Cats were first domesticated over 5000 years ago and have since became one of the most popular pets in the world. In several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom,
there are more cats than any other pet. Domestic cats now live on every continent except Antarctica and have evolved into over fifty distinct breeds.
Cats were first domesticated by the Egyptians around 3000 BC by accident. Ancient Egyptians stored their food in woven baskets and their storage areas were infested with rodents. The rodent problem was quite a plague; much of the Egyptians' food and grains were eaten or destroyed by the rodents, who easily chewed through the reed containers. Rats and mice swarmed the Egyptian cities, and with no traps, poisons or other devices to fight against the rodent population, there was not much the Egyptians could do about it. At some point the African Wildcat, a small yellow cat with black stripes, the ancestor of modern day domestic cats, began coming into the cities to feast on the abundance of rodents. The Egyptians welcomed their new neighbors when they realized that the Wildcats were killing off the rodents. Many people began leaving small scraps of food outside their houses to encourage the Wildcats to hunt at their home. The cats soon began to stay in the cities because there they had more than enough to eat. The cats were also protected from being hunted because their predators in the wild would not dare come near humans. The cats and humans seemed to be well matched for each other.
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