Domesticated Cats: why no size difference?

[PaulHogan]

Dogs come in sizes from 'drowned rat' to 'shetland pony'.

Why are all domesticated cats roughly the same size?

[bexVN]

PaulHogan said:

Dogs come in sizes from 'drowned rat' to 'shetland pony'.

Why are all domesticated cats roughly the same size?

More intensive breeding for the specific uses we wanted from the different types of dogs we have compared to cats. Cats were used mainly for one reason...to get rid of mice etc in homes, hence the lack of need to vary the shape or size of the cat. It is a very recent thing in comparsion to dogs to be exaggerating the cats looks and it is more for the show ring than any real use.

I know there is more to it than this but this is the main starting point.

[davepoth]

Pretty much it - selective breeding has got dogs from wolves to where they are now in a few thousand years. Nobody has ever tried to breed a really big cat.

-edit-

Of course, people have bred really big cats.



I wouldn't pick that up.

[sportka1]

thats a maine coon cat. i used to have one of those and it was one huge angry fluffball of terror.

[IanMorewood]

Could it be the fact that the person who tried domesticating a tiger ended up as its dinner?

[bexVN]

IanMorewood said:

Could it be the fact that the person who tried domesticating a tiger ended up as its dinner?

Good point, but my guess is also that dogs/ wolves also realised they gained security from being near hunans, where as Tigers never had the need for such comforts

[minky monkey]

sportka1 said:

and it was one huge angry fluffball of terror.

[GingerWizard]

an old mate had something called a "russian tree cat" It was the size of a working bh-lab. It looked like a freeking panther!

I'm google 'ing this now.....

[trickywoo]

GingerWizard said:

an old mate had something called a "russian tree cat" It was the size of a working bh-lab. It looked like a freeking panther!

I'm google 'ing this now.....

I'd imagine you could buy them from the same people who stock filigree siberian hamsters.

[bobr]

Get something that in the previous two generations has had some semi-feral blood thrown in to the mix. I've seen a few bigger cats on farms because of this

[Broomsticklady]

GingerWizard said:

an old mate had something called a "russian tree cat" It was the size of a working bh-lab. It looked like a freeking panther!

I'm google 'ing this now.....

Sounds like a Siberian Forest Cat - now just known as a Siberian. Very similar to a Norweigain Forest cat, which in turn resembles the Maine Coon (but is far nicer in my biased opinion (3 NFC and 1 maine Coon current 'owners' of me!)

[missdiane]

Ours is a bit bigger than normal

[IanMorewood]

Its got to be said, what a huge pussy.

[Howitzer]

This is our one, he's more than double the weight of our other cat and bigger than most i've seen. No idea how he came about with regards to breeding etc so presume it is just a random occurence.



Dave!