--- title: Cats Are Only Semidomesticated, Researchers Say description: Study produces the first preliminary evidence that depicts domestic cats as not that far removed from wildcat populations canonical: https://time.com/3577431/pets-cats-domesticated-wild-dna-university-of-washington-st-louis/ author: Helen Regan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-11T05:57:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T11:21:11.798Z article:section: Science og:title: Your Cat Is Half Wild og:description: Well you always knew that, but now there's proof. og:url: https://time.com/3577431/pets-cats-domesticated-wild-dna-university-of-washington-st-louis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4e794d954009eac/6987681b3c163927fd44fe4b/140372563.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 140372563 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Your Cat Is Half Wild twitter:description: Well you always knew that, but now there's proof. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4e794d954009eac/6987681b3c163927fd44fe4b/140372563.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # You Always Knew Your Cat Was Half Wild But Now There's Genetic Proof by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Nov 11, 2014 5:57 AM UTC  Cat sticking tongue out Cat sticking tongue outPaula Daniëlse—Getty Images/Flickr RM by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Nov 11, 2014 5:57 AM UTC A new [study](http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/11/05/1410083111.abstract?sid=d951982e-c913-4fe3-9edf-d80fb1f03fc3) on house cats has found that our feline companions are actually only semi-domesticated. People began domesticating cats around 9,000 years ago but DNA [researchers](http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/27653.aspx) from Washington University in St. Louis found that house cats still have many of the same traits as their wild cousins. The fact that cats have retained the ability to hunt and survive effortlessly in the wild just underscores how little impact we humans have had on them. Wes Warren, an associate professor of genomics at the university, told the Los Angeles _Times_, “We believe we have created the first preliminary evidence that depicts domestic cats as not that far removed from wildcat populations.” That’s not to say humans haven’t had any influence on cats. We originally took them into our homes to hunt rodents and rewarded that behavior with food. According to researchers, this lead to [eventual changes](http://www.latimes.com/science/space/la-sci-sn-cat-genome-20141107-story.html) in a group of stem cells that resulted in more docile (but not fully domesticated) felines and produced colors and fur patterns that humans liked. “Our results suggest that selection for docility, as a result of becoming accustomed to humans for food rewards, was most likely the major force that altered the first domesticated cat genomes,” researchers wrote. [Read more at the Los Angeles _Times_](http://www.latimes.com/science/space/la-sci-sn-cat-genome-20141107-story.html). _Read next:_ [_Celebrate National Cat Day With the Most Ridiculous Cover in TIME History_](http://time.com/3545858/national-cat-day/?xid=time%5Freadnext) Cats Are Only Semidomesticated, Researchers Say ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3577431/pets-cats-domesticated-wild-dna-university-of-washington-st-louis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3577431/pets-cats-domesticated-wild-dna-university-of-washington-st-louis/"},"headline":"You Always Knew Your Cat Was Half Wild But Now There's Genetic Proof","datePublished":"2014-11-11T05:57:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:21:11.798Z","description":"That kitty curled up on your lap is only one genetic step away from jungle killer","url":"https://time.com/3577431/pets-cats-domesticated-wild-dna-university-of-washington-st-louis/","keywords":["animals","Genetics","cats","study","Evolution"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4e794d954009eac/6987681b3c163927fd44fe4b/140372563.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4e794d954009eac/6987681b3c163927fd44fe4b/140372563.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"140372563","caption":"140372563","creditText":"Paula Daniëlse—Getty Images/Flickr RM","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3577431/pets-cats-domesticated-wild-dna-university-of-washington-st-louis/","name":"You Always Knew Your Cat Was Half Wild But Now There's Genetic Proof"}}]}] ```