cats were probably domesticated about 9,500 years ago. not long after that, people began taking cats aboard boats and ships. the ancient egyptians took cats on board nile boats to catch birds in the thickets along the riverbanks. the ancient egyptians also carried cats on trading ships to control rodents. traders from other areas soon started doing the same thing. this led to the spread of cats throughout the world. cats eventually reached nearly all parts of the world that could be reached by ship. phoenician cargo ships are thought to have brought the first domesticated cats to europe in about 900 bc.