There’s an city legend that claims the majestic Maine Coon got here from the cross of a Norwegian cat and a raccoon. This delusion is probably going on account of the truth that the Maine Coon is a big feline with distinctive markings which can be considerably harking back to a raccoon’s stripes. However whereas it’s true that cats and raccoons can generally cross paths, particularly in city and suburban areas, these encounters don’t finish in tiny “cat-coon” or “rac-cat” infants. Cats and raccoons can not mate and reproduce—regardless of how lovable such offspring can be!
Let’s take a better take a look at why some species can efficiently interbreed and why this isn’t the case with cats and raccoons. There are additionally nice tips about maintaining your feline buddy secure in the event that they enterprise exterior.
Can Two Totally different Species Mate?
It’s not that frequent within the wild, however two completely different however associated species can certainly reproduce. This course of known as hybridization, and it might probably occur in each animals and crops. When two completely different species mate efficiently, their offspring known as a hybrid. More often than not, hybrids are sterile, that means they will’t have infants (although this isn’t all the time the case).
That stated, scientists don’t all agree on outline species. The “Organic Species Idea” is often used to separate completely different animals and crops into varied species. In line with this precept, animals that can’t breed collectively or that may breed however produce sterile offspring are categorized as completely different species.
Some scientists classify species based mostly on notable bodily and environmental variations—for instance, variations in coloration, habits, habitat, or geographic location. Different scientists use genetic variations, that are sections of DNA containing small variations known as mutations. Usually, members of various species are unable to breed on account of these genetic obstacles. Certainly, that is the very definition of the time period “species,” which comes again to the Organic Species Idea; two animals incapable of reproducing are categorized as two completely different species.
Are All Hybrids Sterile?
Whereas it’s true that the majority hybrids are unable to breed, there are cases the place hybrids can have infants. This happens when a hybrid mates with one other hybrid or with a member of the identical species as one in all its dad and mom. For instance, when a male lion and a feminine tiger hybridize, they produce a liger. 90% of male ligers are sterile however a lot of the feminine ligers are fertile and could be efficiently bred again to a tiger or a lion.
Curiously, in keeping with the authors of an article printed within the journal Frontiers, the existence of fertile hybrids poses a sure scientific problem, because it contradicts a basic precept of the Organic Species Idea, which means that two distinct species shouldn’t be able to mating and producing fertile infants. Nevertheless, this doesn’t suggest that the dad and mom of hybrids will not be distinct species; reasonably, it highlights that the idea of ‘organic species’ could not apply to all species.
So, Why Can’t Cats and Raccoons Mate?
You will have heard that cats and raccoons can generally mate, however these claims will not be supported by any credible proof. Scientifically, there aren’t any documented circumstances of profitable interspecies breeding between these two animals.
Cats and raccoons belong to distinct households throughout the order Carnivora. Certainly, cats are a part of the Felidae household, whereas raccoons are categorized within the Procyonidae household. If we take a look at the liger, which has a tiger mom and a lion father, we are able to see that although they’re completely different species, they belong to the identical genus, Panthera, which explains their interbreeding success. This isn’t the case for raccoons and cats.
Preserve Your Cat Protected Outside
Though cats and raccoons can not mate, they do usually cross paths within the wild, significantly in areas the place human growth encroaches upon pure habitats. These interactions can result in a wide range of outcomes, a few of which may pose dangers to your cat. Rabies, for instance, is a major concern, and raccoons are recognized carriers of this lethal virus. In case your cat will get right into a struggle with a raccoon, there’s a probability of illness transmission by way of bites or scratches.
Contemplating the potential dangers posed by interactions with raccoons and different wildlife, it’s important to take measures to make sure your cat’s security once they enterprise exterior.
Listed here are just a few useful suggestions:
- Monitor their time spent outside. If attainable, attempt to supervise your cat’s comings and goings. To maintain them actually secure, construct a safe out of doors enclosure, generally known as a catio, to supply a secure out of doors house to your cat with out exposing them to the hazards of wildlife.
- Preserve your cat in your home at evening. Since raccoons are primarily nocturnal creatures, it’s best to maintain your cat indoors within the evenings and at evening.
- Make sure that your cat’s vaccinations are updated. That is particularly vital for ailments like rabies.
- Microchip your cat, and get them a collar with an identification tag. In the event that they get misplaced or injured, this will enhance the possibilities of their secure return.
- Spay or neuter your cat. In addition to the varied well being advantages of those procedures, spaying or neutering your pet will drastically scale back their need to roam and get into hassle. It should additionally scale back infections which can be sexually transmitted comparable to Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (the cat model of HIV).
Backside Line
Though interspecies breeding is technically attainable and might even lead to fertile hybrids like ligers, there isn’t a scientific information proving that such a relationship can happen between a raccoon and a cat. That stated, the dangers linked to random encounters between these two species are very actual, such because the transmission of contagious ailments or the chance of damage within the occasion of a struggle.
Due to this fact, for those who let your cat roam freely exterior, make sure that to observe their comings and goings as a lot as attainable, and above all, be sure that their vaccinations are updated. Don’t attempt to appeal to raccoons to your property simply because they appear lovable and innocent!
Featured Picture Credit score: Corina Muresan, Shutterstock
