In The News

[Valaquen]

You would think that since both cats and dogs depend on humans to survive, we are preventing progress since they dont have a need to biologically change. Sort of how some people say humans have stopped evolving because of technological improvements in healthcare and medicine.

What? Cats and dogs don't require us to survive, they're well suited for nature; and for better or worse we're always evolving. "Some people" are silly and uninformed.

[Aspie]

You would think that since both cats and dogs depend on humans to survive, we are preventing progress since they dont have a need to biologically change. Sort of how some people say humans have stopped evolving because of technological improvements in healthcare and medicine.

What? Cats and dogs don't require us to survive, they're well suited for nature; and for better or worse we're always evolving. "Some people" are silly and uninformed.

You are unaware of Kirkland's precedent, yes?

[OmegaZilla]

Yeah Val, don't waste your time.

[ShadowPred]

You would think that since both cats and dogs depend on humans to survive, we are preventing progress since they dont have a need to biologically change. Sort of how some people say humans have stopped evolving because of technological improvements in healthcare and medicine.

What? Cats and dogs don't require us to survive, they're well suited for nature; and for better or worse we're always evolving. "Some people" are silly and uninformed.

You're talking to someone who believes that victims of rape are at fault.

[KirklandSignature]

You would think that since both cats and dogs depend on humans to survive, we are preventing progress since they dont have a need to biologically change. Sort of how some people say humans have stopped evolving because of technological improvements in healthcare and medicine.

What? Cats and dogs don't require us to survive, they're well suited for nature; and for better or worse we're always evolving. "Some people" are silly and uninformed.

That's true if they're released back into the "wild". If humans just f**ked off, thousands of cats would starve to death after a week or two being trapped indoors.

[Vertigo]

That's true if they're released back into the "wild". If humans just f**ked off, thousands of cats would starve to death after a week or two being trapped indoors.

Thankfully most cats have cat flaps... the average dog can't leave the back garden under its own volition. Also, appropriate prey for dogs isn't so numerous as for cats, so once the various byproducts of human civilisation are taken out of the equation, I think they'd have a tough time.

In any case, the question was about evolution, which absolutely is still a factor, particularly in dogs. It's not too long ago that dogs were wolves, it's been the domestication by humans, the un-natural selection, which has transformed them into very different creatures. Dogs occupy a vast array of body types and specialisations, probably more than any other species, and it's all thanks to selective breeding by humans.

Not quite sure I understand your question though Kirkland, on the one hand you're asking if we're preventing evolution in cats and dogs, and on the other hand suggesting they may become sentient. Is the latter under the condition that humans don't interfere? If so, it's worth taking into account that close relatives of dogs and cats, some separated by over ten million years, share massive commonality of behavioural traits and intelligence. The point being that their mental development has been in a similar state for a very long time, so it seems they're as advanced as they need to be in that respect.
If we selectively bred them specifically for intelligence, though... who knows?

In terms of natural selection though, I'd think that if anything else evolved sentience, it would be dolphins or elephants. Both of them have an increased ability to interact with their environment (particularly in the latter case), and are roughly on a par with primates in terms of brainpower. I think one key factor missing might be necessity, we evolved cerebral gigantism as forest habitats dwindled and we became forced to live on the ground out in the open, negating most of simians' normal avantages. Both dolphins and elephants are skilled generalists, and only face difficulty from human pressure.

[SiL]

That's true if they're released back into the "wild". If humans just f**ked off, thousands of cats would starve to death after a week or two being trapped indoors.

Okay, but that has more to do with being trapped in a confined space with no way out.

Which would kill anything.

[Vickers]

That's true if they're released back into the "wild". If humans just f**ked off, thousands of cats would starve to death after a week or two being trapped indoors.

Okay, but that has more to do with being trapped in a confined space with no way out.

Which would kill anything.

Exactly.

[Gate]

You would think that since both cats and dogs depend on humans to survive, we are preventing progress since they dont have a need to biologically change. Sort of how some people say humans have stopped evolving because of technological improvements in healthcare and medicine.

