From Savannah to Sofa: The Evolutionary History of Cats

Do lions and tigers meow and if not, why? Where and how did cats make an evolutionary leap, leaving the African savannah? Why does a cat leave a dead mouse at your feet or even on your pillow? Is it... really so bad to keep an ocelot at home? And what did cats mean in Egyptian hieroglyphics? Evolutionary biologist Jonathan Losos decodes complex scientific and historical puzzles, discovers how modern researchers are unraveling the secrets of feline past and present using advanced scientific technologies — from GPS tracking to genomics and forensic archaeology, and shows how natural and artificial selection have shaped the modern cat over the past few thousand years, turning it into the most successful and diverse biological species on the planet in a relatively short time. Humans change cats, and in turn, they change the world around them, and this engaging and fact-filled book tells, among other things, what the future holds for both Felis catus and Homo sapiens.