Tue Dec 09 09:30:00 UTC 2025: Headline: Study Reveals Cats’ Global Conquest Began 2,000 Years Ago, Tracing Ancestry to African Wildcat
Bengaluru, December 9, 2025 – A new scientific study published this week sheds light on the history of the domestic cat, revealing that their global spread began around 2,000 years ago and traces their origins to the African wildcat (Felis lybica lybica). The research challenges previous theories of a Neolithic introduction from West Asia and suggests that cats arrived in Europe later, primarily from North Africa, and spread most likely by ship.
Researchers analyzed 87 ancient and modern cat genomes from across Europe, Anatolia, and North Africa, creating a genomic timeline spanning 11,000 years. The study indicated two waves of cat introductions into Europe: the first involved wildcats from Northwest Africa brought to Sardinia, and the second saw a distinct North African population spread and establish the gene pool for modern domestic cats in Europe.
“Domestic cats form a distinct sister clade to the African wildcats, suggesting a closer genetic proximity to these wildcats,” the researchers wrote.
The study also explores the factors driving the translocation of cats to new cultural settings, hypothesizing that religious motivations or the benefits of cats as pest controllers on ships could have played a role. “Dispersal trajectories may also have been driven by the benefits of cats as pest controllers on ships, in view of the extensive maritime trade network of Carthage and the role of Egypt as a major grain supplier to the Roman Empire,” the study said. The researchers believe they traveled across the Mediterranean via the trade routes that connected the Roman Empire with North Africa, and also together with the Roman Empire and its entourage of people that were moving across the European continent.
While cats were present in the Levant during the Neolithic period, these were likely undomesticated wildcats attracted to human settlements and rodents.
The study highlights the ecological impact of the now ubiquitous feline. While beloved as pets, cats have become a significant threat to biodiversity. A 2023 study revealed that cats prey on over 2,000 species globally, with a considerable portion of these being of conservation concern.
This research offers a deeper understanding of cat domestication and dispersal, revealing new complexities in the historical relationship between humans and these adaptable animals.
First Piper 