Dogs have only been domesticated and bred for about 15,000 years; humans, on the other hand, left Africa to populate the rest of the world over 200,000 years ago. This makes their ancestry much more clearly defined, with a high level of accuracy to correctly assess breed. Like children, analyzing the DNA of your domestic companion can help you make educated lifestyle and health decisions on their behalf. Thankfully, many of the privacy- and ethics-related concerns are waived when dealing with your pet; a full genetic profiling is only ever in their best interest.
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Depending on which association you ask, there are currently between 40 and 70 recognized cat breeds.
The first modern cat show took place in 1871. Of the more than 150 feline entrants, only a few were of recognizable cat breeds. These shows would go on to attempt to categorize the vast array of furry phenotypes; it began with simple sectioning between color and coat length. From here, specialty breed groups sprung up, with fanciers drawing even more precise lines between breeds. Of these, only 16 are considered ‘natural’ or ‘foundational’ breed groups, with all others formed as some sorta hybrid. Therefore, many breeds have only been around for about 100 years or less; Bengals and Ragdolls are some of the most recent to be developed.
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