All domesticated cats descend from a single wildcat subspecies, Felis silvestris lybica, found across North Africa and the Near East [1]. But here's what's fascinating: these wildcats didn't choose us.
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All domesticated cats descend from a single wildcat subspecies, Felis silvestris lybica, found across North Africa and the Near East [1]. But here's what's fascinating: these wildcats didn't choose us. We chose them, roughly 10,000 years ago, when the first farmers in the Near East discovered rodents ravaging their grain stores [3]. Archaeological evidence from the Fertile Crescent, where early agriculture first took root, places this cohabitation between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago [5]. A feline molar tooth excavated in Israel and dated to around 9,000 years ago stands as one of the oldest physical hints of this partnership [6]. Egypt later emerged as a major center for cat domestication and cultural integration, elevating them to high regard between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago [8]. The spread continued northward through Europe—the earliest genetically identified domestic cat in Europe came from Sardinia, Italy, radiocarbon-dated to the second century AD [11].
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