Name: ____________________________________________
Date:_____________________
History of the Cat
Notes:
•
Descended from ______ _________________ Miacis
•
General timeline:
-
First feline cat: ~______ million years ago
Modern cats: ~______ million years ago
Domestication: ~_________ years ago
•
Cats today came from the __________________ ____________ _________.
•
There are roughly ______ _______________of cats today
•
Three genuses:
1. Roaring cats (_____________________)
2. Nonroaring cats (__________)
3. Cheetah (________________)
•
Two major groups of domesticated cats:
1.
2.
Article Review:

Where were cats first found?

How did cats begin living with the Egyptians?

How were cats viewed by the Ancient Egyptians? What did they call them?

Cats were later sold as gifts for whom?

How did cats become associated with witches?
Short History Of The Cat
Cats are first found living in a harmonious relationship with man from as early as 3000BC in Ancient Egypt.
Evidence from archaeological studies in the region point to the African Wild Cat (Felis sylvestris lybica) as the
primary ancestor of the domestic cat. Indeed, African Wild Cats are also frequently found today living as pets with
traditional peoples. Studies in South Africa have been unable to distinguish the domestic cat from the African Wild
Cat using DNA mapping techniques, while the European Wild Cat (Felis sylvestris sylvestris), which is often
presumed to have contributed to the development of the pet cat, is clearly distinguishable from both.
Scientists and historians believe African Wild Cats first started approaching Egyptian grain stores along the banks of
the Nile, attracted by the resident mice and rats. By culling the rodents, cats endeared themselves to people. Early
domestics would also have benefited from lower densities of predators than in the surrounding area, and been able to
breed with a much improved chance of success by being close to man. Because they produce a lot of kittens in every
litter, the friendly version of the species would soon have become established in the region alongside us.
Kittens born near man would soon have had physical contact with sympathetic people, be taken into their homes for
care, and quickly come to view them as parent type figures. Their infantile dependency would be maintained by
early handling and feeding during the sensitive period from two to eight weeks of age. Such kittens were far less
likely to lose these associations as they became sexually mature and then entered adulthood.
Probably as a result of their usefulness, protecting food stores from vermin, the Ancient Egyptians turned cats into
sacred feline deities. The name for these cats was 'miw'. Owners went into mourning when 'miw' died, and the cat
was embalmed and placed in wooden coffins. Female cats and lionesses were linked to Sekhmet, the much revered
Egyptian goddess of war, while tomcats were considered sacred to the sun god, Ra. Cats were so passionately
protected from harm that anyone finding themselves near an injured cat fled from the scene in case they were
blamed. After death, cats were mummified for burial - often into enormous tombs with tens of thousands of other
cats.
In spite of the Egyptians' efforts to prevent the export of their beloved felines, the Greeks stole the animals to control
their own rodent problem. The first domesticated animals appeared in Europe around 900BC. Eventually the
Egyptians began selling cats to the Romans, the Gaels, the Celts and later other Europeans and thus the cat
population began to spread worldwide. The cat was common in China by 500 BC. At first the cat was given as gifts
to Emperors. As time went by the nobility were allowed to own them, then the priesthood, and finally the
commoners. A lot of the cats interbred with the local wild cats and created some of the breeds we know today. The
first record of domestic cats in the British Isles goes back to AD 936 when Howell Dla, Prince of South Central
Wales, enacted a law to protect them.
Unfortunately the domestic cats' luck changed over the years, and they became associated with wrong doings,
disease and mischief. In 1484, Pope Innocent VII decreed that all cat-worshippers in Europe be burned as witches.
He believed that witches worshipped Satan and that they took on the form of their animal helpers, the most common
of which were cats. Their habit of prowling around at night further connected them to the devil and witchcraft. Any
cat that was in the company of an old woman was assumed to be a witch's evil associate. The Inquisition was
instructed to hunt down all cat owners and try them as witches. Hundreds of cats and their owners were actually
burnt to death!
The lives of cats didn't appear to improve much in Europe until the 17th Century when they became mousers,
particularly on board ships. By Victorian times, however, cats had regained acceptance as household pets and by the
end of the 19th Century early pedigree breeds were exhibited at the first cat shows. In 1871, a large show held at
Crystal Palace for British Shorthair and Persian types. About the same time in New England, USA, the Maine Coon
breed was being shown at the first American Cat Show.
Nowadays a cat's quality of life is arguably the best it has ever been. With their aura of supernatural wisdom and
independence, cats are definitely here to stay!