How Domestic Dogs and Cats Came to Have Such a Long History With Humans

In “Dogs and Humans: A 30,000-Year Friendship“, host Dr. Joe Hanson of It’s Okay To Be Smart explained the origins of the very long history of friendship that exists between dogs and humans, noting which party became domesticated first.

Of all the species that humans have domesticated, dogs are our oldest animal friends. But how did a group of wolves become the furry pup at the end of the bed? New research is finally unlocking the paw-in-hand evolution of dogs and humans. In this episode we’re answering one big question: Did we domesticate dogs, or did dogs domesticate us?

In a companion piece “How Cats Became our Feline Overlords” on MinuteEarth, an animated Hanson explained how cats evolved into domestication with illustrated versions of famous internet felines to further his point.

Meow-a-days there’s around 85 million pet cats in the U.S. alone. How did cats become the grumpy, laser chasing keyboard enthusiasts we know today… and what role did humans play in their trans-fur-mation?