A Study of Variation in Singapore Cats
VOLUME 56 MAY 1959 NVMBER 2 A STUDY OF VARIATION IN SINGAPORE CATS Bv A. G. SEARLE Deparlmetzt of Zoology, University o,f Malaya, Singapore* (Received 3iay 30ltz, 1957) ~[NTIRODUGTION The domestic cat can, for several reasons, be regarded as very suitable material for work on population genetics. It is polymorphic for coat colour, pattern, and various other :characters; moreover the genetics of this variation is fairly well understood. It is common in large cities throughout the world, where it is usually divided into two social groups with little mrtual intercourse. Show-cats comprise the smaller group; 'the}' are ,carefully bred and selected by, fancier's for exhibition purposes and are therefore much subject to human interference. The other larger and more heterogeneous group can .be called "alley-cats", including ordinary house-cats and feral or gear-feral "strays". These m'e commonly regarded as domesticated, yet they are much less dependent on man .than most animals of this category; so the?, can, in my opinion, be treated in man?, ways as natural populations. London alley-cats, for instance, appear to mate at random (Searle, 194-9), which suggests that human influence on their choice of mates is negligible. Human selection is exercised almost entirely by keeping some kittens and discarding others. Those discarded may be kiIled or just left by the wayside to fend for them- selves, adding to the feral group if they survive. In much of Europe, but less commonly in Asia, human selection also operates by sterilising a high proportion of aduh males and some females too.
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