Free Republic

Invasive species can be ruthless. Surprisingly, they can also be adorable. When non-native plants, animals, and pathogens are introduced into a favorable new environment, they can sweep through the ecosystem and threaten the survival of the native flora and fauna. They also wreak havoc on the economy. From Burmese python to Asian carp, efforts to eradicate or control invasive species cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $138 billion per year. But in one notable case, humans have been happy to make an invasive species feel at home. We're talking about cats: one of the most prolific invasive species in history. The...

WASHINGTON - While ancient Egypt provides the first written record of cats, a burial discovered on Cyprus indicates that humans and felines may have become associated much earlier — extending 9,500 years or more into the past. AP Photo It's a relationship that has ranged from their being adored as gods in the Nile valley to their slinking into medieval witchhood and rising again to be revered in poet T.S. Eliot's verses and in the stage show "Cats." Today, more than 30 percent of American homes host a cat. Jean-Denis Vigne of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris...