Wild cats were most likely domesticated in Mesopotamia c. 12,000 BCE, but, like the dog, there is no scholarly consensus on where or when domestication first took place. All that is certain is that cats and humans have a long history together and that they remain one of the most popular pets in the world today.
It is well-established that cats were highly regarded in ancient Egypt, associated with the goddess Bastet, but they were also appreciated by other cultures. The cat was valued by the ancient Phoenicians for pest control aboard ships and in ancient China and Japan for the same reason, but the Mesopotamians preferred dogs for this task as a dog could be counted on to do as it was told while a cat did as it pleased when it felt like it.
A story from ancient China tells how the gods originally gave cats control over the world and the power of speech so they could communicate clearly; but the cats were not at all interested in this job, preferring to sleep and play. The gods kept checking in on the cats to see how they were doing and found they were not actually doing anything. Finally, the cats explained they had no interest in any of this nonsense and humans were better suited for the task. Humans were then given the power of speech but, since they were not to be trusted with important tasks, cats kept the job of keeping time, which maintained order.
The concept of the cat as a symbol of divine order also appears in Norse mythology as the goddess Freya has a chariot drawn by cats but, in medieval Europe, the cat's reputation took a turn for the worse as they came to be associated with witchcraft and demonic forces. It was only after the Enlightenment, during the Victorian Age, that cats were again regarded as favorably as they had been in the past.
The following gallery presents images from various cultures of the ancient world up through the modern era. Anyone who has ever lived with a cat will recognize how little they have changed over time and, as in the Chinese myth, still do whatever they please whenever they like.
