New Evidence Rewrites Cat Domestication Timeline in Africa

New science rewrites when and where cats first became pets, tracing origins to northern Africa and ancient Egypt before spreading worldwide.

Cats became our companions later than many expect. New scientific work traces the earliest close ties between people and felines to northern Africa, not the Levant, several thousand years ago.

Researchers studied cat bones from sites across Europe, North Africa, and western Asia, dated them, and compared their DNA with modern cats. The findings suggest domestication began in northern Africa, likely within the ancient Egyptian sphere, rather than at the dawn of farming in the Levant.

Getty Images A tabby cat stares up at the camera with its paw raised as if it is taking a selfie portrait

Cat domestication emerged as a regional story that unfolded over centuries, culminating in a close human-kitten bond we recognize today.

“They are ubiquitous, we make TV programmes about them, and they dominate the internet,” said Prof Greger Larson of the University of Oxford. Today’s bond with cats began about 3,500 to 4,000 years ago, not 10,000 years ago, he notes, aligning with Egyptian reverence for felines seen in art and mummies.

From this core, cats traveled far and wide via ships and trade routes. They reached Europe around 2,000 years ago, later than previously believed, and followed Roman networks before moving east along the Silk Road toward China. Today, cats populate almost every corner of the globe, with the notable exception of Antarctica.

Ziyi Li and Wenquan Fan The skull of a leopard cat sits on a block of stone surrounded by sand. A ruler is placed in front of the skull so show its size.

In a surprising twist, researchers found that a wild leopard cat lived among people in China about 3,500 years ago. This early relationship was largely commensal—the two species lived nearby and benefited, but without a strong, lasting bond yet formed with humans, according to Prof Shu-Jin Luo of Peking University.

Leopard cats remain wild across Asia, but they have contributed to the domestic cat’s story through crossbreeding, giving rise to the Bengal breed in the 1980s.

Getty A young cat with a tabby coat lies on its back on a rug looking up with big green eyes

The study appears in the journals Science and Cell Genomics, underscoring a nuanced, multi-regional path to domestication rather than a single origin.

Experts emphasize that this timeline reshapes our understanding of how cats joined human life and spread across the world through ancient networks and cultural exchanges.

Expert commentary

Expert insight: Prof. Greger Larson notes the modern bond with cats began several thousand years ago, not ten thousand, reframing how we view domestication. He is joined by researchers who highlight parallel developments shaping felines across regions.

Short summary

New evidence points to a northern African origin for early cat domestication, with ancient Egypt playing a pivotal role. The cat’s global reach followed centuries of maritime travel and trade, while China reveals an earlier, separate encounter with wild leopard cats. This paints a more complex, regionally layered history of how the domestic cat became humanity’s beloved companion.

Key insight: Cat domestication likely began in northern Africa under Egyptian influence rather than in the Levant, with later global spread via ships and trade routes. Source: BBC News.