The furry felines that inhabit our homes were not always a part
of our families. It is believed that it was the Egyptians who
first transformed the wild cat into a domesticated creature.
This occurred an estimated 4000 to 5000 years ago. Compare this
to the domestication of the dog, around 20 000 years ago. Notice
that the dog was domesticated much earlier than the cat. This
may explain why cats are not often as eager to please humans,
and why they retain many of their natural instincts such as
hunting mice. This independent nature and aloof quality is what
led the Egyptians to admire these animals and bring them into
their homes. What happened before this though? How did the wild
cat evolve into the domesticated cat that we see today? We will
focus on these questions and more as we strive to uncover the
history of the cat. Here’s a shocking fact – the very earliest
ancestors of cats evolved from reptiles. Reptiles appear to us
to be in stark contrast to the cat, so this may sound strange,
but indeed it’s tru