The Age of Cats

From the Savannah to Your Sofa

By: Jonathan B. Losos

Narrated by: Jonathan B. Losos

Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

The past, present and future of the world's most popular and beloved pet, from a leading evolutionary biologist and great cat lover.

Jonathan B. Losos unravels the secrets of the cat using all the tools of modern technology, from GPS tracking (you’ll be amazed where they roam) and genomics (what is your so-called Siamese cat, really?) to forensic archaeology. He tells the story of the cat’s domestication (if you can call it that) and gives us a cat's-eye view of the world today. Along the way we also meet their wild cousins, whose behaviours are eerily similar to even the sweetest of house cats.

Drawing on his own research and life in his multi-cat household, Losos deciphers complex science and history and explores how selection, both natural and artificial, over the millennia has shaped the contemporary cat.

Yet the cat, ever a predator, still seems to have only one paw out of the wild, and readily reverts to its feral ways as it occupies new habitats around the world. Looking ahead, this charming and intelligent book suggests what the future may hold for the special bond between Felis catus and Homo sapiens.

©2023 Jonathan B. Losos (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"Not just another cat book, this enthusiastic study traces the evolution of the domesticated house cat from the African wildcat and explores the scientific questions it raises… A vivid, well-rounded treat for anyone interested in cats." (Kirkus Reviews)

"What does the future hold for humankind’s other best friend? Reaching back into the evolutionary history of the cat family, brought right up to date with the emergence of new breeds and hybrids, this fascinating book deserves to be on every cat-lover's nightstand." (John Bradshaw, author of Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet)

"If you have ever lived with a feline long enough to reach an accommodation, you’ve probably asked yourself: Am I training the cat, or is the cat training me? That question is a gateway to the labyrinth of fascinating riddles explored by Jonathan Losos – himself a lifelong ailurophile as well as an eminent evolutionary biologist – In this engaging and very smart book." (David Quammen, author of Spillover, Breathless and The Song of the Dodo)