In a message dated 6/4/99, 9:57:23 AM, sanjer at televar.com writes:
<< cats are domestic
animals whose wild ancestors are now very likely extinct>>

On the contrary, (she says, feeling herself being dragged into the Dreaded
Cat Thread), the domestic cat's wild ancestor is most probably Felis
sylvestris, the "wild cat" of the British Isles. I believe at one time it was
extant throughout northern Europe. However it now only survives in England
(and perhaps Ireland). THe domesticated can breed with the wild cat and
raise fertile young.

If you've ever seen a cat with an agouti and black-striped coat, usually
called a "tiger" striped cat, that's the coat pattern of F. sylvestris. It's
also the coat that domesticated cats revert to when allowed to breed freely.
No matter if momcat is a calico and dad's a siamese, in a few generations the
kittens are 'tiger striped" or black.

There's also a theory that the domesticated cat arose from Felis libyca, a
cat that may be extinct now, I don't know. I'll have to go digging through my
books.

The whole basis of your email is sound, though. You are right. North America
has no indigenous cats except ocelots, bobcats, lynx and jaguarundi, none of
whom can breed with Felis domesticus with resulting fertile young.
Michelle