In past when I was born like 1990s I notice most animals haven’t evolved in 30yrs. Example cats haven’t gain more muscular body as to be strong to defend themselves from predators like well many animals of coyotes, raccoons, possums, red fox, bobcats, birds of prey, wolves and others
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$\begingroup$ Are you looking for the evolution of cats, mammals or animals in general? And what exactly makes you think there is no evolution? Not all changes are visible on spot, especially given that 30 years are not a long time span in context of evolution. $\endgroup$– ArsakCommented May 5, 2020 at 17:09
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1$\begingroup$ I wonder why so many downvotes for this. $\endgroup$– WillkCommented May 5, 2020 at 21:44
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1$\begingroup$ Welcome to Biology.SE! Please take the tour and then go through the help pages starting with How to Ask questions effectively on this site. In particular, your question needs: 1) clarity, and 2) evidence for the assertion that "animals" haven't evolved. ——— In general, we encourage you to do some research on your own and then, informed by what you have learned, ask any questions you still have (ideally with references to reliable sources). Thanks! 😊 $\endgroup$– tyersomeCommented May 6, 2020 at 0:43
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1$\begingroup$ I have found that when learning about a new area starting with a relatively accessible and reliable source like Khan Academy is very helpful. Wikipedia is also generally a good starting point and you can then check their references. Online platforms called MOOCs offer free (or very low cost) courses on a wide variety of subjects — two I am familiar with are Coursera and edX. Finally, textbooks with a good level of detail are also freely available online e.g. from NCBI. $\endgroup$– tyersomeCommented May 6, 2020 at 0:44
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1$\begingroup$ In particular, I encourage you to check out some of the online resources available for learning more about evolution. For example, this a useful introduction to evolutionary theory from UC Berkeley. $\endgroup$– tyersomeCommented May 6, 2020 at 0:44
2 Answers
Evolution takes either many generations or strong evolutionary pressures (or both). For your example species, domestic cats, 30 years is only about 30 generations. Most domestic cats (as opposed to feral ones) are bred by humans, and are selected for attributes - call them collectively "tameness" - that make them good house pets. These attributes are not those which would help as defenses against predators.
Now if you looked at populations of feral cats, you might find them evolving such traits, since they'd be under strong selection pressure. (Though stealth & avoidance behaviors would seem to be more likely than size & strength.)
Conversely, wild animals can be "evolved" under human selection in a fairly short time, as for instance in the Russian fox domestication experiment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesticated_red_fox You could also consider the evolution of the coywolf in eastern North America: https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/1108/How-did-a-canine-hybrid-coywolf-emerge-in-front-of-our-eyes
Likewise, if you go to organisms with shorter generation times, examples of evolution, such as antibiotic resistance in bacteria, are quite frequent. Indeed, if you have been paying any attention at all to recent events, you might have noticed that a variety of coronavirus has recently evolved the ability to infect humans.
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$\begingroup$ But I seen many cats they look and same behavior. My cat was born from the streets so he ten years old. He quite small but seems tough but not really a dog can kill him with one bite :( I mean dogs are stronger, faster, smater high stamina and more resilience then cat. If cat could gain some those then cat wouldn’t have so many predators. I think dogs are smater then cats but cat people not true even though I’m cat person $\endgroup$ Commented May 5, 2020 at 18:47
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$\begingroup$ @John Pass: I strongly doubt that the many cats you've seen are an appreciable fraction of all the cats there are, or that you've made any statistical study of the differences between feral cat populations and domestic cats. (FTM, search for 'new cat breeds" to see how cats have evolved in recent decades.) As for dogs being stronger &c than cats, it really depends on the dog. My bear-chasing Plott Hound, yes (except maybe the smarter part :-)), someone's toy poodle, not so much. And of course there are enormous differences between dog breeds, too. $\endgroup$– jamesqfCommented May 7, 2020 at 3:12
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$\begingroup$ But the feral cats I seen are small like average size. They lived with coyotes, raccoons and birds of prey. If pack of coyotes chase a cat then the cat is no match to defend themselves. My cat ran out one night because we accidentally left door open he gotten attack by raccoon at night we took him to the vet he got scars that was few years ago. I turn the lights on the raccoon ran off $\endgroup$ Commented May 7, 2020 at 11:19
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$\begingroup$ @John Pass: Certainly feral cats defend themselves against coyotes. (Otherwise they would all be eaten, no?) They do so by evasion, not combat: climbing trees, going into small holes, &c. If they were to evolve towards larger size/strength, they would lose those advantages, and would have to become large enough that they would be competing directly with coyotes for that evolutionary niche. $\endgroup$– jamesqfCommented May 8, 2020 at 4:37
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1$\begingroup$ @John Pass: So what you're seeing is evolution in action. The ones that get eaten by coyotes are the ones that couldn't evade the coyotes, because they e.g. got too far from a safe refuge. You don't see videos of the cats that don't get eaten because they were smarter, more cautious or whatever, yet these are the cats that will be passing on their genes to following generations. That's the way evolution works: if all cats (or any other creature) that were born survived to reproduce, the world would soon be buried in cats. "Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death..." $\endgroup$– jamesqfCommented May 9, 2020 at 19:24
You are witness to the COVID-19 epidemic, an example of evolution.
True, there are not weird bipedal cats walking around. Actually Youtube shows quite a few, but you get my meaning.
But there is a new virus ravaging the world. Where did it come from? It came from predecessors that were not so pathogenic for humans, got a purchase in humans, and a new strain evolved.
COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic has a natural origin
Evidence for natural evolution
The scientists found that the RBD portion of the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins had evolved to effectively target a molecular feature on the outside of human cells called ACE2, a receptor involved in regulating blood pressure. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was so effective at binding the human cells, in fact, that the scientists concluded it was the result of natural selection and not the product of genetic engineering.
This evidence for natural evolution was supported by data on SARS-CoV-2's backbone -- its overall molecular structure. If someone were seeking to engineer a new coronavirus as a pathogen, they would have constructed it from the backbone of a virus known to cause illness. But the scientists found that the SARS-CoV-2 backbone differed substantially from those of already known coronaviruses and mostly resembled related viruses found in bats and pangolins.
A rare thing - the evolution of a new and dangerous life form in your time on earth!
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$\begingroup$ I don't understand what you mean on corna virus for a cat? I'm asking about why cats haven't evolved. My cat is ten years old so he was born almost 10-20yrs after i was born in the 90s. My cat and any other cat that was born after 2010, all the same, no extra attributes $\endgroup$ Commented May 5, 2020 at 22:13
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1$\begingroup$ The cat thing was a joke. I believe you have not seen new cat types. But you have seen or heard of a new virus type. A new virus has evolved during your lifetime. Get it? $\endgroup$– WillkCommented May 6, 2020 at 3:04
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$\begingroup$ I understand but I’m asking about cats in streets or feral cats not evolved from predators $\endgroup$ Commented May 6, 2020 at 11:09
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$\begingroup$ @John Pass: And you've been told the obvious reason why there are no readily apparent evolutionary changes to feral cats: not enough time. $\endgroup$– jamesqfCommented May 7, 2020 at 3:15
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$\begingroup$ Can u explain not enough of time. That’s why I don’t get it. Feral Cats been around 1900-2020 that 120yrs that hundreds of new generations $\endgroup$ Commented May 7, 2020 at 12:44