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In just 10,000 years, cats have come in from the wild and accompanied humans on their journeys around the globe, but felines have been around for an estimated 37 million years of evolution in a world free of humans.
在短短一萬年的時間里，貓科動物從野外來到地球，陪伴人類走遍全球，但在沒有人類的世界里，貓科動物已經進化了約3700萬年。
Even during the thousands of years cats have spent in the company of people, we have had little influence on when and with whom they have mated.
即使貓與人類相處了數千年，我們對它們交配的時間和對象幾乎沒有影響。
Physically, domestic cats vary relatively little from their wild relatives; most cat breeds are less than 200 years old and are fairly uniform in size and shape.
從體型來看，家貓與其野生近親的差異相對較小，大多數貓品種的歷史都不到200年，而且大小和形狀相當均勻。
All of this helps to underscore just how recently cat domestication took place.
所有這些都有助于強調貓的馴化是最近發生的。
Only recently have breeds like Ragdolls and Birmans appeared, as well as the curly-haired Cornish Rex and the hairless sphinx.
直到最近才出現了像布偶貓和伯曼貓這樣的品種，以及卷毛的康沃爾帝王貓和無毛的斯芬克斯貓。
Other breeds like Persians are older (their origins can be traced back to the Middle East in the 1600s), but they're still relative youngsters compared to many dog breeds.
其他品種，如波斯貓，出現的更久遠一些（它們的起源可以追溯到16世紀的中東），但與許多犬種相比，它們仍然相對年輕。
And though some dog breeds have marked differences in instincts and personality, most cat breeds differ primarily in appearance, not especially in temperament or size.
盡管某些狗品種在本能和個性上存在顯著差異，但大多數貓品種的差異主要在于外觀，而不是特別在氣質或體型上。
Cat breeders are still actively creating new varieties, including domestic/wildcat hybrids.
貓飼養者仍在積極創造新品種，包括家貓/野貓雜交品種。
The Bengal was originally an Asian leopard cat crossed with a house cat.
孟加拉貓最初是亞洲豹貓與家貓雜交的。
The Savannah is a cross between an African serval and a domestic cat.
薩凡納貓是非洲藪貓和家貓的雜交品種。
Some think that both breeds are controversial because of their wild ancestry.
有些人認為這兩個品種都因其野生血統而有爭議。
In Europe more than 1,000 years ago, cats were used both as pest control and as a source of fur.
一千多年前，在歐洲，貓既被用來防治害蟲，又被用作毛皮來源。
When a group of Scandinavian archaeologists compared the size of cat pelts from the time of the Vikings to the bodies of modern-day kitties, they found that 21st-century cats were 16 percent larger.
當一群斯堪的納維亞考古學家將維京人時期貓皮毛的大小與現代小貓的身體進行比較時，他們發現21世紀的貓要大16%。
What made these results so unusual is that domestication usually shrinks an animal.
這些結果之所以如此不同尋常，是因為馴化通常會使動物體型縮小。
Dogs are a quarter smaller than wolves; livestock animals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats, are also smaller than their wild counterparts.
狗比狼小四分之一；家畜，如牛、綿羊和山羊，也比野生動物小。
And it's not just the availability of energy-dense kibble that has led to bigger cats.
導致貓科動物體型變大的不僅是能量密集的粗糧。
Scientists have also documented larger body sizes in free-roaming and feral cats in the Australian bush.
科學家也記錄了澳洲叢林中自由漫步的貓和野貓的體型較大。
Although those cats might steal human food scraps, they aren't all being regularly fed by people.
盡管這些貓可能會偷走人類的食物殘渣，但它們并不都被人們定期喂食。
Of course, cats won't magically grow to be Godzilla-size any more than they will suddenly evolve opposable thumbs.
當然，貓不會神奇地長到哥斯拉那么大，就像它們不會突然進化出對生拇指一樣。
