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The Curious History of Cats

Cats have been curled up by our sides for thousands of years. How did it all begin?

By Talia Cowen

From the March 2025 Issue

Learning Objective: to synthesize key ideas from two nonfiction articles

Lexiles: 930L, 750L

Featured Skill: Synthesis,

Other Key Skills: text structure, problem and solution, key ideas and details, supporting a claim, central idea, critical thinking

Listen to this story read aloud.

The Curious History of Cats

Cats have been curled up by our sides for thousands of years. How did it all begin?

By Talia Cowen

Picture a cat. Imagine chubby cheeks. Big eyes. Soft fur. Right now, you’re probably going, Awww!

But for much of human history, thinking about cats made people go, AHHH! That’s because most felines prowling Earth could be deadly to humans: saber-toothed cats with 11-inch fangs, roaring lions with sharp claws, fierce tigers with lightning-fast reflexes.

So how did we get to today, when millions of Americans have invited cats to share our homes (and our laps)? How did the cat go from fearsome predator to the purrfect pet?

Picture a cat. It has chubby cheeks, big eyes, and soft fur. You’re probably going, Awww!

But for much of human history, cats made people go, AHHH! That’s because most felines could be deadly to humans. Saber-toothed cats had 11-inch fangs. Roaring lions had sharp claws. Fierce tigers had lightning-fast reflexes.

However, today millions of Americans have cats in their homes. How did the cat go from fearsome predator to pet?

The Rise of Farming

To answer that question, let’s travel back 10,000 years into the ancient past. Our planet was just coming out of the Ice Age, a period when huge slabs of ice covered much of the world. In the area that is now the Middle East, warming weather led people to discover something important: Seeds could be buried in soil, grown into plants, then cut down and eaten.

Today we have a name for this system of sowing, growing, and harvesting food: farming. And the rise of farming changed the course of history. It meant humans didn’t have to constantly pack up all their belongings and trudge from place to place to hunt and forage for their next meal. They could begin to settle down, and form villages and towns. It also meant they had more free time to make art and music. In short, they could create civilizations.

As farmers became more productive, they were able to grow enough food during the warm months to keep people fed the whole year—even during the lean winter months, when it was harder to harvest. But storing surpluses of food, like wheat and barley, created a problem: It attracted hungry mice. And eventually, these nibbling rodents attracted another creature, one that loved to snack on them: cats.

To answer that question, let’s travel 10,000 years into the past. The Ice Age was just ending. That was a period when ice covered much of the world. In the area that is now the Middle East, warming weather led people to discover something important. Seeds could be buried in soil, grown into plants, then cut down and eaten.

Today that system of growing plants is called farming. And farming changed the course of history. Humans no longer had to pack everything up and go from place to place to hunt and forage for their next meal. They could settle down. They could build villages and towns. They also had free time to make art and music. In short, they could create civilizations.

Over time, farmers got better at farming. They grew enough food during the warm months to keep people fed the whole year—even during winter, when it was harder to harvest. But storing surpluses of food, like wheat and barley, created a problem. It attracted hungry mice. And these rodents attracted a creature that loved to eat them: cats.

From Wild to Mild

Fortunately, the cats that hung around ancient farmers’ dwellings in search of rodents weren’t lions or tigers. They were wildcats, the much smaller and less aggressive cousins of lions and tigers. And the wildcats that spent time around people were even less aggressive than other wildcats.

Sometime between 9,000 and 10,000 years ago, early farmers must have figured out that these relatively docile creatures provided the important service of keeping stored food safe from pests. Some of those farmers likely started leaving out scraps of meat to make sure the wildcats would come back. Cared for by humans, the wildcats living on farms survived for longer than their wild counterparts.

When the tamer farm-dwelling wildcats mated, they produced even tamer kittens. As time went on, each new litter of kittens was tamer than the last. This process, called domestication, slowly changed wildcats into calmer, friendlier creatures. In other words, wildcats stopped being so wild and became more like, well, cats.

Humans soon realized that these felines could do more than protect food. In East Asia, cats prevented rodents from chewing up important documents. In ancient Egypt, cats chased away dangerous snakes and kept pesky birds from pecking at grain fields.

By the early 1600s, cats had spread to nearly every corner of the planet. This was a time when huge ships were sailing around the world. Merchants and military commanders alike would bring cats on board to keep food—and their crews—safe from rodents and the diseases they spread. Cats also provided much-needed cuddles and laughs on long, dangerous voyages.

When the ships docked onshore, some of these cats trotted off and made new homes. Indeed, that’s how domestic cats made their way to North America.

