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About Cat History
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History of the Domestic Cat
"Even the smallest of felines is a masterpiece"
Leonardo De Vinci
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Evolution of The Cat
The evolution of cats began millions of years ago. 50 million
years ago carnivores called the Miacis, a weasel like animal,
is the ancestor of cats as well as other families such as dogs,
bears, raccoons, civets, and hyenas. From Miacis the
African Wild Cat evolved.
The early form of a cat dates back to 40 million years. This
creature was known as a Dinictis and was about the size
of a Lynx.
The first true cats were found at the beginning of the Pliocene Period,
which was about 12 million years ago. The evolutionary processes
led to three main types of cats:
The forest cat,
The African wild cat, and
The Asiatic desert cat.
In the Valley of the Nile (which is now Sudan, but then was
Upper Egypt), the cat was first domesticated, around
4000 BC. The people in Egypt at that time consumed large amounts
of grain, and they stored this grain in large storage rooms.
Many rats would be drawn to these rooms to eat the grain and breed.
The rodent problem was quite a plague; much of the Egyptians'
food and grains were eaten or destroyed by the rodents, who
easily chewed through the reed containers. Rats and mice
swarmed the Egyptian cities, and with no traps, poisons or other
devices to fight against the rodent population, there was
not much the Egyptians could do about it.
The jungle cat "Felis chaus" and the African wildcat "Felis
silvestris lybica" lived in this region. The African wildcat was
less fearful in nature so was not frightened to enter this new
environment in search of rodent prey.
The Egyptians welcomed their new neighbors when they realized
that the Wildcats were killing off the rodents. Many people
began leaving small scraps of food outside their houses to
encourage the Wildcats to hunt at their home. The cats soon
began to stay in the cities because there they had more than
enough to eat. The cats were also protected from being hunted
because their predators in the wild would not dare come near
humans. The cats and humans seemed to be well matched for each other.
The wildcat soon evolved into the domestic cat. The wildcat
changed his character by becoming more placid so as to enable
it to co-habit with humans and other animals. He also showed
physical changes. One of these changes was his coat pattern
as it was no longer required as camouflage. His more varied
diet caused changes to his gastrointestinal system and over
time the wildcat's intestines became longer. The wildcat's brain
was also affected and became 30 per cent smaller as it was no
longer so dependent on its senses for survival.
It was in this simple beginning that the relationship between cats
and humans began. Most likely, Egyptians began letting the
Wildcats into their homes, where they allowed them to stay to
protect the food from rodents. Soon after their initial domestication,
the people probably began petting and stroking the beautiful
animals, and cats, being naturally affectionate animals, loved the attention.
The death penalty was later imposed for killing cats in Egypt.
Cats were deeply respected and soon the Egyptians even began
turning them into symbols of deities. We have evidence of this
from the many carved and painted images of cats found on
ancient Egyptian tomb walls. Paintings in the tombs of several
pharaohs depict cats as beloved pets of the royal family.
When cats died they were mummified the same as humans were
and the cats were buried with mummified mice and rats as well
as saucers and food.
For a long time, Egypt had held a strict rule that cats could not
leave the country. Despite this rule, some people took the risk
and smuggled cats to Europe and Asia. At a later date, the cat
population probably got very large because cats reproduce
quickly and because all cats in Egypt lived a long and healthy life.
It was probably around this time that the Egyptians began selling
cats to the Romans, the Gaels, the Celts and later to
Europeans and the cat population began to spread worldwide.
The cat was also 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 interbreed with the local
wild cats and created some of the breeds we know today.
Unfortunately the cats' luck changed over the years as they were
accused of many wrong doings including: representing evil,
spreading the Black Death (bubonic plague) and other diseases.
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 usual 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. In many
countries, black cats are still considered to be unlucky, while
in other countries, a sign of good luck.
The lives of cats didn't appear to improve in Europe until the
17th Century when they became mousers. By the 18th Century
they had become popular household pets.
Cats began being illegally smuggled to Asia soon after they
were domesticated in Egypt. The Asians immediately loved cats
and began breeding them right away. There are several
distinct breeds of cats that were first produced in Asia, such
as the Siamese, the Balinese, and the Himalayan.
During the 16th century Native South Americans were
introduced to the domestic cat by Spanish explorers. The
Aztecs called the cat 'Mizton' or Little Lion' becuase it
looked like the mountain lion!
Other areas of the world have local distinctive breeds of cats,
some of which have been produced by man. The Persian cat
was developed in the Persian Gulf; the British Shorthair and
Longhair were first bred in the UK; the Maine Coon in the
new American colonies.
Other breeds came about as spontaneous genetic mutations,
such as the American Curl cat, a breed characterized by how the
ears fold back into a curl. The American Curl first appeared
spontaneously in a litter of kittens on a New York State Farm.
Still other breeds came about when domesticated cats were
moved to a new location, later abandoned, and became feral,
such as the Norwegian Forest Cat, a woolly breed native to the
cold forests of northern Europe.
The Cat Fanciers' Association was founded in 1906 and is
dedicated to promoting the welfare of domestic cats and
improving the breeds. A nonprofit organization that registers
the pedigrees of cats and kittens, the CFA and its affiliates
also sponsor over 400 cat shows annually worldwide.
In addition, in 1968 the CFA established the Winn Feline
Foundation, which has donated over two million dollars
toward medical research to improve the health of all cats.
The Cat Fanciers' Association currently recognizes 36
breeds of domestic cats.
Abyssinian
American Curl
American Shorthair
American Wirehair
Balinese
Birman
Bombay
British Shorthair
Burmese
Chartreux
Colorpoint Shorthair
Cornish Rex
Devon Rex
Egyptian Mau
European Burmese
Exotic
Havana Brown
Javanese
Japanese Bobtail
Korat
Maine Coon
Manx
Norwegian Forest Cat
Ocicat
Oriental
Persian
Russian Blue
Ragdoll
Scottish Fold
Selkirk Rex
Siamese
Singapura
Somali
Tonkinese
Turkish Angora
Turkish Van
Alfred Says:
You know that cats are carnivores, meaning they are meat eaters.
They don't have the ability to manufacture proteins in their liver
as dogs and humans do, thus they have to get their proteins from food.
Complete proteins come from meat sources. Incomplete proteins come
from grains. Incomplete proteins do not have all the amino acids
present required to form what we call a complete protein.
Also you will want to consider the presence of harsh chemical preservatives
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