A Brief History Of Cats

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Domesticated cats are an essential piece of our modern society–think of the internet without I Can Has Cheeseburger! But, cats were not always domesticated, and they were not seen as a humanly companion. The domestication process didn’t begin until about 10,000 years ago, not long considering how long humans have been around. The reason that cats were not kept by humans until then, is because we didn’t need them, and they didn’t need us. And then, we began to need the cats, and they have never let us forget that!
You see, humans developed agriculture. With agriculture, we needed a place to store our grains. All of the grains being stored attracted pests–mice and rats. Cats were naturally attracted to the convenient rat population. The humans allowed them to stay, because they killed off the vermin which was eating their stocked grains.
So, where did domesticated cats first appear? We can look at the places where agriculture was first developed, and the cat’s history will show. The first societies to use agriculture were in the Middle East. It started in what is now Turkey, and spread to Egypt. The cat which guarded the early middle eastern grains was the African Wild Cat, Felis libyca.  These cats are bigger than the modern house cat. They have a yellow-ish color and muted stripes. They are quite laid back and docile. These cats still enjoy hunting and living near human’s to this day. Families will sometimes try to catch African Wild Cats to have as pets. When brought up by humans, these cats are very much like a housecat.
The African Wild Cat, as well as two other wild cat breeds, are thought to be the ancestors of today’s domestic cat. The other breeds are Felis silvestris, which is a European wildcat. It has darker markings and a livelier spirit than the African wild cat. The third breed is the Felis manul, or Pallas or Steppe cat. This breed comes from Asia and contributed longer hair to modern cats.
We don’t know much about the earliest period of domesticated cats. The first evidence we have comes from 6,000 BCE. Statues were located in Anatolia (today, Turkey). They portray women playing with domesticated cats. It was clear that cats were being used a affectionate cats and not just rat-killers by this point in time. The earliest written record about cats are from about 4,000 BCE. In Egypt, cats were kept to hunt mice and rats. They were also thought to be the emodiment of the goddess named Bastet.
During the Roman Empire, the Romans took cats with the into central Europe and even as far as Britain while expanding the empire. The cats were accepted everywhere as great hunters and affectionate pets. They continued to move both northward and westward. Vikings utilized cats to hunt rodents, and also as pets. In fact, the Viking goddess of love and war, named Freyja, was associated with cats. Her chariot was drawn by huge winged cats. Additionally, when married, brides were given a kitten in Freyja’s name.
After so many years of cat-friendly societies, it all came to a halt in the middle ages. Cats were believed to be witch’s familiars. This equated them to be in line with the devil. Due to this, cats were killed routinely. Unfortunately, the cats had been keeping the vermin population under control. With the cat population dwindling, illnesses, such as the Black Death, spread rapidly. These illnesses were eventually attributed to the multitude of rats which would have been killed off by the cats. Eventually, cats won over the Europeans once again. In fact, by the 1600s, people were cutting holes in their doors to allow the cats to come into their homes and farms. This was the origin of the cat flap.
In Asia, unlike Europe, cats continued to be loved pets as well as appreciated hunters. They were the subject of many paintings and drawings in China. In Japan, there is an image which portrays good fortune–it is of Maneki Neko, a sitting cat having one paw raised and bent. These pictures or figurines are found often in businesses, for good luck bringing in money.