How Cats Used Humans to Conquer the World

The Atlantic ^ | June 19, 2017 | Sarah Zhang

[C19fan]

Sometime around the invention of agriculture, the cats came crawling. It was mice and rats, probably, that attracted the wild felines. The rats came because of stores of grain, made possible by human agriculture. And so cats and humans began their millennia-long coexistence.

This relationship has been good for us of course—formerly because cats caught the disease-carrying pests stealing our food and presently because cleaning up their hairballs somehow gives purpose to our modern lives. But this relationship has been great for cats as species, too. From their native home in the Middle East, the first tamed cats followed humans out on ships and expeditions to take over the world—settling on six continents with even the occasional foray to Antarctica. Domestication has been a fantastically successful evolutionary strategy for cats.

[C19fan]

Includes Viking Kittens.

[Snickering Hound]

[Tennessee Nana]

Yepperz

Catz gotz staef...

:)

[ClearCase_guy]

All my base belong to them.

[NorthMountain]

If you let the cat in your house, you deserve what you get. My cats are strictly outdoor/barn critters.

[Psalm 73]

It is theorized that cats were self-domesticated, as opposed to our purposefully domesticating dogs, chickens, horses, etc for our use.
Cats found us useful for their ends - but they made us THINK it was our call....

[VietVet876]

Read “Mort(e)” by Robert Repino.

[LostInBayport]

My favorite saying about cats is that they were once revered as gods in ancient Egypt...and have never forgotten or relinquished that status.

Also, I...oh, cat wants to eat. Gottagobye

[JPG]

Clean or be eaten!

[ghostkatz]

If I am getting what I deserve then I am thankful for it. I LOVE cats and have my entire life. According to my baby book, my first real word was “KeeKee” (kitty). I am surrounded by the wild and wonderful. amusing, thoughtful, puzzling, frustrating, crazy, loving and lovable creatures. Ahhh, CATS !! see my tag line...

[minnesota_bound]

#9 On Friday by my place I heard a bunch of commotion from the birds then I saw a stray cat with a bird in it’s mouth.
Might have been a bird that refuse to do a cleaning : )

[mowowie]

My 12 yr old indoor house cat snuck out the back door 4 nights ago, haven’t seen her since.
I’m pretty depressed about it.

[Mears]

I’ll say a prayer for her return-——must be awful for you.

.

[JoeFromSidney]

Yes, cats and humans got along because they were good mousers. But being cute probably had a lot to do with it, too. My two are very affectionate, and sit on my lap while I read the morning paper and drink my coffee.

[Chuckster]

Did you say Viking Kittens?

[V_TWIN]

And yet instead of going out and looking for her you sit in front of a computer screen? I have 3 and if that happened to me I could not rest ‘till I found mine.

[golux]

Variations on this clever article and clever title have been running in various clever publications since I was a boy.

[Rusty0604]

I believe that.

[Kommodor]

Nice kitteh. :)

[mowowie]

Thank you