When did cats become popular as pets?

Answer 1

Answer:

Until recently the cat was commonly believed to have been domesticated in ancient Egypt, where it was a cult animal. However a 2007 study found that all house cats are probably descended from a group of as few as five self-domesticating African Wildcats Felis silvestris lybica circa 8000 BC, in the Near East.

In 2004, a grave was excavated in Cyprus that contained the skeletons, laid close to one another, of both a human and a cat. The grave is estimated to be 9,500 years old, pushing back the earliest known feline-human association significantly.

Answer 2

Until recently the cat was commonly believed to have been domesticated in ancient Egypt, where it was a cult animal. Mummified cats are found in Egypt.

In 2007 however, a study found that all house cats are probably descended from a small group (of about 5) self-domesticating desert wildcats Felis silvestris lybica in about 8000 BC, in the Near East.

Answer 3

Archaeology has placed the earliest known domestication at potentially 30,000 BC,[11][12] and with certainty at 7,000 BC.[13] Other evidence suggests that dogs were first domesticated in East Asia.[14].Due to the difficulty in assessing the structural differences in bones, the identification of a domestic dog based on cultural evidence is of special value. Perhaps the earliest clear evidence for this domestication is the first dog found buried together with human from 12,000 years ago in Israel.[15][1

Answer 4

Ever since humans began farming, cats have hung around, feeding on mice and rats that raided the farmers' stored food. Obviously, this was a good thing! People eventually gave in to the charm of cats and invited them into their homes.

MJC

Answer 5

Cats are believed not to have been domesticated by any person or group of people. In fact they are believed to have been the only animal to have domesticated themselves.

How is this? When man went from hunter gather to growing their own crops, man started storing their grains. This attracted small animals which the cats used as a food source. Finding this constant supply of food, the cat started staying around the grain storage constructed by man.

Man seeing the good the cat did for them, did not run the cat off but encouraged it to stay. For more information on this go to this article The Domestication of Cats. See link

Answer 2:

For a long time, it was believed that cats were first domesticated by the Egyptians. Scientific research has shown that this may not be the case. More recent genetic and archaeological discoveries have suggested that domestication of cats started in the area known as the Fertile Crescent, possibly around 10,000 years ago.

There are indications from research over about the last 5 years that it was wild cats that began to make their presence known around occupied houses, farms and settlements. They took advantage of the mice in the area, and even the owners' food scraps, and started making themselves at home.

Answer 6

Cats were known to be domesticated as early as the ancient egyptians. Cats were held in high regard, and were sometimes even mummified with their owners.

Answer 7

As far as I know, in Egyptian times.

They were kept as pets by the paroh and that's why we see them on the Egyptian paintings

Answer 8

They have been popular since the Egyptians discovered them and started to use them as pets. I think it was like 3000 BC.

Answer 9

cats have always been in the U.S.