Have you ever wondered where “today’s cat” came from?

I do and so I started a little research on the history of cats.

Apparently no one really knows when or how “the cat” first appeared on our planet.

According to some sources it is said that miacism, a weasel-like animal that lived about 40 to 50 million years ago is the closest ancestor of the cat.

I have not been able to find any pictures or drawings of this animal, which is supposed to be the father/mother (so to speak) of all terrestrial carnivores, including the dog.

Since I cannot prove otherwise, I will accept this information as close to the truth as possible.

Based on a 1997 DNA study conducted by two members of the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland, it appears that cats are known to have lived in Asia 11 million years ago and here in North America 9 million years ago. millions of years ago

His research was based on DNA analysis of 37 living cat species.

Millions of years ago, as the sea level rose and fell, the land formed natural bridges and cats, being nomadic creatures, traveled far and wide to colonize, everywhere except Antarctica, according to some scientists.

Why not there? I think the cats were smart enough to know that it was too cold.

If you are imagining in your mind a cat that looks just like your cat roaming the earth, forget it.

These cats did not look like our cats, some were big cats and some were smaller cats, it took a long time for “our cat” to emerge.

The 1997 study by the National Cancer Institute also helped determine that most of the 37 living species of cats in existence today belonged to one of the last eight lineages based on their DNA.

It is said that the first association of cats with humans may have occurred during the Stone Age.

Apparently the cats figured out that “where there were humans” there would be food and where there was food you could find a mouse or two.

However, it took a long time for cats to be considered domestic pets, as cats were considered useful, but wild beasts.

Then came the days of ancient Egypt.

The Egyptians, between 500 and 6,000 years ago, had learned to store grain for future use.

With the stocks of mice and rats grain levied and a serious need arose.

The Egyptians were the first civilization to domesticate the cat on a large scale and to make the world aware of the usefulness of the cat not only to hunt mice and rats, but also as a domestic pet.

The Egyptians were so enamored with “the cat” and its importance in their lives that they not only allowed it in their homes, but eventually worshiped it and treated it like royalty.

“The royal treatment” is something the cat never forgot.

In Egypt, when a cat died, it was mummified and buried in elaborate ceremonies, even in the poorest homes.

The mice were mummified along with the cat, so that the cat would have food in the afterlife.

There were some cats that were considered sacred and lived in the temples with the priests.

These cats were considered oracles and people came from long distances to ask them questions. The priests would interpret the cat’s actions (such as licking its paw) and tell the visitor what the cat was saying.

It was considered a crime to kill a cat and if you were guilty of that crime, you were killed too.

It has come to light during an archaeological dig at Saqqara where thousands of cat mummies were found that not all cats died a natural death.

Taking X-rays of some of the mummified cats revealed that many died of natural causes, but some were young cats (one year old) with broken necks.

There are two schools of thought here, one is that the cat population had grown too large and it was a way to slow it down.

The other possibility was that the priests raised these cats and then killed and mummified them to sell to the people who attended the festivals.

It was considered appropriate to buy a mummified cat as a way to please the “cat goddess” called Bastet and then ask her for a personal favor.

Investigators are pretty sure the people who bought the cats didn’t know they were intentionally killed.

It didn’t take long for word to spread (about 1,000 years or so) about the usefulness
of cats in a home.

Soon the Romans and Greeks realized the value of a cat and made them a member of their household. Here they were not worshipped.

During the 11th century, cats became extremely important in killing the rats that were causing the Black Death.

Then came the Middle Ages and trouble for cats followed.

Pope Gregory IX apparently did not like cats and decided that they were devilish creatures and needed to be destroyed.

It was a sad time for the cats as they were beaten, killed and driven from the villages.

Anyone who owned a cat was considered a “witch” and was put to death along with the cat.

Cats were sacrificed, burned to death, and even buried alive within the walls of houses (they are supposed to bring good luck).

As the cat population was destroyed, the rat and mouse population grew by leaps and bounds.

Causing a large number of plagues and other epidemics throughout Europe.

People were dying everywhere and they soon realized the error of their ways.

In the 17th century, cats were back in vogue, doing what they did best: catching mice and rats.

However, people began to realize that cats were nice to have around and they soon became prized pets once more.

It has been said that the first cats reached North America by crossing the Bering Strait a few million years ago.

However, in more recent times (1600-1700) cats came aboard ships with traders and explorers. Jacks were very important on board ships to protect cargo from rats and mice.

Many of the early settlers in the colonies brought their own cats with them. Life seemed pretty good for cats until the Salem witch hunt of 1692, and once again, cats became a product of discrimination along with the people who owned them and were either destroyed or expelled.

Once again the “people” learned the error of their ways and the cats were once again made welcome as the rat and mouse population grew.

In 1749, cats were brought to Pennsylvania to help control a serious rodent infestation.

As more and more settlers arrived in the New World, the need for cats grew. It was necessary to import cats and the new cats had to be stronger and more robust.

Without cats, the New World would have faced many plagues and the ships would have lost much of their cargo.

It could be said that the “cats” saved our country.

As time passed and our country grew, people began to move west.

They packed their worldly possessions into wagons, rounded up family and livestock, and forgot about cats.

They seemed to forget that where there were people and food (grain) there would soon be rodents.

It’s Murphy’s Law.

It is said that during the Gold Rush of 1849, people bought cats on merchant ships for $50.00 each.

In 1884, during the rat infestation that hit San Francisco, people were willing to pay up to $100 for a cat.

Cats like our country prospered and like people, cats came from every country in the world. This mixture of cats and the breeding that was carried out has managed to give our country a great mix of what is known as “domestic shorthair”.

Today there are more than sixty-five million cats living in our homes. Cats far outnumber dogs.

The number of actual breeds varies depending on which source you consult. Some sources say there are 36 species, others say 37 species, but we have found that with the new breeds emerging, there are probably over 40 different varieties of cat.

This has been a very brief history of cats; they have certainly played a very important role in the growth of the Universe.

It’s hard for me to imagine life without having at least one of them around and I hope you feel the same.