History of cats

HISTORY OF CATS

The earliest known ancestors of the Felidae family existed 45 million years ago. The modem cat, Felis catus, is descended from Felis libyca, also known as the African wildcat or small African bush cat. Recent discoveries indicate that cats began to live among humans when agriculture began in the Fertile Crescent (modern-day western Asia and the Middle East) approximately 10,000 years ago. 

The relationship between cats and humans likely began because it was mutually beneficial, with cats killing rodents attracted to stored grain. The earliest direct evidence of cat domestication occurred 9500 years ago, when a kitten was buried with its owner in Cyprus. 

Archaeologists found a feline molar at a site in Israel dating to roughly 9000 years ago (7000 bce) and also discovered an ivory cat statuette estimated to be 3700 years old (1700 bce), also in Israel. Some 3600 years ago (1,600 bce) in Egypt, cats were worshiped and mourned at their death. 

Mourners shaved off their eyebrows, and cats were mummified for burial in sanctified plots, often with mummified mice added for use in the afterlife. Egyptian paintings from that time depict cats poised under chairs, sometimes collared or tethered and often eating from bowls. The cat population increased and spread to other countries, likely by people who prized cats' ability to control rodent populations.

The cat's good reputation in Europe began to plummet in the late Middle Ages, when Catholic leaders declared cats to be agents of the devil and associated them with witchcraft. From approximately 1400 to 1800, vast numbers of cats were exterminated, and individuals who kept them were accused of being witches and also killed. Louis Pasteur’s discovery of microbes in the nineteenth century helped to reinstate cats to their former high regard: they were considered the cleanest of animals. 

By the late 1800s, the growing middle class became interested in cat shows and developing and establishing distinctive breeds, especially long-haired breeds. During the twentieth century, cats became even more cherished, often living long and comfortable lives. 

Other domesticated species have undergone genetic selection. For example, there are specialized breeds of dogs for hunting, herding, and guarding. However, the mutually beneficial relationship between humans and cats made such genetic selection unnecessary. As a result, domestic cats have retained many aspects of their wild predecessors. Cats are true carnivores and have amazing athletic abilities and keen senses to allow them to hunt successfully. 

They can sense and avoid danger, and they possess a heightened fight-or-flight response. Like their wild ancestors, they hide illness and pain as a protective mechanism, which adds to the mistaken impression that cats are independent and require little or no care.

Indeed, cats are social animals, but their social structure differs from that of humans and dogs. Given sufficient food resources, free-living cats will choose to live in social groups, called colonies. The social organization of the colony is based on females cooperatively nursing and raising their young. within a colony, cats will choose preferred associates, or affiliates. 

These cats show affection toward one another by allogrooming: grooming one another, generally on the head and neck. Because the head and neck are preferred areas for physical touch, cats may become upset and even aggressive when people try to pet them in other areas. Therefore, unless a person knows an individual cat's  

preferences, stroking or petting in other areas should be avoided in favor of rubbing or stroking the cat around the neck and head (e.g., under the chin).

Feral cat colonies are quite insular, and strangers are generally driven away. If a new cat continues to visit the colony, it may eventually be integrated into the group, but the process requires several weeks. This is why gradually introducing a cat into a household with resident cats is so important.

Although social, cats are solitary hunters. They catch small prey and may need to hunt as often as 20 times a day. Because cats are solitary hunters, they must maintain their physical health and avoid fights with other cats whenever possible. Much of feline communication serves to prevent altercations over food and territory, and most cats try to avoid the risks associated with active fighting.