Long, Long Time Ago: Domestic Cat History

Recorded domestic cat history stretches all the way back to Ancient Egypt. It used to be believed that cat domestication was Egyptian in origin - that cats had first been tamed in Egypt and radiated from there. As we shall see later, that was not the case.

For the early part of the Egyptian Era, from about 3100-1520 BC, it appears that cats were venerated, or at least respected. In fact, at least one chariot owner was killed by a mob because he accidentally ran over a cat - and that's after the Pharaoh tried to protect him!

In the same way, if anyone deliberately hurt a cat, they were dealt with harshly. Cats were considered valuable, either for religious reasons or to keep corn stores clear of mice and rats.

The history of domestic cats reveals that life for these felines deteriorated in later Egyptian times. Pilgrims on journeys to worship the cat Goddess Bastet would buy mummified cats as an offering. Unraveling these mummies revealed young cats which, when X-rayed, were found to have broken necks. Thousands, if not millions of domesticated cats were undoubtedly murdered to service this grisly but profitable trade.

In about 1000 BC, Greek and Phoenecian traders in the Mediterranean also traded domestic cats to Europe, along with their silks and pigments and spices.

In the Middle Ages, around 1450, the Church began to see them as evil and satanic, and the good times for cats were over for many years.

According to domestic cat history, domestic cats weren't the only feline to be mummified. In their tombs - CAT-a-combs! - were found other, less tame cats: the jungle cat felis chaus (which is used in the modern hybrid known as Chausie) and the African wild cat felis silvestris libyca. As you can see, domestic cat history is closely intertwined with that of its wilder siblings.

Until recently, the oldest presumed domestic cat uncovered by archaeology dated back 9500 years to Cypress. But more recent genetic research by Carlos Driscoll and colleagues on 979 cats - both wild and domestic - uncovered an even older ancestry. In fact, domestic cat lines may have split from their wild ancestors as long as 130,000 years ago,

The Fertile Crescent, then, wasn't just the cradle of civilization for humans - but a cat's cradle and scratching post for our domestic cats!

An even newer study of 11,000 domestic cats from the University of California at Davis concluded that domestic cat breeds could be put into four categories: Western European, Mediterranean Basin, East Africa and Southeast Asia. This study found all domestic pure breed cats and our local house cats fitted into one of these four regional categories.

According to domestic cat history, of the 50 or so recognized cat breeds in existence today, only 16 are considered 'natural breeds', the rest being 'manufactured' in the past 50 years or so. These 16 include several members of the Southeast Asia family of cats - the Siamese cat is of course one of them.

Interestingly, native cats - street cats - of Vietnam, China, Korea and Singapore share some common genetic characteristics with Siamese cats.

The legacy of cat domestication? Today there are 600 million domesticated cats around the world!

If you're fascinated by domestic cat history, you might be very interested in this article...

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2267438

Return from Domestic Cat History to Siamese Cat History