Fortunately, the cats that went to farming towns in search of rodents weren’t lions or tigers. They were wildcats, the much smaller and less aggressive cousins of lions and tigers. And the wildcats that spent time around people were even less aggressive than other wildcats.

Sometime between 9,000 and 10,000 years ago, early farmers must have figured out that these relatively docile creatures helped keep stored food safe from pests. Some of those farmers probably left out scraps of meat to make sure the wildcats would come back. Cared for by humans, the wildcats living on farms survived for longer than their wild counterparts.

When the farm-dwelling wildcats mated, they produced even tamer kittens. As time went on, each new litter of kittens was tamer than the last. This process is called domestication. It slowly changed wildcats into calmer, friendlier creatures. In other words, wildcats stopped being so wild. They became more like, well, cats.

Humans soon realized that these felines could do more than protect food. In East Asia, cats prevented rodents from chewing up important documents. In ancient Egypt, cats chased away dangerous snakes. They also kept birds from pecking at grain fields.

By the early 1600s, cats had spread all over the planet. Huge ships sailed the world. Merchants and military commanders brought cats on board to keep food—and their crews—safe from rodents and the diseases they spread. Cats also provided cuddles and laughs on long, dangerous voyages.

When the ships docked onshore, some cats ran off. They made new homes. That’s how domestic cats made their way to North America.

Good Companions

Eventually, people started to think of cats more as companions than protectors. For a long time, though, only the very wealthy could afford to feed and care for a pet. That changed in the mid-1800s after the industrial revolution. Thanks to this period of rapid scientific and technological development, the wealth of many Americans increased. More people could afford to add cats to their households. And many began treating their cats like family.

Companies soon began manufacturing goods that made owning a cat even easier. In the 1930s, the first scratching posts were created so cats could be kept in the home without them shredding the furniture with their claws. Premade cat food also appeared on store shelves, which made feeding cats more convenient. And by 1950, the first kitty litter products hit the market. Now pet cats could stay by our sides all day without turning our homes into smelly messes.

Today cats are the second-most-popular pet in America. Millions of us just can’t get enough of our precious kitties. We love to pet, pamper, and cuddle them—and post adorable clips of them on TikTok.

So the next time you watch a cute cat video, think about how it all began about 10,000 years ago, with a wildcat chasing a mouse on a farm.

Eventually, people started to think of cats as companions. For a long time, though, only the very wealthy could afford to feed and care for a pet. That changed in the mid-1800s after the industrial revolution. This was a period of rapid scientific and technological development. The wealth of many Americans increased. More people could afford to have cats. And many began treating their cats like family.

Companies soon began manufacturing goods that made owning a cat even easier. In the 1930s, the first scratching posts were created. Now cats could be kept in the home without them clawing at the furniture. Premade cat food also appeared in stores. This made feeding cats easier. And by 1950, the first kitty litter products hit the market. Now pet cats would no longer turn homes into smelly messes.

Today cats are the second-most-popular pet in America. Millions of us just can’t get enough of our precious kitties. We love to pet, pamper, and cuddle them—and post adorable clips of them on TikTok.

So the next time you watch a cute cat video, think about this: It all began about 10,000 years ago, with a wildcat chasing a mouse on a farm.

Why We Love This Weirdo Cat

Cat videos are wildly popular on social media. But . . . why?

By Jennifer Dignan and Adee Braun

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Research has shown that watching videos of cats can improve our mood.

You’re staring at your phone, watching a TikTok of an orange kitten scarfing down its dinner while happily meowing. You should be working on your history paper, but—oh look! A compilation of cats knocking things over. Why do they do that?! You keep scrolling. Awwwww. These two tabbies are sleeping on each other!!!

Suddenly an hour has passed, and you’ve done nothing but watch a bunch of cats being . . . cats. And you don’t even have a cat! In fact, you don’t even like cats all that much. Why can’t you stop watching these furry creatures? Is there something wrong with you?

No—not at all. Most of us have probably spent more time scrolling through silly cat content than we’d like to admit. After all, cats are all over our feeds. Every day, about 90,000 cat videos are uploaded to YouTube. A 2015 study in the psychology journal Computers in Human Behavior found that people are more than twice as likely to post a picture or video of a cat online than they are to post a selfie. As anyone who has ever seen Instagram sensation Nala Cat wearing a knit hat will tell you, there is something about cat content that we just can’t resist. But what is it?

You’re watching a TikTok of an orange kitten. It’s eating its dinner while happily meowing. You should be working on your history paper. But look! A compilation of cats knocking things over. Why do they do that?! You keep scrolling. Awwwww. These two tabbies are sleeping on each other!!!

