About 200 million years ago, the earliest mammals appeared in the world. About the same time, the first dinosaur appeared. But it was not until millions of years after dinosaurs disappeared that mammals really became the protagonists.
About 40 million years ago, saber-toothed tigers began to appear. It can be said that it is the earliest ancestor of cats. It lived on and off until it died out 20 thousand years ago. Now we can only see its fossils in the museum, imagine its frightening appearance and remember vilen's rough spirit.
About 3 million years ago, the genetic genes of cats were established, and now all cats have gradually evolved. The ancestor of Asian domestic cats is Indian desert cats, and the ancestor of European domestic cats is African bobcats. They are wild animals, and they traveled all over the world during the Pliocene Ice Age.
Cats were really domesticated quite late, about four or five thousand years ago. In contrast, dogs were domesticated earlier, about 20 thousand to 15 thousand years ago.
Young African wildcats are easy to domesticate, and it is generally believed that they are probably the main ancestors of domestic cats at present. Ancient Egypt was the first place to raise cats, and it is very likely that Egyptian women were the first people to domesticate cats. The ancient Egyptians attached great importance to this African tiger-spotted wildcat, because it was quite easy to domesticate, and at the same time, it could be dedicated to the moon god and the best goddess to replace the lion worshipped before. When cats are sacrificed, Egyptians shave off their eyebrows to show their grief.
The Greeks got cats from the Egyptians and spread them to Rome through trade. Phoenicians sailed with cats and came to England. These domestic cats freely mate with endangered European wildcats, resulting in two main domestic cat series. One is a tabby cat, which is very tall, with two pairs of long legs, an elegant and narrow head and a delicate tail. The other is a wild cat with a wide head, short legs and a furry tail. It may be that this tabby cat crossed with other smaller cats from different regions. Of course, gene mutation may also occur in the process of hybridization, which makes the coat color, fur and body shape different, but the change is not as obvious as the result of dog evolution.
In Europe, cats are no longer used as sacrifices to gods, but as symbols of "freedom". One of the reasons why cats are loved by Europeans is that cats helped people get rid of mice carrying the Black Death in the 1 1 century.
In the Middle Ages, the number of cats decreased greatly. Because of the rise of cults, people use them to worship the devil. There are still many superstitions about cats. For example, if a black cat crosses your route, something bad will happen.
Cats belong to Chordata phylum → Chordata subfamily → Mammalia phylum → Carnivore phylum → Cat → Cat. Other animals in the same family as cats are lions, tigers and leopards.
Cats are the smallest species, while lions are the largest. They have their own characteristics in adapting to survival. Tigers can swim, lions can't swim and leopards can swim and climb trees. Like leopards, cats can swim and climb trees. They are mainly carnivores, and there is no big difference in food intake.
There is a saying about the origin of cats that the same ancestor of cats and dogs is an ancient cat and beast, which disappeared a long time ago. It is the ancestor of all carnivores, and its descendants include bears, weasels, raccoons, beavers, foxes, wolves, badgers, pandas, dogs and tigers, and domestic tabby cats.