I’ve long had a theory that cats have evolved to be just cute enough that we don’t murder them. Cats are evil, so it’s understandable that humans would want to kill them, and I think we probably did early on, but some of them were so cute that we didn’t. Those surviving cute cats reproduced and made more cute cats, but they also became more evil. Over generations, we have created beings that are supremely evil, but they’re just so gosh darned cute that we let them get away with it.
Yeah they evolved to keep much more baby-like features into adulthood with a big head and huge eyes because that’s cute to us and triggers strong instincts of protection and love. I forget the exact name for it. And my cats do be looking extremely cute all the time so it was very successful.
I seem to remember reading that domesticated dogs evolved more expressive eyebrows that proved to be a survival advantage in this process.
Found the article: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1820653116
That is super neat, you’re right! It was bread into them due to human preference.
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This reminds me of the silly iPad games my kid had me playing a decade ago.
I miss it. :(
Cunning disguises!
Lmao, I’m not going to fix it.
Thanks, I just had a good laugh. ;)
Mmmh, puppy muffin.
I’ve seen a few things that have shown many animals have developed a sense of “cuteness” specifically to deal with us.
I’ve long had a theory that cats have evolved to be just cute enough that we don’t murder them. Cats are evil, so it’s understandable that humans would want to kill them, and I think we probably did early on, but some of them were so cute that we didn’t. Those surviving cute cats reproduced and made more cute cats, but they also became more evil. Over generations, we have created beings that are supremely evil, but they’re just so gosh darned cute that we let them get away with it.
Well that and they kill pests. We also like things that are useful. I just wish they wouldn’t put the dead pests in my shoe 😬
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Cats are an autonomous pest control system, that’s why they’re everywhere.
Cats don’t have any of the typical traits of domestication. Humans do.
Draw your own conclusions.
Yeah they evolved to keep much more baby-like features into adulthood with a big head and huge eyes because that’s cute to us and triggers strong instincts of protection and love. I forget the exact name for it. And my cats do be looking extremely cute all the time so it was very successful.