How Did Cats Live in the Wild?

Who hasn't watched a cat chasing a laser pointer and wondered how he would fare in the wild? Whenever I watch my cat prowling through the house, I can't help but envision him eking out a living on the African savanna, as his ancestors-- and, in fact, mine-- once did. It's been some 10,000 years since my cat's forebears chose a domestic lifestyle, but those wild instincts still flow through his feline veins. This begs the question: just what is life like for a cat in the wild? What do they eat, where do they sleep, and how, in general, do they survive?

To find the answers, we need only to look at the direct ancestor of the domestic cat-- the African wildcat, also known as Felis silvestris lybica. These cats, which still exist today, form almost all of the ancestry of domesticated cats. By observing the way they live today, we can see how house cats survived in the wild prior to domestication.

Cats in the wild, including the ancient ancestors of the cat, look somewhat similar to today's mackerel tabbies. They have sandy gray-brown bodies with black stripes on the tail and fainter stripes on the body. Wild cats are remarkably adaptable and capable of living in a very wide range of environments-- which explains how so many feral house cats survive all over the world. Natural wild cats can live anywhere from forests to deserts but, like humans, evolved primarily to live on the savanna.

Not surprisingly, cats in the wild are nocturnal hunters, active primarily at twilight and night time. During the day, they tend to hide under bushes. At night, they hunt a variety of prey comprised primarily of mice, rats, and rabbits. Birds and reptiles also form part of the cat's natural diet in the wild. Rarely, cats in the wild may scavenge on another animal's kills. In the wild, cats do not generally eat fish or shellfish; this taste is apparently fairly unique to domesticated cats.

Cats in the wild are not social or friendly, even with their own kind. Males acquire territories that may overlap and include the territories of females, but they do not tolerate other males on their land. Females defend their land against both other females and against males who might be intruding on their "landlord's" space. Wild cats only live in groups when a female is caring for her young. She gives birth in a burrow during the wet season. Unlike domestic cats, who are often taken from Mom at six weeks of age, cats in the wild stay with their moms for at least six months.

When domestic cats become feral, they tend to resort to some of the behaviors and adaptations of their wild ancestors within just a few generations, but are still ill equipped to survive in the wild compared to their forebears. We owe it to animals to keep domestic cats in our homes and to give wild cats the freedom to live their lives free of human intervention. While pet cats have maintained many of the traits of wild cats, their lives still vary considerably compared to their ancestors.