Hello, I’m Christopher! Learn my introduction to be taught extra about me and my foolish Russian Blue cat, Olga.
The African Wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) is the ancestor of home cats. Though they aren’t endangered, they’ve suffered from interbreeding with housecats. They’ll catch the identical illnesses as pet felines, and the healthiest populations reside in arid, mountainous areas away from human settlements.
Olga doesn’t must hunt for her meals and can’t sit up as straight as an African Wildcat. African Wildcats have longer entrance legs, and after they’re in a sitting place, their poses resemble these depicted in drawings by historical Egyptians. Nonetheless, that’s the place their variations finish; she’s simply as wild as Felis lybica, however she’s trapped in a suburban house.
Feline and Canine Domestication
Cats appear wilder than canines as a result of people haven’t selectively bred them for particular traits for very lengthy. The farmers within the Fertile Crescent didn’t prepare their new buddies to hunt rodents and had no want to govern their breeding pool.
They offered shelter, and the cats had been pleased to prowl round and eat rats. Alternatively, canines have been with us because the Mesolithic Age once we had been hunter-gatherers. We domesticated them earlier than different mammals and skilled them to be hunters, guardians, and companions.
Olga’s Wild Methods
Like most felines, Olga doesn’t need or must carry out a service that advantages people. She’s an African Wildcat with a grey coat who loves attacking inanimate objects. It took years earlier than she grew to become snug sitting in my lap, and she or he nonetheless has a low tolerance for extreme petting.
She’s not as agile or athletic as my final cat, however she’s wilder.
I learn a narrative on an unique cat discussion board that jogged my memory of Olga. An proprietor of an African Wildcat talked about that his cat wasn’t a lot completely different than a Home Shorthair, however he had scars on his legs and arms from her playful assaults. He additionally stated that the cat was extra affectionate within the daytime, and she or he grew to become extra aggressive when the solar went down.
After Olga has had her ninth or tenth nap of the day and loved a wholesome meal earlier than nightfall, she will get a lift of vitality. It’s unusual as a result of she acts extra like a hunter when her stomach is full. She runs laps round my home and assaults the again of my legs if I get in her manner.
An Proprietor’s Duties
If I ignore her, she slams my bed room door and howls if she has bother opening it. She needs me to take part in her looking video games however solely from a distance. In addition to being her caretaker, Olga additionally thinks I’m an property supervisor or gamekeeper.
I’m in command of conserving the property stocked with wildlife (toys), and if I fail in my duties, I don’t get fired like a supervisor of an English property; I turn out to be the prey. I love Olga’s wild nature and am glad she acts extra like her ancestors than her cousins. Though I don’t have a rodent downside, I can all the time depend on my blue panther to preserve my house insect-free.