Origin and History of the House Cat

Formerly it was generally thought that our house cats were simply the progeny of tamed pairs of the European wildcat; but anatomy denied the probability of this, and historical investigation showed that they came from another source. Historical evidence, including innumerable mummies, shows that the cat was domesticated by the Egyptians and North-Africans before the time of the oldest monuments of their civilization.

Moreover, the characteristic specific markings of the caffrc cat (still wild as well as tame in the Nile Valley) reappear unmistakably in our common house cats. This has happened in spite of the fact that interbreeding with other species and various local races has intervened over time. The Mediterranean cat is a well-marked variety of this cat that was found anciently and even now in Syria and eastward. It has been established that many centuries before the Christian era the Egyptians, Cretans, Phoenicians and other men of the Levant were constantly voyaging all over the Mediterranean Sea and founding trading-posts on both its shores. There finally arose and spread the extensive civilizations of Greece and of Rome on the north and of Carthage on the south.

When these explorers were spreading their colonies over vast areas, undoubtedly with them went their friendly and useful mousers. That they then were crossed somewhat with the native wildcat seems to be shown by the appearance of the peculiar form we call "tabby" cats. Briefly, this is the history of the common European house cat, whence have come, by emigration, those of America and most of the civilized world.

However, in the remote and isolated East, there exist many races of domesticated cats of more local origin. The late Professor G. Martorelli, of Milan, Italy, had made a special study of this whole subject and he had concluded that the ordinary domestic cat of India has descended from the Indian desert cat (Felis ornata). From it, he said, are derived their common spotted breed, while the fulvous breed seen in India has been produced by a cross with the native jungle cat (Felis chaus). Both these have interbred with the imported western cats in recent years.

The Persian or ''Angora" long-haired breeds may probably have come from Pallas' cat of central Asia; and the curious Siamese cat is regarded as derived from the golden cat. The intermingling accidentally, or by the design of breeders, of these various species and races has produced the bewildering variety of forms now seen.

There are so many varieties of cats that they must have originated from many different races and situations. Even today, professional breeders are developing new breeds of cats.

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NOTE: This article is for information only. See your veterinarian for medical advice.