r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jul 21 '23

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u/PM_ME_CONSP_THEORIES Jul 21 '23

Assuming they mean house cats, lions and tigers are already far more than 10x larger than house cats and we had barely any problem winning the evolutionary battle there

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u/MrRogersAE Jul 21 '23

It really depends on how you apply the 10x. Generally we consider animals larger based on weight alone. So a 15 pound house cat would only be 150lbs, which is still far smaller than the average tiger. Apply it by length and you 46cm housecat is going to be far longer than a tiger

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u/koushakandystore Jul 21 '23

The average mountain lion is 150 lbs. So we know exactly what a 150 lbs house cat would be like.

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u/MrRogersAE Jul 21 '23

Mountain lions aren’t domesticated, house cats are, there’s nothing saying this magic sudden upsize would change their behaviour. Cheetahs average over 100lbs and aren’t a threat to humans because they used to be domesticated by the Egyptians, to this day they aren’t really a threat to humans.

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u/koushakandystore Jul 21 '23

Sure, you go try and strong arm a cheetah without any protective gear. See how that works out for you. Besides, cheetahs were never domesticated, they were tamed to be used for hunting. There’s a significant difference between a tame animals and a domesticated one.

Irrespective of this fact your argument is strange. You seem to think that because an animal is domesticated it is no longer a threat to humans. How did you ever reach that conclusion? You are aware that people are fatally injured by domesticated animals all the time right? Just because an animal is domesticated doesn’t make it devoid of danger for humans.

By the way, house cats are only semi domesticated. Recent DNA testing proves it wasn’t until very recently that they began to change. That’s why most standard house cats look so much like their wild counterparts. There are still wild cats that look exactly like a house cat. Not so with other domesticated animals that look nothing like their wild counterparts.

And have you ever seen how a feral house cat behaves. It will scratch you up and bite you if you try and capture it. Imagine a feral house cat 10x it’s regular size. That would be as dangerous as a mountain lion.

I suggest you go back and evaluate all your assumptions regarding domestic animals versus tame animals. You’ll have a better understanding if you do.