The Big Bang
The universe expands and cools from a hot, dense early state.
Density
From deep ancestry to companionOur World
Domestic Cat
Follow the evidence from early felids to the house cat—including what new ancient DNA has changed.
Origin depth
Official Earth time scaleSelect an eon on the road to reveal its eras.ICS 2026/06 ↗
Cosmic Originsbefore Earth’s geological eons
The first stars ignite
Gravity gathers primordial gas and the cosmic dark ages begin to lift.
Earth takes shape
Rock and metal gather around the young Sun.
Microbial life leaves evidence
Ancient rocks preserve traces of a living planet.
Oxygen transforms the atmosphere
Microbial photosynthesis changes the chemistry of Earth.
Complex cells diversify
Cells with internal structures establish a new branch of life.
Large multicellular life spreads
Complex bodies become a visible part of the fossil record.
Early mammals live alongside dinosaurs
Small mammals and their close relatives are part of Mesozoic ecosystems.
The cat family emerges
Early felids establish a highly specialized predatory body plan.
Living cat lineages radiate
The ancestors of today’s wild cats diversify rapidly across continents.
The domestic-cat lineage takes shape
One branch leads toward wildcats, jungle cats, sand cats, and black-footed cats.
Small cats of genus Felis appear
Adaptable small felids spread through Africa and Eurasia.
African wildcats diversify
Felis lybica populations range across Africa and Southwest Asia.
People carry cats to Cyprus
Island finds prove that humans intentionally transported cats across water.
Settlements create a new niche
Stored food attracts rodents, and small cats find reliable hunting grounds near people.
Cats are managed in Upper Egypt
A group burial at Hierakonpolis suggests people cared for or controlled wildcats.
China follows a different cat path
Farming communities live alongside leopard cats rather than ancestors of modern house cats.
A domestic lineage expands from North Africa
Genome-wide evidence shifts attention toward a later African dispersal.
Cats cross the Mediterranean
Domestic cats move with people through ports, settlements, and imperial networks.
House cats reach China by the Silk Road
Domestic cats arrive long after China’s earlier leopard-cat relationship ended.
People begin selecting appearance
A blotched coat pattern becomes more common only after cats have lived with people for millennia.
The modern cat fancy begins
Shows and breed standards turn selected appearances into named pedigrees.
A global companion keeps its wild edge
House cats live nearly everywhere people do, yet retain much of the behavior of solitary hunters.
Branch road complete
You’ve reached the end of Domestic Cat
Return to “Early mammals live alongside dinosaurs” and continue along Big Bang to Us, or search for another origin below.