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Mark Twain was known to rent cats when he traveled. |
Famous Figures |
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| In 1906, while staying for the summer in Dublin, New Hampshire, Twain procured the companionship of three kittens from a local farmer's wife (he got a discount if he took three) — one named Sackcloth and the other two, identical twins, both called Ashes. One of Twain's biographers, who visited the author during his stay, recalled Twain holding open a screen door for two waiting kittens, saying, "Walk in, gentlemen. I always give precedence to royalty." Twain's rental payment covered expenses for the cats' care for the rest of their lives. | |
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By the Numbers | |||||||||
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Cats are not nearly as domesticated as dogs. | |||||||||
| Although cats and dogs are the most popular pets of choice in the U.S., cats are far less domesticated than their canine counterparts. Dogs began their journey to becoming man's best friend in the Paleolithic era some 30,000 years ago, and today they exhibit many of the telltale signs of domestication, including decreased tooth size and docility. Cats, on the other hand? Not so much. Studies have shown that the Felis catus (the scientific name for your kitty) isn't genetically far removed from Felis silvestris, its wild cousin. Cats likely first started fraternizing with humans when the rise of agriculture increased rat populations, creating a symbiotic relationship. But because wild cats aren't social or hierarchical animals, they weren't as easily integrated into human societies as wolves were, which is why house cats retain their hunting instincts while many dog breeds rely on humans to survive. Some scientists argue that cats are actually in a "semi-domesticated" state and that we are only at the beginning of the domestication process. It would certainly explain why they remain frustratingly (if adorably) aloof — always making us question whether they serve us, or we serve them. | |||||||||
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