Egyptians were original cat breeders

THE mystery about how cats went from running in the wild to becoming our domesticated furry friends may have been solved after analysing the genetic makeup of Egyptian cat mummies. The results of a study of the DNA from the remains of ritually slaughtered animals found in tombs have suggested that ancient Egyptians were the first to breed the domestic cats, according to The Sunday Times.

In a paper published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, scientists at the University of California Davis claimed that in order to keep up with the demand of cats as sacrifices to the gods, the Egyptians had large catteries where felines were bred for slaughter, the Daily Mail reported. The research project, headed by Jennifer Kurushima, a scientist at University of California Davis, said, "Modern cats can trace their genealogy to the time of the pharaohs. The Egyptians may well have been the first cat breeders, an important step in the domestication process of cats."

The Egyptians revered cats. The animal is heavily featured in ancient Egyptian art as early as 4,000 BC. They worshipped feline goddesses like Mafdet, the goddess for protection of dangerous animals, who was most commonly depicted as a woman with a lion or cat-head, and more famously Bastet, the cat goddess of beauty, women and fertility. It was to these two goddesses that the Egyptians sacrificed the ancestors of the modern domesticated cat more than 2,200 years ago.

The study aimed to find genetic similarities between the mummified cats and modern cats and wild cats, to work out how long ago humans turned them into pets. Kurushima’s team extracted mitochondrial DNA from three mummified cats found in tombs and compared it with samples from modern wild and domestic cats.

"Millions of cat mummies were offered and buried in areas throughout Egypt. To supply the demand for votive offerings, catteries were established to raise large numbers of felines for slaughter," Kurushima said. Cats have long been popular household pets not only for their cuddly fur and companionship, but also for their vermin hunting skills. — ANI

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