How And Why Dogs And Cats Ended Up Living Amongst Us

For those who are interested in the history of the domestication of animals, take a look at this:�http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab57

Interestingly, dogs were domesticated from wolves about 12,000 years ago and according to this article, it was for “mutual benefit” – to help humans hunt.

Cats came at around 3000 BC. But, how and why they came, not surprisingly, remains, as cats still are today, mysterious…

Of course we think they came when the wildcats were domesticated as pets, or was it for their mouse-hunting skills? Or, did they come as something else since the Egyptians worshiped them?

We’ll never really know, would we?

http://purebredbreeders.org/tag/wolf/

�http://www.richeast.org/htwm/cats/Cats.html

Read the above, folks, and you’ll see this:

Cats were treated as gods, and were protected by law, as well. The punishment for harming or killing a cat was harsh (Wolf, 1997). Diodorus Siculus said:

Whoever kills a cat in Egypt is condemned to death, whether he committed this crime deliberately or not. The people gather and kill him. An unfortunate Roman, who accidentally killed a cat, could not be saved, either by King Ptolemy of Egypt or by the fear which Rome inspired. (Qtd. in Preserved for Posterity, 1997).

There were also laws forbidding the exportation of cats. However, Phoenician traders often smuggled them out and sold them to the Mediterranean countries (Coll, 1997). Armies were even sent out to recapture cats from foreign lands. The Egyptians were so devoted to their cats that they even surrendered to the Persians, due to their beloved cats. When the Egyptians were at war with the Persians and the Egyptians were wearing down the Persian army, a Persian general came up with a plan. Because he knew of the great love and reverence with which the Egyptians treated their cats, he ordered his soldiers to capture as many cats as possible from the city. When they had enough, they returned to the city of Pelusium and lined up for battle. When the dust cleared, the Egyptians were horrified at the number of their terrified cats that were running over the battlefield. Rather than harm the cats, they surrendered the city to the Persians without a fight. It was a devastating loss for the Egyptians (Coll, 1997).

In another example of the Egyptian’s devotion to their cats, Herodotus relates that when a fire broke out in Egypt, the men would stand in a line to prevent harm to the cats, thinking more of that than extinguishing the fire. Even so, Herodotus noted, “the cats slip through or leap over the men and leap into the fire.” (Chapter 66, 3) It can be assumed that this is hyperbole, and that most cats would not rush towards a blazing fire. This statement, however, made hundreds of years later in Greece, does show the understanding of the importance of cats to Egyptians.

But through the centuries, times have changed…

Whatever it is, dogs and cats are very much a part of our lives now.

Apparently, there is a another story that says the owl and the pussycat may be related, but then again…

Don’t take everything so seriously, please! Life is short.

Source: http://myanimalcare.org/2012/06/03/how-and-why-dogs-and-cats-ended-up-living-amongst-us/

Tweet

AnimalCare

AnimalCare is a registered society that promotes caregiving to street animals and helps in their neutering and medical needs. AnimalCare has a Medical Fund, Food Fund and Education Fund.

More Articles   |   Pets For Adoption   |   Website