From Wild to Domestic

According to Smithsonian.com , the online publication for the Smithsonian Museum, cats probably domesticated themselves which is opposite to prior thought. Scientists suspect that cats possibly have been living comfortably with humans for over 12,000 years ago.

For many years, scientists believed that the Egyptians domesticated cats about 4000 years ago. The reason that Egyptians highly prized their felines. Thus, it was natural that scientists assumed the Eqyptians were the first to domesticate the cat. At one time in ancient history, it was illegal to kill a cat or even export one. The Egyptian goddess called Bastet was often shown as a woman with a cat's head.

However, in recent years, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of cats buried in Cyprus. These were not randomly buried but carefully entombed. They believe that these were beloved pets. Just in 2013, an excavation at Quanhucan, a farming village in central China, turned up cat remains also. These were not pet cats. Instead, the villagers more than likely tolerated the cats' presence to take care of their rampant rodent problem.

As scientists unearth additional information and historical evidence, they are coming to the belief that humans allowed cats to act as their pest control. Then, as humans began to care for them, humans adopted the ones that had more pleasing characteristics and began to breed them.

Most cat owners will tell you that, on certain days, they do wonder if their feline truly is domestic -- even after a few thousand years of living together!

Information from Smithonsonian.com