3 ms·
Unless our evolved traits to find puppies and kittens cute came first and that has transferred to other animals.
by sandworm101 5y ago
Unless our evolved traits to find puppies and kittens cute came first and that has transferred to other animals.
- ben_w 5y agoWhile that isn’t impossible, it puts in an extra layer of untestability. For example, I could also hypothesise we evolved to find cute anything fluffy whose eyes were large relative to its head because that’s what baby pre-humans looked like, and that is why we started petting baby other animals, and the advantages of liking dogs and cats was unrelated.
- janto 5y agoI love cats, but I can't see any evolutionary benefit to us from caring for baby cats specifically. It's more likely that our mammalian behavioural traits have influenced dog/cat neoteny.
- sandworm101 5y agoCats eat rats. They protect our homes from vermin. They are a valuable animal to have around. Raising them from young means they are attached to you and will guard your home in particular. And the "hero cat" on youtube that saved the little kid from the attacking dog. Raising that cat was definitely worth it for that family. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_(cat) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_(cat) "The dog was pulling Jeremy down his driveway when Tara, who the family states was very attached to Jeremy, tackled the dog and chased him away"
- janto 5y agoGood point about rats. The utility of having a cat as babysitter will have to be weighted against the risk of tripping over one, though. Tara is newsworthy because it doesn't happen as often.
- sandworm101 5y agoRats also attack and even kill human babies. We don't see it much anymore but a thousand years ago things were far more primative. Having a cat around, maybe literally sleeping beside the baby, could make a big difference