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Wild cats and house cats

How long have house cats been around?

Cats are generally thought to have been tamed by the ancient Egyptians some several thousand years ago, but new archeological evidence shows that we have had close contact with cats far longer than that. Research shows that house cats evolved from as many as 5 different subspecies of wildcat around the world.


The wild cats were thought to be attracted to the mice that fed on the grains ancient humans kept over 10,000 years ago. Gradually, over a thousand years they began living side by side with humans. The oldest actual evidence of humans and cats together comes from a 9,500 year old grave in Cyprus. A man was buried beside his cat on the island where cats were not native!

Shared traits of wild cats and house cats

Obligate Carnivores

Both wild cats and house cats are obligate carnivores. That means they eat whole prey meals to get their nutrition.

Territorial Behavior

Scratch marks on your couch? That's your cat marking its territory. Wild cats do the same to trees in nature.

Hunting Instincts

Laser pointers activate the natural hunter instinct in all cats. Next time you see your cat pouncing on a toy, remember its practicing being a hunter.

Besides these prime examples of how house cats are like wild cats, there are plenty of more examples. They're both solitary yet travel in small packs (think strays), they groom all day, and they are physically similar.


Overall, we think the most important similarity is that both wild cats and domestic cats eat raw! Barn cats and stray cats prefer to eat what they catch in the wild. Indoor cats need a chance to have their natural diet to live to their full little lion potential.

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