How cats became pets
How a mutually beneficial relationship created one of our favourite pets
Animal domestication often arises from a human decision to take control of another species, but evidence shows that cats became our pets out of a more mutually beneficial arrangement, and they approached us before we were drawn to them. The early stages of the bond between cats and humans began in an area called the Fertile Crescent. Made up of what is today Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Egypt and Turkey, many early civilisations built farms here because of the location’s easy access to water.
As agriculture grew, communities found an increased presence of wild cats. These animals were likely hunting the growing number of rodents that had also congregated in the area. As the likes of mice and rats feasted on the farmers’ crops, humans welcomed the free pest control that came in the form of felines. Over time, cats became more dependent on people, and people allowed them into their homes.
Some of the first evidence to support this theory was discovered by researchers from China. During an archaeological dig in the
Fertile Crescent, they uncovered the remains of animals that were thousands of years old. By studying the composition of nitrogen and carbon in their bones, they were able to determine the age and diet of animals such as rodents, pigs and dogs. This determined that the millet crops known to have been grown there at the time were eaten by many of the animals that resided there. Meanwhile, the cats had mostly eaten rodents that had eaten the millet.