Brief History of the Human - Cat Relationship

Whether it is favourable or unfavourable, cats have had a long standing relationship with humans, dating back as far as 9,500 years. Not only were many legends formed around cats, they were also one of the favourite subjects to artists and writers.

Paintings collected throughout the ages show solid evidence of humans keeping cats as pets, and have a high status in society, especially during Ancient Egypt times, where these feline friends were bring worshipped as gods, and there were penalties for killing one. Mummified cats that were dug up with the Egyptian family graves show that they were not seen as a family pet, but rather a be-loved family member.

In Egypt, cats were regarded so highly, that by law, in case of accidents such as a house fire, the cat was saved first. If a human killed a feline, the penalty was death. If a cat died of natural causes, the family would have to mourn for the death of the cat by beating their chest and shaving their eye brows to show their sorrow.

Early Japanese and Chinese paintings also show the love of cats, with many illustrating the lives of cats playing or eating fish. Today, cats are a good luck charm in the Japanese culture, where a common figure of a ceramic cat waving its paws are often seen at shop fronts, as a sign of collecting wealth.

The same favoured regards for cats are also evident in Burma and Thailand, where it is considered an honour to be given a cat, especially of the Siamese breed, which was a 'Royal' Cat of Siam.

Then, during the middle ages, a turn in attitude towards cats caused many to perish. Cats, especially those with a black coat, were seen as evil, as witch's friends, which sealed their fate of being burnt at stake. Superstitions were passed on that it is extremely unlucky if a black cat crosses your path, something that is believed by some even to today.

Slowly, cats regained their reputation and were taken onboard many trade ships as companions. In these cases, cats were a lot more adaptable to the sea environment, and were used to help catch rats and other critters onboard the ship. This is said that this is how the cat's population spread, and different breeds began to appear in other cultures. When these cats 'jumped' ship when they docked, the ship would have to pick up a local cat in replacement and bringing the variety of breeds back home.

All cats are the descendent of their larger wild relatives. Domestication of the cat was and accidental act of kindness. In Egypt where people eat a lot of grain, their warehouses were often infested with rodents. Wild cats started to come and catch these rats, hence eliminating the problem for the community. People saw this and were grateful to the cats, so they started leaving food for the cats in hope that they will stay and keep their rodent population down. Cats were happy to comply and slowly they became family cats.