How cats became domesticated

Domestic cats originated from an ancestral wild species, Felis silvestris, the European and African Wild Cat. The domestic cat is now considered a separate species, named Felis catus. In appearance, domestic cats are similar to their wild relatives, and many of their behaviors, such as hunting and other activity patterns, remain essentially unchanged from their ancestral form. Cats were first domesticated in Egypt around 2000 BC. Domestic cats spread slowly to other parts of the globe, possibly because Egyptians prevented export of the animal they worshipped as a goddess. However, by 500 BC the Greeks had acquired domestic cats, and they spread cats throughout their sphere of influence. The Romans introduced the domestic cat to Britain by 300 AD. Domestic cats have now been introduced around the world, mostly by colonists from Europe.