Origin of the domestic cat
The wild cats of today such
as Lions and Tigers descended from early carnivores called miacids, some miacids developed into Dinictis (all domestic cats come from Dinictis). The Miacids were small,
forest-dwelling animals that looked somewhat like today's civet (the mongoose
is in the civet family.) The fossil records show that their paws were adapted
for climbing, so they probably spent most of their time in trees. Some of their
teeth were specialized for meat eating so they were already catching and
feeding on insects, small mammals and birds. They were solitary in their habits
as are most of the small forest carnivores of today. Females probably raised
their young alone, without any help from the male. As the Ice Ages came and went cats, large and small, started to develop.
Dinictis
Dinictis lived on the plains of
The process of evolution described above
began before the continents had yet reached their present geographical
position. At this stage, the land masses which were to become the southern
continents South America, Antarctica and Australasia - had begun to break away
from the northern mass consisting of North America, Europe, Asia and
When the original cat species evolved, they
were able to spread easily through the Northern mass, crossing from Asia to
North America by the land bridge, across what is now the
Antarctica and Australasia , however were
too isolated by this time for any cat species to reach them, and in
ORIGINS OF THE DOMESTIC CAT
Published August 10, 2007 in Cats, Evolution and Science
(http://www.decimation.com/markw/2007/08/10/origins-of-the-domestc-cat/)
Cats have a long history with humans. Surprisingly, cats have been associated with humans for an estimated 9,500 years. The carefully buried remains of a human and a cat were found with polished stones, seashells, and other decorative artifacts in a grave believed to be roughly 9,500 years old. The grave site was located on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. This find predated early Egyptian art depicting cats by 4,000 years or more. This find smashes the long held belief that cats were domesticated by the Egyptians. However, cats are not native to Cyprus, an island 43 miles south of mainland Turkey. This leads researchers to believe that humans introduced cats to the island.
From what I have found it is fairly hard for
researchers to accurately determine when cats became domesticated animals. Most
of the evidence found with respect to domestication comes from ancient
DNA analysis have detected the domestic
cat’s ancestors back to the Fertile Crescent (Egypt-Israel-Mesopotamia (today
The 5 breeds of wildcats that still roam
around, which are believed to be the ancestors of the domestic cat are the
following:
When scientists sampled a thousand wild and
domestic cats, the gene sampling showed that the domestic cat was closest to
the Near-East wildcat. This doesn’t mean that all domestic cats came from the
Near-East wildcat, but it suggests strongly that a large number of domesticated
cats came from this species.
By 500 BC the Greeks had acquired domestic
cats, and spread cats throughout their sphere of influence. The Romans
introduced the domestic cat to
cats in
Cats
and Vikings
The Egyptians were not the only ancient people to domesticate the cat.
The Vikings were believed to have tamed the Norwegian Forest Cat, or the Norsk
Skaukatt, a breed that still exists today, and prized them for their
rodent-hunting skills as well as their companionship. These sturdy
longhaired cats were most likely welcome foot-warmers in Viking longhouses
during the long Norse winters.
Cats were also documented in
the
The
Dark Ages of Feline History
During the Middle Ages, the cat population in
Ironically, it was the plague
that brought peace between felines and humans. When it was found that the
rodents that carried the disease were a cat’s favorite meal, some of the
superstition and hatred died down and of necessity, the cat was welcomed back
to resume their place as head mouse-catcher.
The
Mid-Nineteenth Century and the “Pedigreed Cat”
Following the rocky period of the Dark Ages the life of the cat has been much
improved. Cats gained popularity steadily until during the mid-nineteenth
century, the idea of selectively breeding cats from certain breeds to produce
an animal with pedigree took hold.
This breeding interest in
recent years has yielded new breeds and new variations of old breeds.
Modern Blue Persian –
Well-known in Renaissance Italy, but bred seriously in
Himalayan – Appeared in
Cymric – Developed during the
1960s.
Birman – Said to originate in
the temples of
Ragdoll – Began in
Balinese – Longhair Siamese,
the Balinese was bred in the
Turkish Van Cat – Known for
years in
Turkish Angora – Around for
centuries, they were finally introduced to
British Shorthair – Bred in
the
American Shorthair – Brought
with the original colonists to the
American Wirehair – Bred in
the
Siamese – Cultivated since as
early as the fourteenth century in Bankok, the Siamese came to American
breeders in the 1880s.
Abyssinian – Probably
centuries old, this wild-looking breed has been bred in
Burmese – Bred in the
Japanese Bobtail – Lineage
tracing back to the
Tonkinese – Bred in the
Rex – Appeared in
Egyptian Mau – Roots that
trace back to ancient
Bengal – 1963, Asian Leopard
cat (small spotted wild cat of
Sphynx – This hairless,
Chihuahua-type cat was thought to have begun with the Aztecs, and was first
bred in
African serval (medium sized spotted wild cat from
The
