Cats and dogs have always been an integral part of many things
families. Cats are second only to dogs in terms of popularity
family pets. But of course, cats weren’t always it
domesticated pets that we know today.
It is difficult to trace the origin of cats, but some scientists believe that the original ancestor of cats was a weasel-like animal called miakis, which inhabited the Earth about 40 million or 50 million years ago. In fact, Miacis is believed to be the common ancestor of all land-dwelling carnivores, including cats and dogs.
But it seems that cats were on earth before dogs – millions of years before the first dogs appeared. The first prehistoric cat to appear was Smilodon, a saber-toothed cat sometimes called the tiger. Cats were not as easily domesticated as dogs (and I am a good example of that..smile smile). These animals had strong hunting intuitions that did not easily translate into cooperative instincts. At first, cats brought their hunting instincts home, even attacking young children. The early domestication of cats occurred mainly in Africa and Southeast Asia.
In the early days, cats served many purposes in homes, none of them decorative. Cats were domesticated for their hunting skills, with the hope that they could control vermin (rats and mice) in the home, barns and especially in barns.
Grain storage containers. One culture that initially seemed to accept and even revered cats was the ancient Egyptians (ah – the good old days). Of course, the Egyptians used cats to catch fish and birds, as well as control insect populations in their granaries. But the cat also took on a new place of importance in Egyptian religion. A traditional religious movement that worshiped cats arose. The cat goddess Bastet (also known as Bastet of Bastet) is represented by a statue of a cat’s head. Cats soon became sacred to the Egyptians; They were well cared for in the family home, and once the cat died, its body was embalmed and buried in a private cemetery. One cemetery found in the 19th century contained the preserved carcasses of more than 300,000 cats. The Egyptian cat is the ancestor of many of our modern cat breeds. Although the Egyptians had strict laws prohibiting the export of the sacred cat, other cultures soon came to appreciate cats’ rat-catching prowess. Soon the cats were being smuggled or taken out of Egypt and brought to Greece and Rome, among other parts of Europe.
At the same time, domestic cats were found in India, China and Japan where they were used as pets as well as for hunting rodents. Overtime cats changed and certain breeds were bred for the ideal characteristics: eye color, hair length, marking patterns, etc. These different types of cats can all claim ancestors in the wild, even if today they are mostly used in homes as pets (OK, I’m cuddly, but don’t tell them folks. I’ll give them about 30 seconds and I’ll have to run again. Yeah, I’m sure I’m working on my love). Even if I don’t want to hear it… purrh, purrh).