Posted on 02/13/2026 3:32:26 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Initially, archaeologists believed that humans began to live with cats about 9,500 years ago in... parts of the present-day eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. This timeline coincides with the beginning of the Neolithic era, when agriculture started to spread. The grains used in farming attracted rodents, which then enticed the wildcats to come and eat the rodents. Neolithic humans then likely kept the wildcats around to keep the rodents away, paving the way for domestication. Cat remains dating [circa 9500 years ago] have been discovered in present-day Cyprus, indicating that the animals were a part of daily life by then.
Cats then became a staple in Ancient Egypt roughly 3,500 years ago. Unlike the more murky history during the Neolithic Age, Ancient Egyptian culture is full of cat references. Numerous cat remains have been found in tombs, as well as drawings of cats eating near humans. Bastet was a feline goddess...
Earlier studies using cats' mitochondrial DNA indicated that they may have made it to Europe from Turkey via Neolithic farmers about 6,000 years ago and later from Egypt. Genetically speaking, modern house cats are also different from the African wildcat native to both Egypt and Turkey. Still, a lack of archaeological evidence and problems with distinguishing domestic cats from their wild counterparts based on the DNA in their bones have left some major gaps in the house cats' history.
In this new study, a team analyzed the genomes of 70 ancient cats, dating back over the last 11,000 years (from about 9000 BCE to 19th century CE). The genomes were taken from bones found in archaeological sites in Europe and Turkey, along with 17 modern wildcats from parts of North Africa, Italy, and Bulgaria.
(Excerpt) Read more at popsci.com ...
https://blog.entomologist.net/what-are-the-common-diseases-caused-by-pests-and-rodents.html
35 different diseases worldwide
So you weren’t kidding, you thought rodents are only about the bubonic plague.
I never said that. I am asking you what disease a rodent might carry that’s worse than the bubonic plague.
Worse than? I don’t know how you got on that but the problems and diseases with rodents go beyond just bubonic plague.
Post 41 mentions some and here is the CDC.
https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-pets/rodent-control/index.html
Diseases spread directly by rodents
Certain diseases can spread from rodents to people through direct contact with infected rodents. This can be through breathing in contaminated air, touching contaminated materials and then touching eyes, nose, or mouth. They can also spread by being bitten or scratched by an infected rodent, or eating food contaminated by an infected rodent.
Bacterial diseases
Leptospirosis
Rat-Bite Fever
Salmonellosis
Sylvatic Typhus
Tularemia
Viral diseases
Hantavirus
Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome
Lassa Fever
Lujo Hemorrhagic Fever
Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis (LCM)
Monkeypox
Omsk Hemorrhagic Fever
South American Arenaviruses*
*Argentine hemorrhagic fever, Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, Chapare Hemorrhagic Fever, Sabiá-associated hemorrhagic fever, and Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever.
Diseases spread indirectly by rodents
Certain diseases can spread from rodents to people through indirect contact. This can occur when people are bitten by ticks, mites, fleas, and mosquitos that have fed on infected rodents. Diseases can also spread to people from rodents through the consumption of an intermediate host (for example, beetles or cockroaches).
Bacterial diseases
Anaplasmosis
Borreliosis
Flea-borne (Murine) Typhus
Lyme disease
Plague
Rickettsialpox
Scrub typhus
Tick-borne Relapsing Fever
Tularemia
Parasitic Diseases
Angiostrongylus
Babesiosis
Cutaneous leishmaniasis
Hymenolepis diminuta
Moniliformis moniliformis
Viral diseases
Colorado tick fever
La Crosse virus
Powassan virus
Yeah, and so what? Now do the mortality stats on those.
All I did was point out that killing rats spreads bubonic plague because the fleas find humans as new hosts.
How many of those have ever had mortality rates of 30-50% sometimes approaching 80%?
You are one weird guy, good luck.
If you want to know a little bit about "The Black Death" here's a little something for you to watch. I did.
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