Cats only became useful to humans when people started to till the ground and store surplus crops. With grain stores came mice, cats were delighted by the abundance of prey, and people were delighted by the pest control.

Over time, as people favored cats with more docile traits, certain cats adapted to this environment, producing dozens of breeds of house cats known today.

• The ancient Egyptian reverence for cats is well-known - scientists found a cat cemetery in Beni-Hassan with 300,000 cat mummies. The Egyptian goddess of love, Bastet, has the head of a cat.
• Ancient Romans held a similar reverence for the cat, which were seen as a symbol of liberty....