Suddenly an hour has passed. All you have done is watch cat videos. And you don’t even have a cat! You don’t even like cats all that much. Why can’t you stop watching these furry creatures? Is there something wrong with you?

No—not at all. Most of us have probably spent a lot of time watching cat videos. Cats are all over our feeds. Every day, about 90,000 cat videos are uploaded to YouTube. People are more than twice as likely to post a picture or video of a cat than they are to post a selfie. That’s according to a 2015 study in the psychology journal Computers in Human Behavior. Have you seen Instagram sensation Nala Cat wearing a knit hat? Then you know there is something about cat content that we just can’t resist. But what is it?

The Cute Factor

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It might seem like the answer is simple: Cats are cute. And it’s true—cats are cute, with their big eyes, little noses, and soft, cuddly bodies. Of course we want to stare at them for hours. But the reason we find these features so cute and irresistible is that our brains associate them with babies, defenseless creatures that humans are wired to love and protect. And the same instinct that draws us to babies also draws us to cats. In other words, it’s only natural that we’d gravitate toward cat content.

Cats are far from the only cute creatures on social media, though, so there must be other reasons why they rule the internet. One of these is, no doubt, the deep connection that we share with them. Cats are among the most popular pets in the world; Americans alone own some 74 million of them. That’s nearly one cat for every four people in the U.S.!

The strong and loving relationship between cats and humans goes all the way back to ancient times. In some societies, cats were even worshipped as divine creatures. In ancient Egypt, for example, the cat-headed goddess Bastet was one of the most beloved deities, and the punishment for killing a cat was often death! Beloved cats were even turned into mummies and buried alongside pharaohs in their tombs. Perhaps this deep love and admiration for cats that took root so long ago became somewhat of a cultural tradition over time, with our love for cats getting passed down from generation to generation. And now part of that tradition is showing love to cats not just in person but on our screens as well.

The answer might seem simple: Cats are cute. And it’s true—cats are cute, with their big eyes, little noses, and soft, cuddly bodies. Of course we want to stare at them for hours. But why do we think they are so cute? It’s because our brains associate them with babies, defenseless creatures that humans are wired to love and protect. That same instinct draws us to cats. In other words, it’s only natural that we’d gravitate toward cat content.

But there are other cute creatures on social media. So there must be other reasons why cats rule the internet. One of these is probably the deep connection that we share with them. Cats are among the most popular pets in the world. Americans alone own some 74 million of them. That’s nearly one cat for every four people in the U.S.!

The strong and loving relationship between cats and humans goes all the way back to ancient times. In some societies, cats were worshipped as divine creatures. In ancient Egypt, the cat-headed goddess Bastet was one of the most beloved deities. The punishment for killing a cat was often death! Pet cats were even turned into mummies and buried alongside pharaohs in their tombs. Perhaps this love for cats that began long ago became a cultural tradition over time. Our love for cats got passed down from generation to generation. And now part of that tradition is showing love to cats on our screens.

Mysterious and Elusive

via Instagram

polite cat

Another reason for the popularity of cat videos and memes is that cats are mysterious. It’s often hard to tell what they may be thinking or feeling. In fact, scientists have found that most humans are pretty bad at reading a cat’s facial expressions. Oftentimes we end up assigning our own human feelings and emotions to them. Assigning human characteristics or emotions to animals is called anthropomorphizing, and we love to do it with cats—mostly because it makes us laugh. Consider the famous “polite cat” meme. Why is this cat making this face? Is he is trying to smile? Is he looking for treats? Who knows! But the photo has become one of the most popular memes of all time. It’s been shared thousands of times with different captions.

Cats are also elusive. Dogs we see all the time—walking down the street, playing in parks. Many cats, however, live indoors and are rarely seen by anyone but their owners. Even our own cats are unlikely to entertain us on demand; cats are known, after all, for their independence. So we turn to social media, where we can watch them do cute, funny stuff whenever we want.

What’s more, dog owners have a special space to get together and talk about their pups: the dog park. Most cat owners can’t bring their cats outside to meet other cat fans. So they go to social media to connect over their purring friends.

Certain videos may also give a sense of satisfaction to those who feel snubbed. Ignore me when I call you? Walk away when I want to pet you? Well, ha! You just fell into a fish tank!

Chances are, though, that most of us would be happy to cuddle the cats we see online, to hold them on our laps and pet them as we stare at our phones . . . watching more cat videos.

