“Cats: Predators to Pets” at the Field Museum

by Greg Mayer

A traveling exhibit from the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris) is now on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Entitled “Cats: Predators to Pets“, it is sure to be of interest to WEIT’s many ailurophiles, not least of all PCC(E). The entrance shows a large scale phylogenetic tree of the living cats

including Jerry’s favorite species of wild cat, Pallas’s cat,

and then opens into a broad hall with representatives of all the living species. (The whole exhibit is very dark, making photography difficult.)

Interestingly, they’re arranged geographically, which as someone very interested in zoogeography, I rather liked. Here are some of the Asian cats (some American cats are in the background to the left). How many can you identify? (Put answers in the comments.)

Here are some African cats. In this and the preceding photo, you’ll notice that some species are represented by life size photos, rather than specimens.

A closeup of the male lion.

If you think those canines are large, have a look at the saber-tooth!

Throughout the exhibit, an ordinary moggy is often inconspicuously lurking,

in this case demonstrating the stealthy approach used by his wild cousins.

“Predators” is not just part of the name of the exhibit: predation is shown in both several videos and mounted specimen groupings.

A caracal gets its dinner,

as does our cartoon moggy,

apparently because he’s been authorized by His Majesty’s Government.

I liked this demonstration, sort of from the inside, of how cats land on their feet.

These margay kittens won my vote for the cuteness award.

There was an explanation of how domestic cats evolved.

The following bit, however, was curiously equivocal as to how domestic cats got to the Americas– there’s no doubt they were brought here by man; it’s not just what “some historians believe”! Perhaps something was lost in the translation from French.

The latter part of the exhibit emphasizes cats in culture, including Bastet from Egypt,

guardian lions from China,

and maneki neko from everywhere!

The biggest question posed by the exhibit is perhaps . . .

The popularity of Pusheen,

cat videos,

and cat stars of all sorts are explored.

Some of my favorites were Professor Cat

the original meme cat,

and, of course, Larry, from No. 10.

At the end of the exhibit, there’s a set of people-sized cat accessories– a scratching post, a mouse on a stick, a carpeted cat house. Here, a Field Museum colleague demonstrates how to remain alert for flying cat toys!

There’s a special “cat shop” just outside the exhibit. If you don’t already have your copy, you’ll want to get my friend and colleague Jon Losos’ book, The Cat’s Meow. Jerry reviewed it for the Washington Post, and also noticed it here at WEIT.

The exhibit is open till April 27. The exhibit has already been to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto; I don’t know if it will continue its North American tour. So, to be safe, plan your visit to Chicago now!