What? Cats and dogs don't require us to survive, they're well suited for nature; and for better or worse we're always evolving. "Some people" are silly and uninformed.

That's true if they're released back into the "wild". If humans just f**ked off, thousands of cats would starve to death after a week or two being trapped indoors.

HAVE YOU EVER EVEN OWNED A CAT?

[DoomRulz]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/10/jody-onorato-high-school-nude-photos-students_n_2848155.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Personally I had a couple of hot teachers when I was in high school but I never received any nudey pics...

[Nightlord]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/10/jody-onorato-high-school-nude-photos-students_n_2848155.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Personally I had a couple of hot teachers when I was in high school but I never received any nudey pics...

I had some actual hot teachers in my school too, so distracting when they were trying to teach.

[KirklandSignature]

You would think that since both cats and dogs depend on humans to survive, we are preventing progress since they dont have a need to biologically change. Sort of how some people say humans have stopped evolving because of technological improvements in healthcare and medicine.

What? Cats and dogs don't require us to survive, they're well suited for nature; and for better or worse we're always evolving. "Some people" are silly and uninformed.

That's true if they're released back into the "wild". If humans just f**ked off, thousands of cats would starve to death after a week or two being trapped indoors.

http://t.qkme.me/356w1y.jpg


HAVE YOU EVER EVEN OWNED A CAT?

I own two!  I keep them strictly indoors so if I just dissapeared, they would kik the bucket after a few weeks if they couldn't break on through(to the other side).

[Gate]

You would think that since both cats and dogs depend on humans to survive, we are preventing progress since they dont have a need to biologically change. Sort of how some people say humans have stopped evolving because of technological improvements in healthcare and medicine.

What? Cats and dogs don't require us to survive, they're well suited for nature; and for better or worse we're always evolving. "Some people" are silly and uninformed.

That's true if they're released back into the "wild". If humans just f**ked off, thousands of cats would starve to death after a week or two being trapped indoors.

http://t.qkme.me/356w1y.jpg


HAVE YOU EVER EVEN OWNED A CAT?

I own two!  I keep them strictly indoors so if I just dissapeared, they would kik the bucket after a few weeks if they couldn't break on through(to the other side).

The cats aren't going to run away from you. That's their home. Cats are not meant to be household animals. They need to be let outdoors just like dogs. if you lock them in a house with no doggie door anyway, what the f**k.

[KirklandSignature]

You would think that since both cats and dogs depend on humans to survive, we are preventing progress since they dont have a need to biologically change. Sort of how some people say humans have stopped evolving because of technological improvements in healthcare and medicine.

What? Cats and dogs don't require us to survive, they're well suited for nature; and for better or worse we're always evolving. "Some people" are silly and uninformed.

That's true if they're released back into the "wild". If humans just f**ked off, thousands of cats would starve to death after a week or two being trapped indoors.

http://t.qkme.me/356w1y.jpg


HAVE YOU EVER EVEN OWNED A CAT?

I own two!  I keep them strictly indoors so if I just dissapeared, they would kik the bucket after a few weeks if they couldn't break on through(to the other side).

The cats aren't going to run away from you. That's their home. Cats are not meant to be household animals. They need to be let outdoors just like dogs. if you lock them in a house with no doggie door anyway, what the f**k

f**ked is letting them outside to get run over by cars or eaten by coyotes. Not to mention I have a problem neighbor who's kid will eagerly take shots at any animal with his paintball gun and rifle.

Not going to argue over keeping cats indoors vs letting them outside. Indoors cats are proven to live longer anyway.

[DoomRulz]

I have an "indoor cat" as well but I still let her out whenever she wants to go just because it's good for her to explore her surroundings and to get to know the area. I have never seen a cat (honestly) be run over by a car because I'm pretty sure they have enough intelligence to recognize when a large vehicle is coming at them (unlike a squirrel) and coyotes are typically only a problem at night, which is when any intelligent owner keeps the cats in.