On Tue, 29 Feb Mikko Rintasaari and Trotsky write (I lose track of who
said what here):
> Subject: Shadow cats, yet again
>
> > Mikko Rantasaari:
> >
> > << > > Yes, I'd agree that that's true. I can safely say that
that's no
> > longer
> > > > the official view, but its a perfectly good 'IMG' one.
> >
> > Too bad. I like lynxes, but a shadow cat is supposed to be something
much
> > more magical and mysterious. And they aren't supposed to be bred for
> > interesting fur colour and an obedient nature! >>
> >
> > They aren't. Some are bred for hunting, some for hunting vermin and
(if
> > you believe Greg) some for herding sheep and cattle. None are
intentionally
> > bred for fur colour AFAIK (although, in fact, the breeds do tend to
be
> > somewhat distinctive in colour) and they most definitely aren't bred
for
> > obedience. These are cats after all!
>
> And I think they shouldn't be bred for traits at all. I can't see the
> orlanthi interfearing with the cat's selection for mates, and that's
> theonly way to do it (I suppose a Hero Quest could manage it though...
> still, the breeds mentioned seemed rather extreme and spesific for
certain
> tasks)
And then there's a mention of sub-speciation breeding in modern cats and
dogs. I heard an anthropology professor say once that Cats and Dogs were
the ultimate winners genetically becuase they were able to convince
humans to radically subspeciate them and take them into vast numbers of
ecological/cultural niches.
Which brings me to the point which struck me as I was reading, the idea
of HQing for new breeds and abilities for the Shadowcats (and even other
animals as we see in KoDP).
What if the Shadowcats HQ for better owners? (I say this with a cat
across my lap)
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