The origins of our Feline Friends - Cats

The often aloof domestic cat (Felix catus) is part of the Felidae family and relatively speaking, is one of the most recent evolved species within this particular family of animals. People have come to adore their four legged friends who in turn have come to depend on their owners but it wasn't always that way. The modern cat forms a very strong bond with people and easily becomes part of a family unlike their wild ancestors.

The Felidae family is split into three different groups, namely the Panthera which are the cats that roar. Lions, tigers, leopards of every kind and jaguars are part of that family group. The second is the Acinonyx, namely the cheetah and lastly the Felis which includes all small cats including domestic ones.

Common Behaviour & Features Seen in Cats

All cats, whether domesticated or wild, have over time evolved as predatory mammals. They all boast incredibly keen senses of smell, hearing and sight. It's thought that all of the recognised cat species that fall into the Felidae family, have evolved from a single common ancestor. This ancestor is one that was probably native to Asia about 10 to 12 million years ago.

Cats proved to be hardy creatures and soon spread around the globe. Over 3 million years ago evidence was found of a variety of cats lived in many regions of the world, that is except on three continents, namely Australia, the Arctic and the Antarctica. Cats were able to populate many regions because of the rise and fall of sea levels which meant they were able to easily migrate to other geographical locations when sea levels were at their lowest where they thrived.

These natural occurrences also isolated each species which evolved in its own way because routes were cut off when sea levels became high again. Cats by nature always feel the need to seek out their own territories. This behaviour paired to the fact they need to follow their prey in order to survive, saw many cats the following over millenia, find their way to many parts of the planet.

Modern Day Cats Are Descendants of Skilled Carnivorous Hunters

Being such skilled carnivorous hunters with the single exception of lions, cats in the wild developed the need to live solitary lives. They also developed individual hunting skills and ways to fend for themselves extremely well. All cats are known to be territorial, they mark out their boundaries by leaving their scent in strategic places for other cats and other animals to find. This is the cats very own natural “keep out” sign. In the wild, the only time a solitary cat really wants to meet another of its kind is during the mating season.

Most wild male cats are larger than their female counterparts and with the exception of the male lion who boasts his distinctive mane, both females and males are pretty much the same to look at.

How the Domestic Cat Evolved & Adapted

Cats have co-exited with humans for centuries with fossil evidence having been found in settlements in many regions of the world. However, these are believed to be fossils of wild cats and not domestic animals. Many people believe the “true” domestication of the cat happened about 3600 years ago and it was the Egyptians who tamed them. The skulls found in tombs showed these to be African wildcats which lived both in Asia and North Africa. They share the ancestors as our modern-day domestic cat, the Felis catus.

Recent evidence has come to light showing that cats may well have been domesticated much earlier in the history of man. In fact, there is evidence indication that cats may have been tamed around 10,000 year ago in the Middle East in an area known as the Fertile Crescent. The truest record ever found was in Cyprus where a man had been buried with his cat around 9,500 years ago. Cats were not native to Cyprus which means domestic cats must have existed before this time on the island.

How Wild Cats Came to Live Near People

The first real evidence of cats beginning to live near to humans was found in Israel 10,000 years ago. Wild cats were drawn to places where grain stores had been set up and where there were large numbers of rodents. These rodents were a food source to the cats and they thrived. Over time people began taming them which meant they eventually became pets.

Domestic Cats & Their Natural Instincts

Although cats were tamed and domesticated centuries ago, unlike other animals that man tamed or “domesticated”, namely dogs, cats never lost many of their natural instincts. Cats are still predators and are capable of living and surviving in the wild. Throughout the world there are populations of cats which have reverted back to being feral – in some areas it has become a real problem with rescue centres and charities doing all they can to help out.

Many people think that cats were either tamed to keep vermin populations down but because they were such social, small and highly intelligent creatures that love to play, they soon became so tame that people began keeping them more as pets than as a way to keep vermin numbers down.

Many other species man domesticated lived in herds or packs and as such humans became the dominant character, the leader of the pack so to speak. With cats this was not the case at all, as small wild cats in ancient times which are ancestors of domestic cats, lived solitary lives and not in packs at all. Today, their domestic descendants have kept many characteristics and traits of their wild relatives and remain keen hunters.

The Modern Family Pet

Modern-day cats can come in all sorts of colours, however if they were still living as wild cats, they would have developed colours that helped them remain camouflaged when out hunting. Cats have remained very much nocturnal animals just like their ancestors, their hunting and predatory instincts have also remained very strong although their soft side has developed too, which is why people love them so much!

The modern cat is more dependent on their owners, not just for food, water and shelter but for the love and affection too. For their part, cats return the love their receive in many ways, very often is rather amusing ways which is why they have become one of the most popular family pets, not only in the UK but throughout the world too.