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  • This episode of Dnews is brought to you by Domain.com.

  • Want to know why your cat only loves you some of the time?

  • Then come see me after this intro.

  • Look at this face.

  • Stare into it's ferocious untamable eyes.

  • Cower in it's innate ability to stealthily stalk prey to satisfy it's carnivorous desire for blood.

  • That little grumpy cat retains a wild side my friends.

  • By wild side, I mean wildcat side, as it is still very closely related to the wildcat,

  • as researchers who have been tinkering around in the genome of house cats have discovered

  • that they are still very closely related to their wild brethren and as a result, are only semi-domesticated.

  • Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis found that your little kitty still

  • retains numerous characteristics shared by its wild kin, like hunting abilities, sensory

  • traits, and digestive similarities.

  • The human-feline relationship began around 9,000 years ago as man's agricultural efforts thrived.

  • As a result, researchers speculate that undomesticated wild feline ancestors utilized the crops as

  • a hunting ground for rodents that fed on the grains.

  • This created a very symbiotic bond with humans who were like, these potentially dangerous

  • cats are great, I'll reward them with other scraps of food.

  • And maybe try stroking one once in awhile...depending on its stroke to claw my face ratio.

  • This reward system encouraged the ferocious felines to return for some easy eats, and

  • over time, the fear of humans diminished as genes associated with reward response and

  • fear slowly altered over time.

  • These more domesticated cats would then breed with similar more domesticated cats, eventually

  • leading to the lazy thing in the corner of your house bathing in that splash of light

  • pouring in through the window...but don't turn your back on that fat catit's still

  • very wild at heart and will end you in your sleep.

  • Compared to dogs, which we've been domesticating for an estimated 30,000 years, it turns out

  • the human impact on cats has been relatively small and that explains why your cuddly little

  • furball is so solitary and frequently terrorizes the mouse and bird populations of your cul-de-sac.

  • Interestingly enough, it seems the biggest impact we humans have had on felines is in

  • fur and color pattern as we have aggressively been breeding them for their looks for the past 200 years.

  • Daddy make that cat make it with that cat because I want a fluffy calico.

  • Whatever you want sweety heart. Humans are weird.

  • Maybe you're a feline fanatic who wants to start your own cat website.

  • Can't have enough of those on the Internet, am I right?

  • So why not buy your domain name from Domain Dot Com.

  • No domain extension will help you tell your story like a DOT COM or DOT NET domain name.

  • And because you watch DNews, you can get 15% off Domain Dot Com's names and web hosting by using the code DNews when you check out.

  • Guys, let's initiate an intense discussion.

  • Dogs or cats. What's better?

  • Go.

  • Leave your answers in the comments below and keep coming back for more DNews every day of the week.

This episode of Dnews is brought to you by Domain.com.

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