History of cat domestication

It would seem that cats and dogs have always lived next to humans. If the dog is completely subordinate to the person, then the situation with cats is not easy. Their domestication never happened completely. They perfectly adapt to life at home, become good companions. These animals have a beautiful appearance and have a special grace, but at the same time they have a wayward character.

Now there are more than 600 million cats around the world, almost 200 different breeds have been bred, from long-haired, Persian cats to animals completely devoid of hair. For more than 10 thousand years, cats have lived next to humans, helping them fight rodents and other household pests.

Little is known about the history of cats. There are several versions about the origin of this wayward animal.

One of the most common is the religious version. During the global flood, a huge number of animals from all over the world were saved on Noah's ark. Since the giant ship was on the way for a long time, a large amount of feces and excrement accumulated on it. Because of the strong stench and the appearance of rodents, all the inhabitants of the ark began to suffer. Rodents bred at great speed, eating food supplies.

To prevent the animals from starving to death, God decided to help them by ordering Noah to stroke first the trunk of the elephant, then the nose of the lion. After that, a large pig jumped out of the trunk, which quickly began to devour harmful waste. A cat soon appeared from the lion's nose and began to destroy the rodents, which led to the rescue of all the animals floating on the ship.

According to another widespread version, cats flew to Earth from space. According to this theory, the first animals appeared in ancient Egypt. They were completely bald, while the animals could mentally transmit the necessary information to people. According to legend, having met a shaggy steppe cat, the bald cat immediately flared with passion for him, deciding to stay on Earth forever. The couple in love began to bear numerous offspring. Their representatives became the progenitors of domestic cats.

According to American astronauts, during the landing on the moon, they discovered unusual artifacts. After laboratory tests, it was found that these small stones are cat feces.

The most plausible is the scientific version about the appearance of cats. According to scientists, pets originated from ancient Creodonts, who inhabited our Earth almost 50 million years ago. The Creodonts were impressive in size, so they kept the weak and small animals at bay.

Some zoologists claim that cats evolved from the small animal proasirus, which lived 20 million years ago. This animal was outwardly similar to a marten, could quickly climb trees and had a wayward character.

Experts believe that two branches originated and existed from this animal: saber-toothed cats and ordinary cats.

Biologists are still arguing whether the cat really became domesticated, because this animal has not lost its hunting skills and habits of solitude, it retains its independence.

Scientists still do not fully know when the cat was domesticated, some of them still argue when this happened. Often a natural question arises, why did people need cats, because they did not give milk or meat, could not transport cargo or guard the home.

Perhaps, the animal itself came to man in search of food. The man realized that cats can get rid of rodents, and began to feed and lure them. It was beneficial for people to have such a hunter, exterminating rodents and other living creatures. The emergence of such an animal in human life allowed people and their pets to coexist together, thus, a kind of mutually beneficial situation developed.

Cats are considered semi-domesticated animals that peacefully exist next to humans as long as it is beneficial for them. If a pet is left without an owner, it starts to run wild. After birth, small kittens immediately become more adapted to survival in the wild.

Representatives of felines have long been revered by people.

• Inhabitants of Ancient Rome they treated these animals with special respect, they worshiped them. For example, the goddess Bast had a cat's head. The population was strictly forbidden to do any harm to these pets. During the fire, the cats were the first to be taken out of the house. In the event of their death, the owner was in deep mourning and shaved off his eyebrows.
• The animals were treated with special respect and in Chinawhere their dedication and skill in fighting rodents was highly valued.
• Greeks and Romans also treated these animals with great respect and love.
• In eastern countries cats were revered very highly, because only they could freely enter the mosque.

In some European countries, these rat-catchers were highly prized. Quite often the cost of a good cat exceeded the price of a cow.

• According to scientists, cats were first domesticated in Ancient Egypt 6 thousand years ago.
• Archaeologists claim that the first images of them were found in Ancient Egypt 4-4.5 thousand years ago.
• During the excavations of Jericho, the remains of people were found next to cats. The age of such a find is 9 thousand years.
• In Turkey, a figurine of a woman with a cat, dated to the 4th century BC, was discovered. NS.

With the onset of the Middle Ages, the time has come for the mass extermination of these animals. Individuals of black or red color enjoyed particular disfavor. It was believed that witches could inhabit them, so the cats were burned at the stake.

The domestication of rodent hunters began with about. Cyprus and Israel. Then these animals began to appear in Egypt and other parts of the world. So, in the countries of Europe, India and China, cats and cats appeared 2 thousand years ago, in America - about 500 years ago, and in Australia - almost 400 years ago.

In Russia, these fluffy animals appeared only in the 11th century. A large number of them were identified in port cities, so it was believed that they were brought in on merchant ships by oriental merchants.

The most ancient remains were found near Odessa. In the cities of the Baltic states, individual individuals appeared in the 5-6th century, in the Volga region - in the 7-9th century. The cat was the keeper of the hearth and its symbol. Also, among the pagan Slavs, she was considered a guide of the soul to another world.

With the adoption of Christianity, Saint Blasius became the patron saint of cats. Many believe that the popular nickname Vaska came from here.

Initially, only tsars and boyars could afford to keep pets at home, since the majority of the population simply could not afford them.

Peter the Great brought Vasily the cat from Holland. The pet lived in the royal palace. A royal decree was issued specifically for this.

Very soon these animals became very popular. Breeding them has become commonplace. Many churches kept cats to guard their grain supplies. For an attempt to steal a pet, a large monetary fine was stipulated. In the 18th century, cats spread everywhere in Russia. A domestic cat becomes a favorite for its owners. At this time, signs and beliefs associated with these animals appeared.

Purposefully breed new breeds of steel in 1800. For the exhibition in London, decorative species were specially bred. The visitors of the exhibition were especially impressed by the Siamese and Persian cats. In the modern world, geneticists are working on breeding other breeds of pets with different colors, body sizes and types of fur.

You can find out more about the history of the appearance of cats further.