Meow – The History of Cat Domestication, and How Our Furry Friends Domesticated Themselves

19. The Earliest Known Close Link Between Humans and Cats

About 10,000 years ago, humans began to form permanent settlements in the Fertile Crescent – the cradle of agriculture. Early farmers stored surplus grain, which attracted rodents. Wildcats, in turn, were drawn to the abundant rodent prey near human settlements. The tamest and least aggressive wildcats lingered around, and gradually became less fearful of humans. Humans recognized the benefits of natural rodent control, so they tolerated and even encouraged the wildcats’ presence.

That symbiotic relationship started cat domestication. The earliest definitive evidence of a close relationship between humans and cats comes was found in Cyprus, dated circa 7500 BC. A burial site was discovered in which a human and a cat were interred together, suggesting a strong bond. Since Cyprus is an island with no native feline species, the presence of a cat indicates it was intentionally brought by humans – implying domestication, or at least a mutually beneficial partnership.

18. Did the Chinese Independently Domesticate Cats From a Different Wildcat Species?

Recent archaeological finds threw a twist into – and shed more light on – the story of cat domestication. The discovery of cat remains at a Neolithic site in Quanhucun, central China, suggested that the Chinese might have independently domesticated cats from a different wildcat species than Felis lybica. Located in Shaanxi province, Quanhucun offers evidence of a close relationship between humans and cats in China as early as 5,300 years ago.

Archaeological excavations in the early 2010s revealed that it was a thriving farming village of the Yangshao culture. The site yielded finds such as house foundations, pottery, food storage pits, and the remains of domesticated plants like millet. There were also cat bones – an unusual and significant discovery. Through radiocarbon dating and isotope analysis, researchers determined that the cats lived during the Neolithic period, circa 3,300 BC.

17. A Mutually Beneficial Relationship Between Wildcats and Farmers

The chemical composition of the Quanhucun cats’ bones showed elevated levels of carbon-13, an isotope abundant in plants like millet. So the Quanhucun cats either ate rodents that fed on millet crops, or scavenged human food directly. That is early evidence of a commensal relationship: cats lived near humans and benefited from the food surplus, and in returns humans gained pest control.

Archaeological evidence shows that the farmers’ millet attracted rodents. Ceramic storage containers specially designed to keep rodents out of millet demonstrate that it was a serious pest infestation. Millet attracted rodents to the village, and rodents in turn attracted wildcats. Quanhucun’s residents saw the wildcats kill and eat the detested pests, so they tolerated, and probably encouraged, the felines’ presence in their villages. It was initially thought that, over time, the Chinese wildcats’ descendants could have become domesticated.

16. The Arrival of Domesticated Cats in China

Some researchers initially hypothesized that the Quanhucun cats represented a separate domestication event, distinct from the Near Eastern domestication of Felis lybica. However, it eventually turned out that the Quanhucun cats were not fully domesticated. They were likely wild or semi-wild felines that resembled the Asian leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis, which was native to the region.

Further genetic studies confirmed that all modern domestic cats trace their lineage to Felis lybica, and none are descended from the leopard cat. As such, while early Chinese cats might have had a close relationship with humans, truly domesticated cats reached China later, likely spread from the Near East along trade routes.

15. The Significance of the Quanhucun Findings

Although they were not evidence of independent domestication, the Quanhucun findings demonstrate that parallel human-cat relationships developed across different parts of the world. The site highlights how the rise of agriculture created similar ecological niches that attracted opportunistic wild animals. While early cats were not pets in the modern sense, their presence at Quanhucun demostrates a crucial step in the long journey from solitary hunter to beloved house companion.

It reflects how cats, drawn by food and tolerated by humans, began a quiet partnership with people that, thousands of years later, eventually blossomed into full domestication. Wild cats lived alongside humans for thousands of years before they were domesticated. DNA analysis shows that in those millennia of coexistence before domestication, the wildcats’ genes hardly changed. There were only a few minor and cosmetic alterations in their coats, to produce the dots and stripes of the tabby cat.