Another reason for the popularity of cat content is that cats are mysterious. It’s often hard to tell what they are thinking or feeling. In fact, scientists have found that most humans are bad at reading a cat’s facial expressions. Often, we assign our own human feelings and emotions to them. Assigning human characteristics or emotions to animals is called anthropomorphizing. We love to do it with cats. It makes us laugh. Consider the famous “polite cat” meme. Why is this cat making this face? Is he trying to smile? Is he looking for treats? Who knows! But the photo has become one of the most popular memes of all time. It’s been shared thousands of times with different captions.

Cats are also elusive. We see dogs all the time. They walk down the street. They play in parks. Many cats, however, live indoors. They are rarely seen by anyone but their owners. Even our own cats are unlikely to entertain us on demand. Cats are known for their independence. So we turn to social media. There, we can watch them do cute, funny stuff whenever we want.

Also, dog owners can meet and talk about their pups at the dog park. Most cat owners can’t bring their cats outside to meet other cat fans. So they go to social media to connect over their purring friends.

Certain videos may also give a sense of satisfaction to those who feel snubbed. Ignore me when I call you? Walk away when I want to pet you? Well, ha! You just fell into a fish tank!

Chances are, though, that most of us would be happy to cuddle the cats we see online, to hold them on our laps and pet them as we stare at our phones watching more cat videos.

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Writing Contest

Explain how the relationship between cats and humans has changed over time. Your response can be in the form of a comic, an essay, a slideshow, or a poem. Entries must be submitted to Cat contest by a teacher, parent, or legal guardian.* Three winners will each get a copy of Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate.

^{*Entries must be written by a student in grades 4-12 and submitted by their teacher, parent, or legal guardian, who will be the entrant and must be a legal resident of the U.S. age 18 or older. See Contest Page for details.}

Writing Contest

^{This article was originally published in the March 2025 issue.}

Audio ()

Activities (6)

Quizzes (1)

Answer Key (1)

Audio ()

Activities (6)

Quizzes (1)

Answer Key (1)

Essential Questions: How do animals become domesticated? How does social media affect our perception of animals? Why are we more drawn to some kinds of animals than to others?

1. Prepare to Read

(20 minutes)

Have Fun With Cat Photos (10 minutes)

Project or have students turn to the grid of cat photos that appears at the beginning of the article (page 9 in the printed magazine). Direct students to choose a human characteristic or emotion to go with each photo. Students should then share and discuss their choices with a partner. Ask if any pairs of students had any matching choices.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

Project the Google Slides version of Vocabulary: Definitions and Practice on your whiteboard. Review the definitions and complete the activity as a class. Highlighted words: docile, domestication, elusive, forage, surpluses. Audio pronunciations of the words and a read-aloud of the definitions are embedded on the slides. Optionally, print the PDF version or share the slideshow link to your LMS and have students preview the words and complete the activity independently before class.

2. Read and Discuss

(45 minutes)

“The Curious History of Cats”

Read the article once as a class. (Differentiation: Share the lower-Lexile version of the article.) Optionally, have students listen to the audio read-aloud of the article while they follow along. The audio read-aloud is located in the Resources tab in Teacher View and at the top of the story page in Student View.

Divide students into groups to read the article again and respond to the following Discussion Questions, also located in the Resources tab.

Discussion Questions (15 minutes)

1. What structure does the section “The Rise of Farming” mostly follow? What does this section contribute to the article? (text structure) The section “The Rise of Farming” mostly follows a chronological structure as it gives a brief history of the rise of human civilization. This section provides information about how changes in how humans lived led to humans developing a relationship with cats.

2. In what ways have cats helped humans? How have humans helped cats? (problem and solution) Cats have helped humans protect stored food, farmland, and important documents from rodents, birds, and other pests on land and at sea. Cats have also provided humans with companionship, entertainment, and love. Humans have helped cats live longer, safer lives by providing them with food and shelter.

3. Why did keeping a cat as a pet become more common over time? (key ideas and details) Keeping a cat as a pet became more common as people got used to having cats around as workers. However, for years the expense of keeping a pet cat prevented many people from doing so. When Americans’ wealth increased following the industrial revolution in the mid-1800s, more Americans were able to afford a pet cat. Then companies began manufacturing goods that made having a cat even easier. Scratching posts and kitty litter made it easier to keep a cat inside the home, and premade cat food made feeding a cat more convenient.

“Why We Love This Weirdo Cat”

Break students into groups again to read and discuss the article. Optionally, have students listen to the read-aloud while they follow along. The audio read-aloud is located in the Resources tab in Teacher View and at the top of the story page in Student View.

