This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
An outline of cat evolution and ancient domestication
Scientists trace the cat’s origin to Miacis, a weasel like carnivore from the Paleocene. Cats split into haplophoneus and dinictis branches. the latter is closest to modern domestic cats. Domestic cats likely descend from African wildcats tamed by Egyptians around 3500 B C. Cats served pest control, became sacred in Egypt, and spread to Europe via traders. In Rome cats symbolized liberty. in the Middle Ages they were linked to witchcraft and plague fears. They regained status as rodent controllers in the 17th century, with many North American cats descended from European stock.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bast
Bastet
Europe
Middle East
Rome
North America
New World
Egypt