14. The Pet That Domesticated Itself

Cat domestication did not result from deliberate human efforts. Instead, the process was initiated and driven by the cats themselves. Attracted by rodents that were attracted to human agriculture, wildcats deliberately sought out agricultural communities and their yummy rodents. After thousands of years in which wildcats lived alongside humans and preyed upon the rodents that infest our crops, they changed.

Eventually, enough genetic variation arose between wildcats that lived in human communities and those still out in the wild, that a new species emerged: the domestic cat. Humans did not deliberately bring that about, but simply tolerated and welcomed the wildcats that ate the rodents that stole our grains. So in that sense, we did not domesticate wildcats. Instead, wildcats domesticated themselves and transformed into beloved pets.

13. Sacred Cats

The domestication of cats in the Near East was a singular event, or one limited to a small geographic area. It thus differed from the more widespread and repeated domestication of dogs in various places at various times around the world. Cats were welcomed in many places, but in ancient Egypt, they were revered. By 2000 BCE, cats were common in Egyptian art, often shown in domestic settings.

The goddess Bastet, depicted as a lioness or as a woman with a cat’s head, became a prominent deity of home, fertility, and protection. Ancient Egyptian cats were sacred animals – symbols of protection, fertility, and divine power. Paradoxically, though, that reverence gave rise to a practice that probably disturbs modern sensibilities: the ritual sacrifice and mummification of cats. However, far from being acts of cruelty, such sacrifices were deeply rooted in religious devotion and complex spiritual beliefs.

12. Revering Cats – and Sacrificing Them

Ancient Egyptian fascination with cats began around 2000 BC, and intensified in the first millennium BC. Cats were associated with several deities, most notably Bastet, goddess of home, fertility, music, and protector of women and children. Bastet was often depicted with a cat’s head, and cats were believed to embody her qualities. They were seen as guardians of households, especially since they killed snakes, rats, and other pests.

Because of that divine association, harming a cat was considered a grave crime, sometimes punishable by death. Simultaneously, though, cats were also bred and sacrificed in massive numbers, especially during the Late Period, 664 – 332 BC, and into the Ptolemaic and Roman eras. Cat sacrifices were rooted in religious practice. Many ancient cultures offered animal sacrifices, and Egyptians offered mummified animals – including, or at times especially, cats – as votive gifts to the gods.

11. The Mass Sacrifice of Ancient Egyptian Cats

Egyptian pilgrims who visited temples brought cat mummies as offerings. They were placed in temple precincts or tombs to gain the gods’ favor, much like lighting candles in modern religious traditions. Cats were raised in temple-run “cat farms.” After death by strangulation or blunt force trauma, according to forensic studies, the cats were ritually embalmed, their bodies carefully wrapped in linen, sometimes with painted or gilded details, and buried in vast underground catacombs.

Archaeological excavations have uncovered massive cat burial sites. One of the most famous is the cat necropolis at the Temple of Bastet in Bubastis, a major pilgrimage center. In some sites, hundreds of thousands of cat mummies have been discovered. In the nineteenth century, so many were found that some were ground up and exported to Europe for use as fertilizer – a shocking fate for animals once so revered.

10. A Different Kind of “Like”

Cat sacrifices in ancient Egypt reveal a complex interplay between reverence and ritual, commerce and devotion. While the idea of sacrificing sacred animals seems contradictory, to ancient Egyptians, such acts were expressions of deep piety. By offering the embodiment of Bastet herself, worshippers sought protection, health, and divine favor.

In short, ancient Egyptians did not see cats like we do today, merely as pets and cute fur ball companions. Instead, they saw them as religious sacrifices to be killed in order to please one of their gods. Ancient Egyptians liked cats, but it was a different kind of “like” than how we like cats nowadays. Today, the preserved remains of the mummified cats continue to captivate archaeologists and historians, and offer a window into the spiritual life of one of the world’s most fascinating ancient civilizations.

