The history of domestic cats

Cats were first domesticated over 5000 years ago and have since became one of the most popular pets in the world. In several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, there are more cats than any other pet. Domestic cats now live on every continent except Antarctica and have evolved into over fifty distinct breeds.

Cats were first domesticated by the Egyptians around 3000 BC by accident. Ancient Egyptians stored their food in woven baskets and their storage areas were infested with rodents. The rodent problem was quite a plague; much of the Egyptians' food and grains were eaten or destroyed by the rodents, who easily chewed through the reed containers. Rats and mice swarmed the Egyptian cities, and with no traps, poisons or other devices to fight against the rodent population, there was not much the Egyptians could do about it. At some point the African Wildcat, a small yellow cat with black stripes, the ancestor of modern day domestic cats, began coming into the cities to feast on the abundance of rodents. The Egyptians welcomed their new neighbors when they realized that the Wildcats were killing off the rodents. Many people began leaving small scraps of food outside their houses to encourage the Wildcats to hunt at their home. The cats soon began to stay in the cities because there they had more than enough to eat. The cats were also protected from being hunted because their predators in the wild would not dare come near humans. The cats and humans seemed to be well matched for each other.

One would imagine that it would not be long after this that the Egyptians would discover the secret of the cat: it’s purr. Undoubtedly, the Egyptians saw a mystical quality in the purr of the cat. One Ancient Egyptian medicinal text states that a purring cat could induce a more restful and tranquil sleep.

It is unknown when the Egyptians began considering the cat as the embodiments of their gods, but it was sometime after the domesticated African Wildcat had evolved into new species and became the Egyptian Mau. Some speculate that the cats destroying the plague of rodents that afflicted the Ancient Egyptians is what led to them holding cats with such high regard. In Ancient Egypt killing a cat was a crime punished by immediate death. When cats died they were mummified the same as humans were and the cats were buried with mummified mice and rats as well as saucers and food.

For a long time, Egypt had held a strict rule that cats could not leave the country. Despite this rule, some people took the risk and smuggled cats to Europe and Asia. At a later date, the cat population probably got very large because cats reproduce quickly and because all cats in Egypt lived a long and healthy life. It was probably around this time that the Egyptians began selling cats to the Romans, the Gaels, the Celts and later to Europeans and the cat population began to spread worldwide.

The Middle Ages in Europe were a bad time for cats. Unlike the Egyptians who considered cats to be god-like, Europeans saw them as evil demons and witches’ black magical assistants. Cats driven away, beaten, and killed by the gothic people of Europe, and the cat population was nearly wiped out. Luckily, the hate for cats ended when the witch-hunting ceased in Europe, and once again, cats became a popular house pet.

Cats began being illegally smuggled to Asia soon after they were domesticated in Egypt. The Asians immediately loved cats and began breeding them right away. There are several distinct breeds of cats that were first produced in Asia, such as the Siamese, the Balinese, and the Himalayan. Other areas of the world have local distinctive breeds of cats, some of which have been produced by man. The Persian cat was developed in the Persian Gulf; the British Shorthair and Longhair were first bred in the UK; the Maine Coon in the new American colonies. Other breed came about as spontaneous genetic mutations, such as the American Curl cat, a breed characterized by how the ears fold back into a curl. The American Curl first appeared spontaneously in a litter of kittens on a New York State Farm. Still other breeds came about when domesticated cats were moved to a new location, later abandoned, and became feral, such as the Norwegian Forest Cat, a woolly breed native to the cold forests of northern Europe.