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House Cat History
House cat history began many centuries ago. People have been fascinated with the beauty and mystery of cats for thousands of years. As early as 3500 B.C. in Ancient Egypt, cats were a source of awe. The Egyptians tamed wildcats from Africa and keep them as treasured pets. Their reverence for felines is represented often in their art, and by 1500 B.C., cats were considered sacred animals in Egypt. Anyone who killed a cat could be put to death. Many Egyptian gods have the bodies of cats, and when the Egyptians lost their pet cats, they would shave their eyebrows to grieve the loss. House cat history continued as trade routes developed throughout Europe and the Middle East in around 1000 B.C. The ancient Greeks and Romans valued cats for their ability to control the population of rodents, and cats soon became the guardians of households. Cat popularity also spread throughout Asia, where felines protected valuable silkworm cocoons from rodents. In fact, without cats, the silk industry would not have been able to thrive in Asia! Just as it was in Egypt, house cat history is reflected in Japanese and Chinese art and literature. Cats were not so popular during the Middle Ages, however. In fact, house cat history could have come to an unfortunate end when people began to associate cats with evil and witchcraft in Europe at that time. Cats were killed by the thousands out of ignorance and fear. But Mother Nature avenged this mistreatment. The destruction of cats led to an explosion in the population of rodents, and with them came the rampant spread of bubonic plague in the 1300’s. People quickly realized the value of cats once again, and they soon began to regain status. Cats in the New World In the 1600’s, when Europeans began to settle in the New World, their cats came with them. In fact, most domestic cats in America today are descendants of European “immigrant” cats. For awhile, cats continued to be valued, especially for their help in protecting food supplies on ships and in new settlements from mice and rodents. But the Salem witch trials in the late 1600's brought cats and their owners under fire once again. Fortunately, this changed when people soon realized that they were not being fair in their in their condemnation of those they accused as witchcraft as well as their cats.
By the middle of the sixteenth century, cats were again taking care of business by keeping rodent populations in check. As colonists continued to arrive in the New World, more cats arrived with them. Cats that survived the daunting trip across the ocean were strong and rugged hunters, and many historians believe that, without them, the colonies would not have survived the diseases that would have been spread by rodents. As people moved out west in the 1800's, cats continued to protect them. In the beginning, cats were noticeably missing when wagon trains packed with people, livestock and grain headed toward uncharted territories. But of course, the grain soon fell prey to rodents, and people began to regret leaving their cats behind! By the time the Gold Rush of 1849 took place, cats were sold for up to $50, a small fortune in those days. In 1884, the city of San Francisco was inundated with yet another rat plague, and people were buying cats for as much as $100.
Read more about the Egyptian Cat Goddess, Bastet Back to All About Cats Home Page
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Today, more than 65 million cats grace our homes with companionship, and the cat is by far the most popular house pet. There are nearly 40 different
