0 History of the Domestic Cats

Nowadays most of us have cats at home but we rarely think over the fact: where did cats come from? Cats history is something interesting and it is definitely worth knowing.

As we talk about the most ancient traces left by cats, we usually go about 40 million years back to the Miacis.Then cats were not considered domestic pets at all, as they were aggressive. With the years passing, they found out that their way of living would be easier if they move to places where people live, so that they may easily find food.

The African wildcat‘s descendents are in fact pointed out as the first animals of this kind who became domestic ones.

The Egyptians

Egyptians are known as the nation who worships cats as if they are gods and this has its deep roots in history. In ancient times, they used to keep their food supplies in huge stores. Of course, the abundance of food attracted lots of mice and rats. Cats somehow managed to find these stores allured by the large number of pests. People noticed the appearance of cats helped them preserve their food, so they established long and strong relationships with them. The export of cats was then forbidden and death penalty was the sentence for people who dared to kill a cat. The death of a cat was an exceptionally sorrowful event. As a symbol of their grief, Egyptians shaved their eyebrows and then mummified their pets and buried them in special places.

Cats in the Middle East and Europe

No matter cats exportation was forbidden, probably some Greek or Phoenician traders managed to smuggle them in the Middle East and Europe somewhere about 1000 B.C.. They have never been worshipped animals in Europe but they continued being valued animals as they were considered vermin controllers. They even became the symbol of liberty for Rome so more people got cats and even took their pets with them when traveling somewhere. This is how they started spreading really fast.

In Asia, cats became important because they were used as guardians of the silkworm cocoons.

Cats in North America

History shows that North America is a continent with a large number of wild cats on its territory but the domestic ones were brought with ships when the Europeans arrived.

Cats and superstitions

Once worshiped, cat was claimed “Diabolic Creature” during the middle ages. As people then believed cats had magical powers, they accused them being agents of the devil. Cats were believed to be witches with the body-shape of an animal and all of their owners were also suspected to be witches.

Cats were either killed or driven away to places with no population. Due to the fact that cats were almost wiped out, the population of rodent became dangerous for people. This was the beginning of “Black Death” – a plague brought to human by rat fleas.

After about a fourth of the European population died by the plague, Europeans again realized that cats’ role in controlling the rodent is huge.

Cats are now loved and respected animals but we need to know cats’ history so that we may understand how it all started.