Although Egypt may have worshipped cats (which explains why the country is no longer a super power in the world), Egypt wasn’t the first country to domesticate cats. Based on evidence uncovered in ancient Chinese farms, archeologists believe that China may be the first country to domesticate cats (although judging form the current behavior of cats today, they obviously didn’t do a very good job of it).

Fiona Marshall, a professor of archaeology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, said, “Our data suggest that cats were attracted to ancient farming villages by small animals, such as rodents that were living on the grain that the farmers grew, ate and stored.”

She continued, “Results of this study show that the village of Quanhucun was a source of food for the cats 5,300 years ago, and the relationship between humans and cats was commensal, or advantageous for the cats. Even if these cats were not yet domesticated, our evidence confirms that they lived in close proximity to farmers, and that the relationship had mutual benefits.”

Today, the benefits all flow towards the cat and away from the humans who must spend time and money catering to the cat. To read more about the domestication of cats in China, click here.