Posted on 05/09/2025 10:41:36 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
In a discovery that pushes back the timeline of domestic cats in North America, archaeologists have uncovered the earliest known feline remains in the modern-day United States.
The find comes from the Emanuel Point II shipwreck, one of the vessels in the doomed 1559 expedition led by Spanish conquistador Tristán de Luna y Arellano. Published in American Antiquity on April 14, the study sheds light not only on the fate of these cats but also on their role in early colonial ventures...
In September 1559, a powerful hurricane devastated the Spanish fleet anchored off the nascent settlement of Santa María de Ochuse.
Several of the eleven ships in the colonizing expedition were wrecked, including the vessel now known as Emanuel Point II, discovered by archaeologists in 2006. Among the many artifacts and remains, two skeletons -- one adult and one juvenile -- stood out.
Analysis confirmed these were Felis catus, or domestic cats. According to Martin Welker, a zooarchaeologist at the University of Arizona and co-author of the study, the cats provide the first direct evidence of felines reaching the U.S. mainland via Spanish explorers...
By comparing the bones with those of modern domestic cats and studying their chemical and DNA signatures, the scientists determined that the four-legged passengers were of European ancestry...
"What was interesting, is that our cat was not eating the rats on board the ship but had a diet more in line with what we'd expect for the sailors."...
Previous traces of cats have been linked to the Taíno settlement of En Bas Saline in modern-day Haiti, where Christopher Columbus landed in 1492. Yet he never reached the North American mainland, making the Luna expedition's felines the pioneer cats of the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailygalaxy.com ...
ALF loved cats.
Teddy is quite vocal, like many other cats he makes a wide variety of sounds in addition to normal meowing. He often trills, chirps and clicks when he is trying to get our attention or wants us to follow him. Sometimes it sounds like he is trying to imitate us.
We still put out dry cat food for other stray cats, racoons, squirrels and possums. He bangs against the glass door and makes a spectacle out of himself when there are racoons eating the food, but he just sits and watches possums. and most other cats.
Unfortunately, we have a horrible next-door neighbor who kills small animals of any kind usually by poisoning them, but by more violent means as well. He especially hates squirrels, racoons, bunnies, possums, dogs and cats. So, we can't let Teddy out for his own safety. Teddy doesn't seem to mind and does not try to dart past us when we open the door to the outside like he does when we open interior doors.
I put surveillance cameras up all over the house to keep an eye on pets when we are gone. Our last little wienerdog had a terrible time with separation anxiety when we would leave her, but Teddy just finds a place to hide and sleeps most of the day. When he wants to be let out of our bedroom while we are sleeping, he stares at my wife or I and bats us on the head with his big paws until we wake up and let him out.
He watches us leave and arrive from the windows in the house. And he runs up to the front door and waits for it to open when he hears us or other people on the front porch.
We have a 15-year-old granddaughter who is crazy about him. He runs and hides from her when he figures she is one of those visiting; but she tracks him down and drags him all over the house. I am kind of shocked that he does not bite or scratch her, which her own cat does frequently.
When we have family get togethers he loves to be the center of attention which seems unusual compared to most other cats that I have been familiar with.
Changed everything? This is huge! So may questions, Does this mean that the pyramids actually weren't made by aliens like we always knew they were? Was Jesus actually French? McDonalds is actually health food?
Thanks PIF! And I realize that I'd forgotten about the Maine Coon, which was probably introduced by Vikings in earlier centuries.
Correction, you were allowed to share a house by the five cats. ;^)
That was part of the research.
May have been used for rat control on the ships….
Oh c’mon, the Spanish were big cat loverrs, hence Columbus’ flagship was the Santa Meowria.
uuummmmmm... ...its saturday morning and someone is procrastinating their weekend projects and dilly dallying here on FR??
Heh, I’ll take your word for it.
In other words pets not just animals that people tolerated.
There is a push currently to say that European people did not regard cats as pets generally until the 1800s when some artist started doing pictures of them. There was even a movie about it. Cute movie. Not accurate. But still cute.
This is proof that cats were pets long before that point. And during a time when, once more according to the latest historical fashion, when everyone in Europe was killing cats because they were "of the devil." While there may have been a few of those people, heck they are still around, this shows that among the most superstitious group in the area at the time cats were pets.
Did ot know the background.
For Pete’s sake cats were a part of Egyptian culture. Not only as gods iirc
Exactly.
There is a trend to push the narrative in history that between the fall of the Roman Empire in the east and somewhere either after the Enlightenment or after World War Two, take your pick, that Europe was a horrible dirty place full of backward, ignorant and violent people that had as their first thought every morning how could they oppress women and dark skinned people. Who were of course, brilliant and kind and loving. Practically perfect in every way.
Can't argue about the violent part, although less so then certain others areas of the world, but the rest is mostly hogwash.
That they were all cat killers (except for those kind and wonderful witches who were all female healers (bosh) and dark skinned kindly foreigners who would have helped those ignorant natives if they were just give the chance) plays into the lore that they are building.
And kill them. useful on a ship. A well-fed cat won't eat them, though. Just bring 'em in as trophies.
LOL
Your granddaughter sounds like my sister and mother when they visit. Although Buddy often wants affection from me or my brother, from my sister or mother, he tolerates at most a brief touch and then runs off under the furniture. Born a feral, Buddy has trust issues. It took a year and a half before he came inside after the death of his next door neighbor owner.
And Buddy has standards: he prefers a premium brand of wet tuna based cat food, with a dollop of people quality tuna or salmon mixed in. Warmed up, of course.
I don't think there is any evidence one way or the other about the Norse explorers who reached North America having any cats on board.
Cats are much more entertaining than I ever realized. Buddy sounds like a great cat. Teddy ate food that we put out for him and the other small animals for about 6 months before he befriended us. We have a “wyzecam” that we now call the “coonie cam” because they are the most frequent visitors these days.
When Teddy was still an outside kitty and the coons would show up he would back away from the bowl of food and wait for them to leave. I had always heard that Racoons could be dangerous to cats, but he didn’t fight with them.
As I said in my last post when he sees them now, he slams himself into the sliding glass door and makes a complete spectacle out of himself until we pick him up and take him upstairs.
Teddy is extremely finicky at this point. We give him both kibble and two little cans of premium cat food per day. Microwaved to a lukewarm temperature and stirred. Doesn’t this sound a little like James Bond but ordering his drink “shaken and not stirred”? His vet seems happy with his weight and health. She said if we got another cat that we would probably have to restrict his diet to keep him from gaining weight from the competition.
I think that people should have two dogs if they are going to be left alone. But at least in Teddy’s case it seems like he does not care that much about feline companionship.
We live in an outlying area where people dump a lot of cats. Teddy was only about a year old when he finally befriended us. But he had obviously had some house training previously because he immediately began using the litter box and has never had an “accident” that we are aware of.
I was afraid that he would stink up the house, but sifting through his litter every day and changing it when it starts to get old seems to keep this under control.
Thanks for telling me about Buddy!
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