close contact with humans and the african wild cat for good 8000 years ago.
There has been interesting 7000 years old findings of African wild cat on Cyprus. On this island, there has never been any kind of wild cats, either European or African, the finding shows that they must have been brought to the island.
The African wild cats, wich is found in Africa and the Middle East
are the ancestors of the domestic cat.
Cats where useful to it's people since there was a strong need to
protect the grain from mice and rats.
But they where also kept for religious purposes and they also came to symbolize fertility.
In Egypt 4000 years ago when a cat died it was embalmed and
buried in great cemeteries along the Nile.
There was a death penalty to beat a cat to death.
If a cat died, the whole household, according to law shaved off
their eyebrows as a sign of mourning.
The change from wild animals to domestic anmimals has led to some changes in behavioir and conformations, but not nearly as many as in other animals for example dogs.
The Vikings had cats, and there are Americans who believe that the domestic cat already came to America with the Vikings for 1000 years ago.
Today there are more than 500 million domestic cats in the world and about 70 breeds registered. Some developed naturally but the vast majority are created to produce a particular appearance.
