They're fierce hunters and purring companions,
subject of ancient paintings and modern-day cartoons, barnyard
necessities and companions of single women everywhere. Both aloof and
affectionate, cats have been revered — and sometimes reviled — for
centuries.
And now, feline experts say they've surpassed
the dog and become the most popular pet on earth. But how did the cat
evolve from a wild animal to a pampered pet? In the upcoming National
Geographic Channel documentary Explorer: Science of Cats, anthropologists and feline geneticists trace the evolution of the cat.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: Science of Cats'
AP: Feline geneticists say cats "domesticated themselves." What does that mean?
Lyons: We say cats adapted themselves to us rather than the other way around. As humans became farmers, we started a civilization. And civilization has grain stores and refuse piles, two things that draw rodents. Cats started coming closer to households to eat the rodents, filling the niche that humans developed. Cats were the first to come close to humans. We tolerated them because they ate the rodents, and cats tolerated humans because we provided food.
Q: Cats are now found in every corner of the globe: Feline experts estimate that there are 600 million cats in households on six continents. Where did cats first come from? Who were the first people to enjoy them as pets?
A: There is archaeological and genetic evidence to show that cats first originated in the fertile crescent. We took genetic samples in Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon and Iran and they are all tied together because that was the seat of cat domestication. Most people know a little about the link between cats and ancient Egyptians; cats weren't exactly worshipped but they were very important to the society and the religion. There are many early Egyptian accounts of cats living in households, and this is seen in paintings as well. And for ancient Egyptians who worshipped Bast, the goddess of family and fertility who has the head of a cat, mummified cats became like an offering to Bast — like if you were Catholic you might go into church and light a candle, so people would buy cat mummies and offer them to the goddess.
Q: From there, where did cats go? How did they get to the United States?
A: Cats spread through Asia, where they also became important to societies there: An all-white cat is considered good luck, for example. They came here, to North America, with the Pilgrims, on the boats to help with the rodent populations. There are no domesticated cats that are indigenous to America or Australia, they all came over on boats.
Q: And at least in western societies they became associated with witches, right?
A: Right. Actually their association with witches might have had a dramatic impact on society. During the time of the bubonic plague, cats were persecuted along with witches. But the plague was carried by fleas that are on rats, and a dense cat population would kill rats. As we persecuted the cats, there were fewer cats and more rats, which meant more fleas carrying plague. The lack of cats contributed to the spread of the plague.
