A brief history of the cat
Egyptians are believed to be the first
people to have domesticated cats more
than 4,000 years ago. Cats became
invaluable to the Egyptians due to
the felines’ incomparable ability to
exterminate mice and other rodents,
thereby protecting food stores. Cats
became so useful that the Egyptians
came to regard cats as sacred feline
deities, and killing a cat became a crime
punishable by death. After death, cats
were treated to the same burial rites
as people: they were mummified and
buried, often in enormous tombs with
thousands of other cats.
The Egyptian cat was a large desert cat
known today by the scientific name Felis
iybicia. The Egyptian cat was eventually
brought to Europe by merchant traders
who used the cats as mousers on ships
and ultimately sold them. Cats became
further domesticated in Europe and
eventually found their way to America.
The scientific name for today’s housecat
is Felis domesticus. So, although
modern housecats and their Egyptian
predecessors share a family tree, they
reside on distinct genetic branches. The
domestic cat is literally a breed apart
from its wild ancestors.
Despite the rift between your
housecat and its ancestors, today’s
domesticated cat is still influenced
by the same instinctive behavior that
enabled the wild Egyptian cat to survive.
Instinctive behavior is the result of
millions of years of evolutionary finetuning,
and you can see evidence of that
fine-tuning each time you witness your
cat hunting a laser pointer or leaping
to the top branch of a cat tree. In fact,
knowing the instinctive drive behind
many of your cat’s behaviors will help
you better understand and ultimately
care for your cat.
In the pages that follow, you will
find information on everything
from diet to litter box problems to
feral cats. Interestingly, so much
of the information on the need for
wet food diets or correct litter box
placement is derived from knowledge
of a cat’s natural instincts. Although
domesticated cats no longer roam the
African savannah or hunt in the desert,
knowing that their ancestors did is the
key to unlocking many of the mysteries
of feline behavior.
people to have domesticated cats more
than 4,000 years ago. Cats became
invaluable to the Egyptians due to
the felines’ incomparable ability to
exterminate mice and other rodents,
thereby protecting food stores. Cats
became so useful that the Egyptians
came to regard cats as sacred feline
deities, and killing a cat became a crime
punishable by death. After death, cats
were treated to the same burial rites
as people: they were mummified and
buried, often in enormous tombs with
thousands of other cats.
The Egyptian cat was a large desert cat
known today by the scientific name Felis
iybicia. The Egyptian cat was eventually
brought to Europe by merchant traders
who used the cats as mousers on ships
and ultimately sold them. Cats became
further domesticated in Europe and
eventually found their way to America.
The scientific name for today’s housecat
is Felis domesticus. So, although
modern housecats and their Egyptian
predecessors share a family tree, they
reside on distinct genetic branches. The
domestic cat is literally a breed apart
from its wild ancestors.
Despite the rift between your
housecat and its ancestors, today’s
domesticated cat is still influenced
by the same instinctive behavior that
enabled the wild Egyptian cat to survive.
Instinctive behavior is the result of
millions of years of evolutionary finetuning,
and you can see evidence of that
fine-tuning each time you witness your
cat hunting a laser pointer or leaping
to the top branch of a cat tree. In fact,
knowing the instinctive drive behind
many of your cat’s behaviors will help
you better understand and ultimately
care for your cat.
In the pages that follow, you will
find information on everything
from diet to litter box problems to
feral cats. Interestingly, so much
of the information on the need for
wet food diets or correct litter box
placement is derived from knowledge
of a cat’s natural instincts. Although
domesticated cats no longer roam the
African savannah or hunt in the desert,
knowing that their ancestors did is the
key to unlocking many of the mysteries
of feline behavior.
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