9. Ancient Cats Beyond the Nile Valley

Cats in ancient Mesopotamia were not deified as in Egypt, but were still appreciated for their utility in controlling vermin. Artistic and written references from Babylonian and Assyrian texts highlight their presence and usefulness in both homes and temples. Cats reached India and China by the early centuries AD, likely through trade routes.

In China, they became associated with good luck and prosperity, and Buddhist monks welcomed cats into temples to protect sacred texts from rodents. By the time of the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), cats had fully integrated into Chinese households. Ancient texts and artwork from this period show domestic cats as both practical and symbolic creatures. Centuries later, Chinese and Japanese art from the Tang and Heian periods depict cats as elegant and mysterious beings, sometimes credited with supernatural awareness.

8. Cats in Chinese Society

In traditional Chinese society, cats were primarily valued for their utility. Agriculture formed the backbone of Chinese civilization, and grain storage was crucial to the economy and social stability. Cats served as natural guardians of grain, and protected precious stores from rats and mice. However, their role was not solely functional: they began to take on symbolic and spiritual importance. Cats were seen as bringers of good luck, and protectors of the home.

Ancient Chinese beliefs held that cats could repel evil spirits and negative energy. Their stealthy nature and nocturnal habits led to an association with vigilance and mystery. The famous “zhaocai mao” or maneki-neko, the “beckoning cat”, though more strongly associated with Japan today, has roots in Chinese folklore and Taoist symbolism. Such statues, often found in businesses and homes, are believed to attract prosperity and good fortune.

7. Cats in Europe: From Companions to Evil Creatures

The Romans admired Egyptian culture, and brought cats into their households across the empire. As the Roman Empire expanded, cats spread throughout Europe and into the British Isles. After Rome fell, though, the Middle Ages became a dark period for cats in Europe. As Christianity spread, pagan symbols and deities, including cats, were recast as demonic. Cats, especially black ones, became associated with witchcraft and the devil. That shift had devastating consequences.

During the Black Death in the fourteenth century, cats were often blamed as harbingers of evil. Ironically, the mass killing of cats may have worsened the plague, as it reduced the natural population control of rats, the plague’s true carriers. By the seventeenth century, cats began to regain favor, especially in France and England. They were appreciated again for their elegance, and usefulness in pest control. Artists, writers, and thinkers began to document and admire feline behavior.

6. Cats in the Modern Era

The nineteenth century marked a turning point. In the Victorian era, keeping pets became a middle and upper class pastime. Cat shows and breeding programs began in earnest. The first modern cat show was held at London’s Crystal Palace in 1871. It catalyzed the formalization of cat breeds, and the development of cat fancier societies. The British Shorthair, Persian, and Siamese, were among the first recognized breeds. In Japan, the “maneki-neko,” or beckoning cat, became a symbol of good fortune.

In Russia, cats were kept in the Hermitage Museum to control rodent populations, and are still employed there today. In the United States, cats gained widespread popularity in the twentieth century. The invention of commercial cat food and litter made keeping cats more convenient, while their independent nature suited modern lifestyles. By the late twentieth century, cats surpassed dogs as the most popular pet in many urban settings.

5. The Birth of Cat Memes

Cat meme are not an internet age creation, but date back to the nineteenth century. Henry “Harry” Pointer (1822 – 1889) was a British photographer renowned for his whimsical and innovative series of feline photos known as “The Brighton Cats”. Operating from his studio in Brighton during the 1870s, Pointer transitioned from traditional pet portraits to imaginative compositions that captured the public’s fascination. Initially, Pointer’s work featured straightforward images of cats in natural poses, sleeping, drinking milk, or lounging in baskets.

Around 1870, however, he began to stage his feline subjects in humorous scenarios that anthropomorphized their behavior. He used props and careful positioning to depict cats roller-skating, riding tricycles, and even “taking photographs” with miniature cameras. The playful tableaux were enhanced with handwritten captions like “A Happy New Year” or “Very many happy returns of the day”, that transformed the images into charming greeting cards.

