In article ,
dgk wrote:

I suppose cats and dogs became domesticated when people threw them
scraps of food from their fire. I could see doing that with a wolf,
but with a big cat? I'm not so sure about that.

Here are some theories, I don't know which ones are scientifically
"approved" and which aren't.

Wolves could have been domesticated by scavenging from the midden
heap--the garbage. This abundant source of calories would be easier to
obtain than prey, and would select for dogs that were either outcasts
from the pack--unable to take down large prey by themselves and
desperate for food--or those that were unafraid of strange stimuli so
they were not repelled by the humans nearby.

Humans would soon find that the semi-domesticated wolves followed their
encampment as they moved, and would encourage this relationship as they
discovered that they would be warned of raids by other humans when the
wolves barked or otherwise defended their food stash.

There are also suggestions about hunters killing momma wolves and
finding their large-eyed, big-headed offspring irresistable (as the
characteristics of babies make all species predisposed to shelter and
care for them). They'd bring the cute pups home and raise them up in
their dwellings.

Konrad Lorenz thought they might have brought the smaller, yappier dogs
indoors to defend their dwellings, as they left the larger ones outside
as general guardians against wildlife and other humans. Regardless, the
wolves left their packs and thereby their way of obtaining food when
they joined forces with humans, and so the humans had to reciprocate by
providing food to their new companions. Scraps of meat and leftovers
would probably have been the main fare.

As for cats, however, we have to look to the origins of agriculture
(later than the hunter/gatherer, nomadic cultures) and the *small*
desert cats that followed along as their rodent prey infested grain
stores. The cats would have been encouraged--a la the temple cats of
Egypt--but there would be no reason to do more than let them go about
their business. So true domestication didn't really take place. Humans
and cats lived side-by-side, separate but equal as they say.

That's why I'd say that, prior to the advent of commercial food for
cats, their "traditional" staple would have been mice, voles, birds,
etc. Also known as--a raw-foods diet!!

-Alison in OH