Records of domestication

Ancient Egypt probably has the best documentation of the cat. But this doesn't mean it was it's first domestic home. A cat's tooth has been found dating from about 9000 BC, in Jericho, Isreal. Cyprus did not have an indiginous wildcat population, so feline remains from before 5000 BC, from a major find in a Cypriot tomb; thought to be the remains of an African wildcat, 'Felis libyca', gives the assumption that this cat must have been imported. It was a domestic animal, but as large as a wildcat.


The African Wildcat

In it's natural environment, evolved over millenia, the African Wildcat suffers little stree due to over crowding. It does however, face stiff competition for mates, prey and territory, and sadly, few kittens survive to adulthood.


Domestication Records

Settlement and agriculture development along the Nile's fertile floodplains, gave the indiginous wildcat new opportunities.
From this time, burials and paintings show scraps of evidence of a new relationship between felines and humans. Domestication and co-existance of cats into Ancient Egyptian society seems to be complete around 2000 BC, which was followed by its status as a deity.


Home and hearth

Cats who weren't as hampered by natural shyness and solitary habits, soon found comfort and safety in the human home. By about 2000 BC, cats were well established in the domestic environment. The first artwork showing cats in a domestic setting dates from around 1950 BC, from Beni Hasan. It was in Ptolemaic period, from 333-30 BC, that cat worship was at it's peak, with it's main worship at Bubastis.


Source: The new Encyclopedia of the Cat, by Dr. Bruce Fogle