In true feline fashion, cats took their time deciding when and where to form close bonds with humans.
New scientific research reveals that the transformation from wild hunter to cherished pet happened far more recently than previously believed—and in a different region.
A study examining cat bones from archaeological sites suggests that cats began living closely with humans only 3,500–4,000 years ago, primarily in northern Africa rather than the Levant, where agriculture first arose.
“They are everywhere today, dominating the internet and even inspiring TV shows,” said Prof. Greger Larson of the University of Oxford. “But our relationship with cats as companions only started around 3,500 to 4,000 years ago, not 10,000 years ago as once thought.”
All modern domestic cats descend from the African wildcat. Scientists have long wondered how and when these felines lost their wild instincts and developed close ties with humans.
To investigate, researchers analyzed DNA from cat bones found across Europe, North Africa, and Anatolia. By dating the bones and comparing their DNA with modern cats, they discovered that domestication did not begin at the dawn of agriculture in the Levant. Instead, it emerged a few millennia later in northern Africa, likely in Egypt.
“This suggests that cat domestication was more of an Egyptian phenomenon,” Prof. Larson explained. “It aligns with what we know about ancient Egypt, where cats were revered, immortalized in art, and even mummified.”
Once cats became associated with humans, they were transported across the globe, valued as ship companions and pest controllers. They reached Europe only about 2,000 years ago, traveling with the Romans, and later moved along the Silk Road into China. Today, domestic cats inhabit nearly every part of the world except Antarctica.
Interestingly, researchers also discovered that wild leopard cats in China coexisted with humans about 3,500 years ago, long before domestic cats arrived. This early relationship was “commensal”—humans and leopard cats lived side by side without affecting each other much. Leopard cats benefited from the proximity to humans, while people gained natural rodent control.
Leopard cats never became domesticated and continue to live in the wild across Asia. However, in a modern twist, they were crossed with domestic cats to create the Bengal cat breed, officially recognized in the 1980s.