I want to hear about the cats of Chernobyl! I read in a book that "domesticated" cats are essentially the same as wild cats, they just have different habits because of the way they are raised. That suggests to me that in the absence of a human population (and the right climate) some would survive in the wild.
Wild house cats are called feral cats. They exist all over. They are extremely fearful and/or avoidant of humans. And by "all over" I mean in cities, living among us. A dog, that is lost in a city will invariably find a human to take it in. Sometimes cats will do that, but cats are pickier about their humans than most dogs are. The first generation of cats born in the while will essentially become completely wild once they are adults and the chances of domesticating them is very low.
I, too, would love to see and hear about the cats of Chernobyl.
My cat spends 99% of her time outside. She likes to come in and hang out with my kids when they get home from school and take a quick nap, but then she's asking to be let out by the time we're eating dinner.
She'd rather be exploring, hunting mice/chipmunks, and fighting off raccoons and skunks for her food and water supply.
