My first Publication CC May Edition for Web | Page 16

Domestic Cat Breeds
TURNING ON THE
FELINE CHARM
FAMOUS HOUSECAT BREEDS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD
By: Rachel Arora
he relationship between humans and Felis catus
dates back thousands of years ago. History
indicates that Ancient Egyptians might have
been the fi rst to domesticate cats nearly 4,000
years ago. Th ey are known to have worshipped
Bastet, a love goddess with the head of a cat and
also mummifi ed their pets. Cats were later adopted for
companionship by people belonging to various civilizations.
T
Research tells us that dogs were great hunters and
were domesticated way before cats when human were
predominantly huntsmen. Th e usefulness of cats was realized
when humans began to settle down and erected granaries that
attracted mice. Th is was probably the time when the fi rst wild
cats entered a town in search of their prey and humans were
delighted as they helped get rid of the troublesome rodents.
In the words of Study author Carlos Discroll, “cats sort
of domesticated themselves.” However, over a period of
time, humans began adopting cats but wanted their feline
companions to be more docile, unlike their wild counterparts.
Breeders and scientists undertook the task of developing
new cat breeds that could be easily domesticated. Today, cats
are one of the most widely domesticated species valued for
their companionship and beauty. Some of the most popular
domestic cat breeds in contemporary times are:
SIAMESE
T
he Siamese is one of the fi rst distinctly
recognized breeds of Asian cat. Native
to Th ailand, formerly known as Siam, it is
one of the most popular housecat breeds
that gained immense popularity in Europe
and North America in the 19th century.
Derived from the Wichianmat landrace,
one of the many cat varieties from
Th ailand, the modern Siamese has been
developed by crossbreeding with other
cats such as the Oriental shorthair and
Colourpoint shorthair as well as the
longhaired Himalayan cat.
Th e Siamese is one of the oldest breeds of
domesticated cats in the world. Th ese cats
are known for their mysterious beauty and
talkative nature; they have bright, deep
blue eyes, a chiseled, triangular head, an
elongated slender body, point coloration
and large pointed ears, toes and face.
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Creature Companion | May 2019 • Vol. XII • Issue 5 • Noida