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Interesting Facts: Evolution of Cats – Amazing Nature
11.02.2024 23:00
Updated: 13.05.2024 21:26
It is believed that cats were first domesticated in the Middle East when humans began farming.
In the article you will find out who the ancestors of domestic cats were and how and why people domesticated these popular pets.
Who was the ancestor of cats
It is known that the ancestor of the domestic cat was the steppe cat Felis silvestris lybica - it still lives in the steppe, desert and partly mountainous regions of Africa, Western, Central and Central Asia, Northern India, Transcaucasia and Kazakhstan.
In 2007, scientists found that all modern cats descended from this animal.
Where did the first cat appear
The domestication of cats occurred approximately 9,500 years ago in the Middle East in the Fertile Crescent region, where the most ancient human civilizations arose and developed.
How people domesticated cats
Along with grain (wheat), people have new enemies - rodents. Then people first domesticated five steppe cats that protected grain.
They became the progenitors of all domestic cats existing today.
Previously, we talked about the evolution of dogs.
