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.