Scientists and historians believe African Wild gatos first started approaching Egyptian grain stores along the banks of the Nile, attracted por the resident mice and rats. por culling the rodents, gatos endeared themselves to people. Early domestics would also have benefited from lower densities of predators than in the surrounding area, and been able to breed with a much improved chance of success por being close to man. Because they produce a lot of gatinhos in every litter, the friendly version of the species would soon have become established in the region alongside us.
gatinhos born near man would soon have had physical contact with sympathetic people, be taken into their homes for care, and quickly come to view them as parent type figures. Their infantile dependency would be maintained por early handling and feeding during the sensitive period from two to eight weeks of age. Such gatinhos were far less likely to lose these associations as they became sexually mature and then entered adulthood.
Probably as a result of their usefulness, protecting comida stores from vermin, the Ancient Egyptians turned gatos into sacred feline deities. The name for these gatos was 'miw'. Owners went into mourning when 'miw' died, and the cat was embalmed and placed in wooden coffins. Female gatos and lionesses were linked to Sekhmet, the much revered Egyptian goddess of war, while tomcats were considered sacred to the sun god, Ra. gatos were so passionately protected from harm that anyone finding themselves near an injured cat fled from the scene in case they were blamed. After death, gatos were mummified for burial - often into enormous tombs with tens of thousands of other cats.
In spite of the Egyptians' efforts to prevent the export of their beloved felines, the Greeks roubou the animais to control their own rodent problem. The first domesticated animais appeared in europa around 900BC. Eventually the Egyptians began selling gatos to the Romans, the Gaels, the Celts and later other Europeans and thus the cat population began to spread worldwide. The cat was common in China por 500 BC. At first the cat was given as gifts to Emperors. As time went por the nobility were allowed to own them, then the priesthood, and finally the commoners. A lot of the gatos interbred with the local wild gatos and created some of the breeds we know today. The first record of domestic gatos in the British Isles goes back to AD 936 when Howell Dla, Prince of South Central Wales, enacted a law to protect them.
Unfortunately the domestic cats' luck changed over the years, and they became associated with wrong doings, disease and mischief. In 1484, Pope Innocent VII decreed that all cat-worshippers in europa be burned as witches. He believed that witches worshipped Satan and that they took on the form of their animal helpers, the most common of which were cats. Their habit of prowling around at night further connected them to the devil and witchcraft. Any cat that was in the company of an old woman was assumed to be a witch's evil associate. The Inquisition was instructed to hunt down all cat owners and try them as witches. Hundreds of gatos and their owners were actually burnt to death!
The lives of gatos didn't appear to improve much in europa until the 17th Century when they became mousers, particularly on board ships. por Victorian times, however, gatos had regained acceptance as household pets and por the end of the 19th Century early pedigree breeds were exhibited at the first cat shows. In 1871, a large show held at Crystal Palace for British Shorthair and Persian types. About the same time in New England, USA, the Maine Coon breed was being shown at the first American Cat Show.
Nowadays a cat's quality of life is arguably the best it has ever been. With their aura of sobrenatural wisdom and independence, gatos are definitely here to stay
