a researcher, j.-d. vigne and his group, might have discovered the oldest domestic cat, in cyprus. in 2004, archaeologists working at a neolithic site in southern cyprus dug up carefully buried bones of a cat. it had been placed next to human bones and artifacts. "examination showed that a small pit or grave had been deliberately dug out, and the body of the cat was placed in it, then rapidly covered." the cat skeleton is about 4,000 years older than any known egyptian drawings or writings.