A Brief History of Cats

The Domestic Cat

Cats as Modern Pets.
The cat (Felis catus) is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal and the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of the family. Recent advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the domestication of the Cat occurred in Western Asia around 7500 BC. Domestic cats were spread throughout much of the rest of the world during the Age of Discovery, as ships' cats were carried on sailing ships to control shipboard rodents and as good-luck charms. As of 2021, there were an estimated 220 million owned and 480 million stray cats in the world. The domestic cat is the second most popular pet in the United States, with 95.6 million cats owned and around 42 million households owning at least one cat. In the United Kingdom, 26% of adults have a cat, with an estimated population of 10.9 million pet cats as of 2020.

History and Mythology of the Cat

Several ancient religions believed cats are exalted souls, companions or guides for humans. Amongst some of the cultures that have worshiped and appreciated cats, are...

• In ancient Egypt , cats were worshiped, and the goddess Bastet often depicted in cat form, sometimes taking on the war-like aspect of a lioness. When a household cat died, the entire family mourned and shaved their eyebrows.
• Ancient Greeks and Romans kept weasels as pets, but cats eventually displaced weasels as the pest control of choice because they were more pleasant to have around the house and were more enthusiastic hunters of mice.
• In Japan , the Maneki Neko cat is a symbol of good fortune.
• In Nordic mythology, Freyja, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, is depicted as riding a chariot drawn by cats.
• Although no species are sacred in Islam , cats are very appreciated by Muslims. Some Western writers have stated that Muhammad loved cats so much, "he would do without his cloak rather than disturb one that was sleeping on it". One of the companions of Muhammad was known as Abu Hurayrah ("father of the kitten"), in reference to his documented affection to cats.
• During the Middle Ages , many of Artemis's associations with cats were grafted onto the Virgin Mary. Cats are often shown in icons of Annunciation and of the Holy Family and, according to Italian folklore, on the same night that Mary gave birth to Jesus, a cat in Bethlehem gave birth to a kitten.