The secret lives of cats, past and present

Jonathan Losos, evolutionary biologist at Washington University and author of “The Cat's Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa,” explores the evolution, peculiarities, and joys of our feline friends. Long before grumpy cat memes, cats were worshiped by the ancient Egyptians, and archaeological evidence suggests they were domesticated as far back as 10,000 years ago on the island of Cyprus. 

The ancestor of the domestic cat is a species called the North African Wildcat. Losos explains the evolution of the cat, their history of domestication, and how they have evolved from an ancient divine symbol to the common and loveable house cat.

“Cats are consummate predators. There's this wildness to them and they are as good a predator as there is on the planet,” Losos says. “I think one of the appeals to many people of having cats as pets is that you've got a little bit of the Serengeti in your own living room.”

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