The Evolution of House Cats

Originally published May 18, 2009 for June 2009 issue of Scientific American Magazine | Scientific American Magazine | by Carlos A. Driscoll, Juliet Clutton-Brock, Andrew C. Kitchener and Stephen J. O'Brien

Evidence has shown that Egyptians had fully domesticated the cat 3,600 years ago, but recent findings have lead to a much earlier date of 10,000 years in Fertile Crescent, with the advancement of agriculture.

The following page examines cats in Egyptian history.