mercalia wrote:They are the most wronged as they were kicked out by those African upstarts?
That's just a rumour put about by cats for their own selfish ends.
As I understand it the current prevailing theory is that both
H. sapiens and
F. catus originated in Africa, albeit separately. Why, then, do my cats bask in the sun on the hottest days of the year, whereas I'm still sweating under a tree in autumn?
The only logical explanation is that cats did indeed arise in Africa, and encountered humans during their diaspora. Both Neanderthals and "modern" humans began in Eurasia, but despite their superior strength the Neanderthals were slower to pick up essential skills, such as insulating the hut and winding fibres into balls, so it was us that became domesticated.
Much later (probably after the invention of the airing cupboard door), cats in cooler regions became disillusioned and began to spread the rumour that we, too, had come from Africa. The hope was that we'd all eventually either migrate back "home" or find a way to heat up the rest of the world to a more cat-friendly temperature.
Now that electrically heated cat beds are becoming cheaper, the human out-of-Africa story will probably be allowed to die quietly. A Eurasian human origin makes more sense to me, anyway - I've thought so ever since the dog pointed it out.
Everyone's ghast should get a good flabbering now and then.
--Ole Boot