[Plulpangepler]

By Sara Malm: 12:21 GMT, 27 May 2012

It has long been debated how cats went from running in the wild to becoming our domesticated furry friends. Researchers may
have solved the mystery after analysing the genetic makeup of Egyptian cat mummies. The results of the study of DNA from the
remains of ritually slaughtered animals found in tombs suggest that we have the people of Ancient Egypt to thank for our
moggies and ginger toms.



Scientists at the University of California Davis published the study which points at the Egyptians as being the first cat breeders.
In a paper published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, the team claim that in order to keep up with the demand of cats as
sacrifices to the gods, the Egyptians had large catteries where felines were bred for slaughter.



The Egyptians revered cats and it is heavily featured in Ancient Egyptian art as early as 4,000 BC. They worshiped feline goddesses
like Mafdet, the goddess for protection of dangerous animals, who was most commonly depicted as a woman with a lion or cat-head,
and more famously Bastet, the cat goddess of beauty, women and fertility. It was to these two goddesses that the Egyptians
sacrificed the ancestors of the modern domesticated cat more than 2,200 years ago.