All domestic cats descended from a Middle Eastern wildcat, Felis sylvestris (thus Sylvester the Cat!), which literally means “cat of the woods.” Cats were first domesticated in the Near East, and the process began up to 12,000 years ago. While 12,000 years ago might seem a bold estimate, it actually is a perfectly logical one, since that is precisely when the first agricultural societies began to flourish in the Middle East’s Fertile Crescent. When humans were predominantly hunters, dogs were of great use, and thus were domesticated long before cats. Cats, on the other hand, only became useful to people when we began to settle down, till the earth and—crucially—store surplus crops. With grain stores came mice, and when the first wild cats wandered into town, the stage was set for what the Science study authors call “one of the more successful ‘biological experiments’ ever undertaken.” The cats were delighted by the abundance of prey in the storehouses; people were delighted by the pest control.
Thanks to David Zax, SMITHSONIAN.COM, June 30, 2007
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