As a class, discuss the following Discussion Questions.

Break students into groups again to read and discuss the informational text. Optionally, have students listen to the read-aloud of the informational text while they follow along. The audio read-aloud is located in the Resources tab in Teacher View and at the top of the story page in Student View.

As a class, discuss the following Discussion Questions.

Discussion Questions (15 minutes)

1. What evidence do authors Jennifer Dignan and Adee Braun provide to support the idea that cats rule the internet? (supporting a claim) Authors Jennifer Dignan and Adee Braun support the idea that cats rule the internet by providing examples of well-known cat memes and popular cat videos. The authors also provide statistics that support this idea, such as the fact that about 90,000 cat videos are uploaded to YouTube every day. Dignan and Braun also refer to a study that found people are more than twice as likely to post a picture or video of a cat online than they are to post a selfie.

2. What is the section “Mysterious and Elusive” mostly about? (central idea) The section is about how the mysterious nature of cats contributes to their online popularity. Cats’ emotions can be hard to read, and people enjoy guessing or assigning human characteristics and emotions to cats. Cats’ elusive behavior also makes people more interested in watching them online; it can be hard to interact with cats in real life, so people turn to social media to satisfy their desire for interaction with cats.

3. Do you think cats are good companions for humans? Use information from both articles to support your response. (critical thinking, synthesis) Answers will vary. Some students might say that the strong and loving relationship between cats and humans goes all the way back to ancient times, and a deep connection exists between our species. Cats provide us with cuddles, laughs, and endless love. Other students may say cats are too elusive and independent to be good companions for humans. Cats do everything on their own terms and aren’t afraid to snub you.

3. Write About It: Synthesis

(45 minutes)

Have students complete the Featured Skill Activity: Synthesis. This activity prepares them to respond to the writing prompt on page 13 in the printed magazine and at the bottom of the digital story page:

Explain how the relationship between cats and humans has changed over time. Your response can be in the form of a comic, an essay, a slideshow, or a poem.

Alternatively, have students choose a task from the Choice Board, a menu of culminating tasks. (Our Choice Board options include the writing prompt from the magazine, differentiated versions of the writing prompt, and additional creative ways for students to demonstrate their understanding of a story or article.)

Explain how the relationship between cats and humans has changed over time. Your response can be in the form of a comic, an essay, a slideshow, or a poem.

Connected readings from the Scope archives

Connected readings about our complex relationship with animals:

Paired Texts: “Rats”
Paired Texts: “The Amazing History of Dogs”
Narrative Nonfiction: “The Pigeon Hero of World War I”
Debate: “Should We Clone Our Pets?”

Connected readings about our complex relationship with animals:

Paired Texts: “Rats”
Paired Texts: “The Amazing History of Dogs”
Narrative Nonfiction: “The Pigeon Hero of World War I”
Debate: “Should We Clone Our Pets?”

Text-to-Speech

The Curious History of Cats

The Curious History of Cats

Cats have been curled up by our sides for thousands of years. How did it all begin?

By Talia Cowen

The Rise of Farming

From Wild to Mild

Good Companions

Why We Love This Weirdo Cat

Cat videos are wildly popular on social media. But . . . why?

By Jennifer Dignan and Adee Braun

The Cute Factor

Mysterious and Elusive

Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building

1. Prepare to Read

(20 minutes)

Have Fun With Cat Photos (10 minutes)

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

2. Read and Discuss

(45 minutes)

“The Curious History of Cats”

Discussion Questions (15 minutes)

“Why We Love This Weirdo Cat”

Discussion Questions (15 minutes)

3. Write About It: Synthesis

(45 minutes)

Connected readings from the Scope archives

Help/Support

Help/Support

About Us

Subscriber Information

The Curious History of Cats

The Curious History of Cats

Cats have been curled up by our sides for thousands of years. How did it all begin?

By Talia Cowen

The Rise of Farming

From Wild to Mild

Good Companions

Why We Love This Weirdo Cat

Cat videos are wildly popular on social media. But . . . why?

By Jennifer Dignan and Adee Braun

The Cute Factor

Mysterious and Elusive

Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building

1. Prepare to Read

(20 minutes)

Have Fun With Cat Photos (10 minutes)

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

2. Read and Discuss

(45 minutes)

“The Curious History of Cats”

Discussion Questions (15 minutes)

“Why We Love This Weirdo Cat”

Discussion Questions (15 minutes)

3. Write About It: Synthesis

(45 minutes)

Connected readings from the Scope archives

Help/Support

Help/Support

About Us

Subscriber Information

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