The earliest known companion cat dates to about 4500 years ago, when a cat was buried with its master in an Egyptian tomb. Cats in Egypt were often mummified and placed in tombs as members of the family.
Cats are intelligent, highly specialized mammals that evolved a range of morphological adaptations and sensory abilities to suit their exclusively carnivorous lifestyle.
Hunting by sight at night mean they see in lower light intensities then the people can and are particularly sensitive to rapid movement.
Cats living together in feral groups do interact affectionately. Similar, in multi-cat households, adult cats may greet each other with head rubbing, and they may lie together and groom each other, although such interludes are often tempered with an occasional spat.
The relationship between cats and people has shown considerable evolution and change over the centuries. The main ancestor of the domestic cat, the African wildcat of North America Felis silvestris lybica, overlapped the March cat Felis chaus in its range in Egypt along the Nile.
Today, there are more than fifty five million cat owners in the United States, making cats the number one household.
The domestic cat
