Research overview: domestic cat and European wildcat hybridization

Because the domestic cat and its wild relatives remain fully interfertile, hybridization is a persistent conservation concern, especially for the European wildcat, Felis silvestris silvestris, in places like Scotland. This overview surveys genetic and morphological studies that quantify introgression of domestic genes into wildcat populations and try to distinguish true wildcats from hybrids and feral domestics. Researchers use microsatellite and genome-wide markers, pelage scoring and gut morphology to assess admixture, which in some regions is so extensive that genetically pure wildcats are nearly gone. The work informs captive breeding, reinforcement and neutering policies aimed at protecting wildcat integrity, and illustrates how the loose, recent domestication of cats keeps the domestic and wild forms genetically porous.