4. The First Viral Cats

Henry Pointer’s innovative approach resonated with the Victorian public, and by 1872, he had produced over 100 such captioned images. The series, collectively titled “The Brighton Cats”, expanded to approximately 200 photographs by 1884. These images were widely distributed as cartes-de-visite – small photographic prints mounted on cards—that served both as collectibles and as a form of social correspondence. The popularity of Pointer’s work extended beyond commercial success, and garnered great critical acclaim.

He exhibited his photographs at the annual exhibitions of The Photographic Society of Great Britain between 1870 and 1885, and his feline subjects often took center stage. Pointer’s “Brighton Cats” series not only entertained his contemporaries, but also laid the groundwork for the modern phenomenon of humorous cat imagery. He was a pioneer in pet photography, and his ability to capture the endearing and amusing aspects of feline behavior continues to influence visual culture to this day.

3. Genetics, Breeds, and Behavior

Cats communicate primarily through body language, scent marking, and a range of vocalizations including purring, meowing, and hissing. Their behavior often seems paradoxical – aloof yet affectionate, independent yet territorial, which only deepens their mystique. Scientists have studied cat-human interactions, and found that cats can form strong social bonds with people, recognize their owners’ voices, and even manipulate human behavior through vocal mimicry and facial expressions.

Despite their long history with humans, domestic cats remain genetically very similar to their wild ancestors. Unlike dogs, which have been heavily bred for specific traits, cats have retained a greater degree of independence and natural behavior. Today, there are over 70 recognized cat breeds, each with unique traits, coat patterns, and temperaments. However, mixed-breed or “moggie” cats still constitute the vast majority of the global cat population.

2. Cats in Culture, and Their Ecological Impact

From Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings to Puss in Boots, cats have inspired countless works of art and literature. Their symbolism varies – mystery, agility, grace, independence, femininity, and magic are just some of the qualities associated with them. Cats have become iconic in modern pop culture. Films like The Aristocats, and internet sensations like Grumpy Cat and Keyboard Cat, have given felines a firm foothold in digital culture.

Their photogenic nature, quirky antics, and range of expressions make them ideal viral subjects. While beloved, cats pose ecological challenges, especially in regions where they are not native. Feral cats are efficient predators and have been linked to the decline of many bird and small mammal species. Programs like TNR (trap-neuter-return) seek to manage feral populations humanely. Pet owners are encouraged to keep cats indoors or in enclosed outdoor areas to protect both their pets and wildlife.

1. The Future of Cat Domestication

As science advances, we gain a deeper understanding of feline psychology, health, and welfare. Genetic studies continue to uncover the mechanisms behind traits like coat color and disease resistance. The future of cat-human relationships may include further integration through smart technologies, behavioral training, and improved care standards. From ancient grain stores in Mesopotamia to Instagram feeds today, the journey of domestic cats is a testament to adaptation, elegance, and enigma.

Unlike dogs, who were molded to fit human needs, cats retained their independence and chose coexistence on their own terms. Their story is not just one of domestication, but of enduring partnership. As human society continues to evolve, so too will our relationship with cats. One thing is certain: whether revered as gods, misunderstood as witches’ familiars, or loved as purring companions, cats have secured a permanent place in the human story.

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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading

Carr, William H. A. – The New Basic Book of the Cat (1978)

Conversation, The, July 3^rd, 2017 – What is the Story of Maneki-Neko, the Japanese Beckoning Cat?

History Collection – 10 Things About the Agricultural Revolution, History’s Greatest Revolution

Live Science, April 11^th, 2012 – Mummified Kitten Served as Egyptian Offering

National Geographic, June 19^th, 2017 – Cats Domesticated Themselves, Ancient DNA Shows

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, 2014 Jan 7; 111(1) – Earliest Evidence for Commensal Processes of Cat Domestication

Science, 27 Jul 2007, Vol 317 Issue 5837 – The Near Eastern Origin of Cat Domestication

Scientific American – The Evolution of House Cats

Sussex Photo History – Harry Pointer’s Brighton Cats