[zebraflask]

Some are smarter than others, but I think, in terms of animal behavior or ecology, cats are basically carnivorous rabbits.

That's not to say anyone who has had a trainable cat doesn't like them - mine have their moments - but I think it's worthwhile to consider that.

[msrenee]

In what way do you see a similarity to rabbits? I think of them as being pretty different, with cats being less social and more likely to take risks.

[platz]

rabbits are just prey animals and that shows in their behavior and attitude, whereas cats do a lot of predation themselves.

[Sharlin]

However, cats are far from the top of the food chain themselves, which is reflected in a lot of their behaviors.

[jimmaswell]

House cats and big cats don't behave very differently.

https://lithub.com/house-cats-and-wild-cats-arent-actually-t...

[Sharlin]

Uh, that article is not about house cats vs big cats. The still-extant ancestral species of the domestic cat, F. lybica, is a small wildcat, as were its ancestors, and as such a predator but not an apex predator. Big cats, which typically are apex predators in their respective ecosystems, are a wholly separate branch of the felid family.

[TheBlerch]

Recent research showed that house cats share nearly 95 or was it 96% of their DNA with big cats

[root_axis]

The same is true of humans and orangutans, that comparatively small percentage can clearly account for massive differences in behavior and intelligence.

[dragonwriter]

Sounds like a lot, until you realize they share 90% with humans.

[widforss]

Some rabbits (or rather hares) are pretty hardcore.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Backcountry/comments/ul61y6/snow_ra...

[mrosett]

I’m disappointed that this isn’t a reference to Monty Python.