Turkey revealed as the homeland of cats

It is believed that cats, which can be found on every continent in the world except Antarctica, spread from the lands of present-day Turkey 10 thousand years ago.

DNA analyses conducted in 2018 indicate that the ancestors of cats most likely originated from Turkey and that early farmers used these animals to combat rodents.

Cats also benefited from the agricultural revolution that was spreading across the world, and they reached Cyprus in 2500 B.C.

Within the next few centuries, cats passed through human agency into Bulgaria and Romania, and subsequently spread to Egypt.

Animals were valued here more than by the Egyptians; the local people attached importance to cats as a sign of nobility and wealth.

Later, as their popularity grew, Egyptian cats were transported by Romans and Vikings on their ships to their own countries for pest control purposes.

Cats subsequently spread throughout all of Africa, Europe, and Asia. These animals were finally transported across the ocean by humans on ships with the discovery of the Americas.

It is estimated that today, one in every three homes in the US has at least one cat, and the total number of cats in the country is 93.5 million.