If you’re a cat lover, you probably see your feline friend as a love sponge with a wild streak. If you’re a cat hater, you probably see cats as feral and strange. It turns out that this debate has played out in scientific circles as well. Researchers, it seems, can’t agree on whether cats are a domesticated species or if they are instead only “semi-domesticated.” In my new article for Slate, I delve into the legal and scientific history of the world’s most popular pet. So are cats wild or domestic? You’ll have to decide for yourself.

In the meantime, here’s an excerpt to ponder:

Cats are descended from some of the world’s most fearsome predators. They can be aloof and mysterious, and when they go outside they blend into the savage world around them, stalking, growling, and leaping—their eyes wide, their ears back, their teeth bared. They are the kings of their backyard jungles. Yet they give it all up to be with us—a loud, erratic, and sometimes incomprehensible species. When they cross our thresholds, the beast fades away. They tame us, and they are tamed by us. Cats may have retained a bit of their wild ancestry, but they always come home.

Update: And here’s a radio interview I did on the topic on WNYC.

Dear Friends, I’m proud to announce that Citizen Canine: Our Evolving Relationship with Cats and Dogs has just come out in paperback! If you’ve been waiting for a soft cover edition, you can find now it on Amazon and fine bookstores everywhere.

Also, in case you missed my “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit, you can find the link to the conversation here.

And for those of you in the Portland, OR area, I will be doing a reading of the book at the world-famous Powell’s bookstore on June 29^th.

Finally, a note about the paperback. Although I have updated the book since it was first published, the first edition of the paperback contains the original hardcover text. The updates should appear in the next version of the paperback. Here are a couple of updates and corrections worth noting:

• Page 73: Marc Bekoff got his MD and PhD at Cornell University Medical College in New York City, not in Ithica.
• Page 100: The Animal Legal Defense fund did not create an animal law committee in the American Bar Association. This was instead done by animal lawyer Barbara Gislason.
• Page 122: After the book went to press, South Dakota became the 50^th state to make animal cruelty a felony.
• Page 293: Two updates to the timeline
  • 2006: The U.S. federal government passes the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, which impels rescue agencies to save pets as well as people during natural disasters.
  • 2014: South Dakota becomes the 50th U.S. state to adopt a felony animal anti-cruelty law. The same year, the FBI announces it will begin tracking animal cruelty cases.

(Credit: Chris Goldberg/Flickr)

Is your pet a family member or a commodity? That’s the issue lurking beneath the surface of a trio of new laws proposed in Maryland and Virginia. Two of the bills aim to ban or severely limit the sale of cats and dogs from pet stores, while the third seeks to redefine the nature of animal shelters. Yet all speak to the rapidly evolving relationship between us and our companion animals.

The pet store bills target shops that sell dogs and cats from breeders. Both were inspired by growing public concern about animals that come from so-called puppy and kitten mills—commercial breeding operations that put profit above animal welfare. Pets from such places are often unsocialized and tend to harbor genetic and infectious diseases. The Maryland bill, which was passed in Montgomery County last week, prohibits pet stores from selling cats and dogs obtained from such mills. Stores can only sell pets procured from shelters or rescue organizations, as large chains like PetSmart and PetCo do. The Virginia bill, which is awaiting the governor’s signature, covers the entire state. It is similar to the Maryland bill, though it still allows pet stores to sell from breeders that meet certain qualifications. It also largely prohibits the sale of pets at flea markets and similar venues.

The Maryland and Virginia bills match legislation passed in more than 70 localities across the country in the past few years. Though the ostensible purpose of these laws is to improve animal welfare, they speak to the growing bond between us and our pets. In the past 20 years, dogs and cats have morphed from companion animals to full-fledged family members. We take them on vacation, we spend billions on their food and care, and we even risk our lives for them. As a result, we now view our pets less like property and more like people. A few decades ago, we didn’t think twice about buying a cat or dog from a neighborhood pet shop or seeking the latest and greatest breed, like we might a fancy new TV. Today, many of these pet shops have disappeared, and owners are more likely to boast that their pet is a rescue than a purebred. We don’t buy anymore. We adopt.

Continue Reading →

Credit: Nebojsa Mladjenovic, via Flickr

One of the most fascinating tidbits I came across while researching my new book, Citizen Canine: Our Evolving Relationship with Cats and Dogs, concerns the 10,000-year-old village of Shillourokambos. Located on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, the site was once home to an early farming community whose inhabitants stored grain in stone silos and corralled livestock behind wood fences. In 2001, archaeologists digging beneath the foundation of what was once a small, circular house made a surprising discovery: a shallow grave containing the skeleton of a human, and next to it, surrounded by carved seashells, the remains of a cat.

That wasn’t the fascinating part. Archaeologists had long suspected that cats first entered human society to hunt the rodents that early farming villages attracted. What surprised me was learning that the Shillourokambians had shipped in foxes for the same purpose. And yet only cats became pets. Dogs, likewise, became treasured companions when plenty of other animals could have theoretically fit the bill. Of all the species on earth, only two have morphed from wild animal to family member. It’s a process that took thousands of years.

And yet, as we were transforming these animals, they were also transforming us.

Continue Reading →