above reasons, the dog was used as a hunting tool at the beginning, from then on people began to selective breeding of dogs on a large scale, people prefer those who obey the command loyal to the master dog pairing, under the survival of the fittest, loyal to humans also became the nature of the pet dog.

In the farming period, tribal strife slowly emerged, and dogs were used to guard the territory. Dogs are uniquely alert and barking warning, so they are comfortable in the "gatekeeper" thing, more and more popular with humans, in the farming era to bring great help to people, dogs and human feelings are also getting deeper.

And the dog's food is completely dominated by humans, in the dog's view, the master is the chief, is the existence of the need to obey.

In contrast, cats, cats began to enter human society is used to catch mice, in the eyes of my way born king temperament of cats, their own food is their own access, there is no relationship with humans, so there is no need to show their loyalty to humans, and moreover loyalty is not the nature of felines.

In the eyes of cats, humans and cats are more of a mutually beneficial relationship, and they do not go overboard to please humans. But artificially bred cats, such as Garfield Ragdoll, are very loyal and very dependent on their owners.

Dogs are not too poor, cats are traitors? In fact, there is some scientific basis
"Dogs do not raise cats, cats and dogs are different. Cats do not catch rats, people are rich it to gather. The dog is hungry and still guards the home, the master is poor to drive away" is the ancient evaluation of cats and dogs. This is the origin of "dogs are loyal subjects, cats are traitors". Why is there such an evaluation? All cats are greedy cats, why are dogs not so picky about food? There is actually a scientific basis for this.

Three, cats are very picky about physical objects compared to dogs for two reasons:

Cats are pure carnivores and dogs are omnivores. Felines cannot digest plants; they can only eat meat. Dogs are omnivores, from plants to meat, the nutrients of which can be digested and absorbed by dogs. And the dog's ancestors, the wolves, and their starving habits when in the wild also make dogs far more hunger-resistant than cats: they are a pet that tolerates hunger rather than satiety.
Cats have a more sensitive sense of taste. Cats are more sensitive to bitterness than any other animal, and the slightest spoilage or lack of freshness in food is no longer preferred by cats. So when we have cats, cats will no longer eat canned food that has been opened for a day or exposed to the air the next day. They will go in search of fresh, palatable food. Dogs have a developed sense of smell, but their tongues are not so sensitive to taste, and they find everything "quite tasty".
A historical, genetic and habitual insight into why dogs are more loyal than cats
In a word: cats are a little more delicate than dogs. Recent animal studies have found that cats' pursuit of food can be explained by their perception: there is a perception in the cat's mind that sweet-tasting things are related to protein and bitter-tasting things are related to toxins. This concept is not given subjectively, but is a "conditioned reflex" that exists innately with the birth of a cat. Researchers have found that cats can sense and refuse to eat anything that tastes bitter through their sense of smell.

That's why we have the term "gluttony", which means "cats are very picky eaters". In fact, this is the nature of cats, it is difficult to change.

From historical domestication and modern research, we can basically understand the main reason why "dogs are more loyal than cats". In fact, cats and dogs are gradually evolving some functions while degrading some functions.

For example, after artificial breeding of dogs, the gastrointestinal capacity has been greatly reduced, can no longer feel that "starvation can not kill the dog" this statement is correct, still need to feed regularly. The dog's original hardy body, in the current society of breeding, also gradually degraded, so in winter, the dog will also frostbite.

Cats used to be cold and lonely existence, but with artificial breeding, more and more cats began to show their relatives sticky, more and more dependent on the master, so the "cat is a traitor" this statement, also soon not practical, now many cats are very loyal to the master.

Learn more about why dogs are more loyal than cats from a historical, genetic and habitual perspective
To understand the "loyalty" of cats and dogs is not to make people discriminate or criticize, but to give owners a deeper understanding of the origins and history of their pets and their nature. After all, in today's pet-owning society, who cares whether they are loyal or not? They are the most important "responsibility" of dogs and cats.