The Origin and Evolution of Cats

Jia Xuan

A Review

The Origin and Evolution of Cats

Jia Xuan

Institute of Life Science, Jiyang College of Zhejiang A&F University, Zhuji, 311800, China

Author

Correspondence author
Animal Molecular Breeding, 2023, Vol. 13, No. 2 doi: 10.5376/amb.2023.13.0002
Received: 13 Jul., 2023 Accepted: 26 Jul., 2023 Published: 05 Aug., 2023

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Preferred citation for this article:

Xuan J., 2023, The origin and evolution of cats, Animal Molecular Breeding, 13(2): 1-6 (doi: 10.5376/amb.2023.13.0002)

Abstract

Cats are one of the oldest domesticated animals in the world, with their origins dating back to the Neolithic period around 11,000 years ago. The ancestors of cats originated in Africa and spread to Europe and Asia around 11,000 years ago. The earliest cat species was the primitive "Pseudaelurus," which underwent a long evolutionary process over time and gradually differentiated into different subspecies and breeds. In the Miocene, about 25 million years ago, cat species underwent significant differentiation, resulting in the emergence of large saber-toothed tigers and small modern Felidae. In the late Miocene, about 10 million years ago, modern cat species began to gradually differentiate into different subspecies and breeds. Studies suggest that the domestication of cats may have originated in Egypt around 4,000 BC, and over time, cats gradually became pets and companions to humans.

Keywords

Cat; Origin; Evolution; Domestication

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