Where do Cat come from?

 People have long adored cats, from the ancient Egyptians to modern Internet users.

Cats are the dominant pet in 45.3 million American households alone. The Cat Fancier's Association estimates that there are at least 45 domestic breeds, each with distinctive characteristics such coat color, tail length, hair texture, and temperament.

The largest is the Maine Coon, with males growing to an average length of 3.5 feet. The Singapura is the tiniest breed; it is indigenous to Singapore and adult females can weigh as low as four pounds. The Sphynx, a totally hairless cat renowned for being strong and intelligent, is among the oddest-looking cats.

House cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they must consume meat in order to maintain good health, just like their large cat relatives. These predators have been domesticated for countless years, but they still have a strong hunting instinct. They track their victim covertly before striking with their jaws and claws. 

Cats are mostly nocturnal creatures with superb vision, hearing, and ears that can rotate like satellite dishes. Their ability to handle challenging conditions, such as utilizing their tail to balance and generally landing their slender, muscular bodies on all fours, contributes to their reputation for having nine lives. The flexible and quick bodies of cats are also a result of the cushioning discs between their vertebrae.

According to DNA analysis, domestication of cats started in the Fertile Crescent some 10,000 years ago. The most prevalent and ubiquitous subspecies of wildcat in existence today, Felis silvestris lybica, is where modern cats descended from.

These wildcats were probably drawn to human settlements thousands of years ago by the abundance of rodents and food scraps. When people recognized how useful these rodent traps were, the two species gradually started coexisting. Later, as humans traversed the world by ship, they started bringing felines with them.

A second, independent attempt at domesticating cats took place in China with the leopard cat around 5,000 years ago. The harmony doesn't seem to have persisted because domestic cats now aren't linked to leopard cats.