The domestication of cats has resulted in various advantages, including the widespread adoption of cats as pets and their potential as a predator of rodents. Cats have also become incredibly useful as domestic pets, with multiple breeds, including the so-called stray, among the most common. Over the centuries, domestic cat populations have multiplied dramatically.
Today, there are more than half a billion cats around the world, and this is mainly due to human domestication. Cats and humans have shared a long history, though there is little archaeological evidence to back this up beyond ancient Egypt.
One study claims that cats were domesticated nearly 8,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent, where they lived alongside people. The other study found that domestication of other animals began in the Fertile Crescent. Scientists think cat domestication resulted from humans deliberately feeding and encouraging cats to hang around as a mouse-killing tool. But the scientists admit that this research is far from definitive, as the evidence is hardly conclusive.
It is evident that cats, especially domestic cats, hardly ever hunt rodents. In fact, dogs are more prolific rodent hunters. So, if cats and dogs were domesticated on the same property, the property owner may find that their dog does a better job of hunting rodents, caring for cattle, and keeping intruders off the property.