The Birth of Cat Fancy in the United States

Cat fancy in the United States was imported, naturally enough, from England. An Englishman named James T. Hyde organized a cat show in Madison Square Garden on May 8, 1895. It was hot and muggy and gross on that May afternoon, but over a hundred exhibitors showed up with 176 felines to compete in the show. The winner was a Main Coon, a male. 

The following year the show was smaller, with only 130 cats entered. That didn't matter to cat fanciers and they formed the American Cat Club at the conclusion of the 1896 show. This was the first registry in the United States and it took it upon itself to verify pedigrees and maintain an American studbook. They also sponsored shows and promoted the welfare of cats. Unfortunately, they disbanded a year later and there were no more shows at Madison Square Garden for several years.

Cat fancy in the United States is ever fluid, however, so it was in 1899 that the Chicago Cat Club was founded. Then the Beresford Club was established. It eventually supplanted the Chicago Cat Club, becoming the premier cat club in the United States. This wouldn't last long however, because the 20th century was dawning.

The Birth of Cat Fancy in England

Cat fancy, at least in its most basic form, goes back further than you might think. It began in England, as so many things did. The first documented cat show in England was in 1598, the same year that Shakespeare finally published Much Ado About Nothing. The cat show was at the St. Giles Fair, but apparently it didn't attract much interest as it would be another 273 years before true cat fancy would take root in England. In 1871, a man named Harrison Weir organized a truly marvelous event. His cat show was hosted at London's Crystal Palace, and it wasn't just an event to show off your cats. Weir, being a gentleman of many talents, had spent considerable time on this event. He decided cats would be judged by judges, and he even wrote the Standards by which each of the breeds entered would be judged. Then he served as one of the three judges for the show. The show was a hit.

The breeds chosen for exhibition at shows in the 19th century were of necessity limited to those available in England at the time. There were Abyssinian and Manx, of course, but there were a couple more. The Royal Cat of Siam were permitted in both pointed and solid-chocolate colors. These cats were likely the descendants of the cats brought to England by the Romans so many centuries before. Longhaired cats were their own category, a category which included Persians, Angoras, and some of the cats from the colder climes of Russia. There were even classes for hybrid cats, if they were crossed between domestic cats and wild cats, and classes for the heaviest cats, gelded cats, and "Cats Belonging to the Working Men". This last class was quite literally for the working class of people. The entry fee was reduced, as was the prize money for the winners in that class.

This show was so popular that it led to more shows, which eventually led to the formation of the National Cat Club (NCC) in 1887. Harrison Weir was, naturally enough, the president of the NCC. The NCC, whose motto was "Beauty Lives by Kindness", served more than one purpose. It was a club, yes, but it was also a governing body. It spent a lot of time creating a national stud book and even created the first register to record the lineage of pedigreed cats. Since none of this had existed before, it took a great deal of time and effort to accomplish this. Harrison Weir published Our Cats in 1889 to showcase some of their work.

But of course, a rival would come along. The Cat Club (TCC) was founded in 1898 by Lady Marcus Beresford, among others. The TCC created its own studbook and register, so if you wanted to show your cats in both the NCC and TCC, you had to enroll them in both. This annoyed some fanciers, but it was what it was. There was considerable rivalry between the NCC and TCC for five years, but eventually The Cat Club disbanded.

Other cat clubs had popped up across England, though, which was just as annoying to cat fanciers. Eventually, all these various cubs in England agreed to amalgamate, and in March 1910 they formed the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy. This remains the oldest and largest cat association in Great Britain today. If you want to show cats in England, you register with the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy. They're where it's at, at least in Great Britain.

The Ancestry of the Modern Domestic Cat

The origins of the modern domestic feline has been hotly debated throughout the last century or so. While there is no firm answer to the question of the ancestry of the cat, there are many conclusions that may be reached with a little research and some creative thinking.

Who is the Ancestor of the Domestic Cat?

It is most likely that the African wild cat, which has the scientific name of Felis silvestris libyca, is the ancestor of the modern domestic cat. The African wild cat is yellow in color with faint stripes, and is only slightly larger than the modern-day cat. This species is found mostly in the deserts of Africa, Syria, Arabia, and some parts of India.

There are many reasons to conclude that the African wild cat is the ancestor of the modern feline, including both the color and size of the wild cat. However, one of the most compelling is that during the time when domestication of cats most likely occurred, the African wild cat was living in close proximity to humans. In fact, the African wild cat was living closer to humans than any other feline species, as far as can be determined.

In addition to that, the modern cat does have a hearing apparatus that indicates that it may have been developed in open spaces, such as the desert and other arid climates. Behaviorally, the African wild cat is very docile and easily tamed, much more so than other cats of its size. All of these, and several others, are compelling reasons to conclude that the African wild cat is indeed the ancestor of the modern domestic feline.

Other Possible Ancestors of the Domestic Cat

It is also possible that Pallas's Cat, whose scientific name is Felis manul, played a part in the development of the modern feline. This cat is believed by some to be the longhaired cat's distant ancestor, due to its own long hair. This breed is native to the steppes of northern and central Asia.

Perhaps the European wild cat, Felis silvestris silvestris, who was never actually domesticated, bred with domesticated cats in the fourth century. This would explain the darker tabby markings than those produced by descendants of the African wild cat. It is important to note that the ancestors of the modern-day cat were ticked, mackered, or spotted tabbies. The classic tabby markings, also called blotched, that are seen today are not found in any other member of the cat family. It appears that classic tabby marking are a gene mutation in the domestic cat, and not passed down from any previous ancestor.

Whatever the origins of the cat, it is clear that there is likely more than one ancestor. Our modern domestic cat is probably a mix of several feline species from across the globe. While most research suggests that the African wild cat is the most likely ancestor, it is impossible to rule out the influence of other breeds on the modern-day cat.

The Domestication of the Cat

Most likely, the cat was originally domesticated in Egypt, but the date of this can only be approximated. Though the earliest known pictographs representing cats appear around the third millennium BCE (Before Common Era), it is very difficult to say whether these were wild cats, or domesticated. However, it is almost certain that by approximately 1600 BCE, cats were slightly domesticated, as they become increasingly common in paintings and other Egyptian art.

The Beginnings of the Domesticated Cat

For all other domesticated animals, their integration into human life was purposely directed by humans. However, this does not appear to be the case with cats. Rather, it seems that the cat almost domesticated itself, with only slight help from the humans.

Regardless of how they were domesticated, it was certainly to the purpose of hunting vermin, and to some small degree for companionship. Essentially, as the human population grew and expanded, cats were naturally attracted to both the extra discarded food, and the increasing population of rats and mice. Slowly, as the cats proved that they were useful, humans began feeding them, hoping they'd stay. They did.

Why Domestication Took Longer With Cats Than Other Animals

Cats are not considered fully domesticated. In fact, cats are said to be the most domestic of the wild animals, and the most wild of the domestic. There are a couple of factors that have led to this development. First of all, with the exception of the lion and the cheetah, cats are solitary creatures. This is unlike any other domesticated animal. The survival of the cat does not depend upon a group; they answer only to themselves, as a general rule. Horses and dogs, though, follow a leader, an alpha. This natural group instinct makes it very easy for humans to become the alpha, the pack or herd leader, so to speak. A cat, not possessing this instinct, does not follow so easily.

Secondly, cats, until the late 19th century, were not selectively bred. Humans exerted virtually no control over their choice of mates. All other domesticated animals had been subjected to selective breeding for thousands of years before this. Since the more docile animals were chosen to breed, a more domestic temperament was naturally the result.

The Final Stage in the Domestication of the Cat

It could be argued that domestication, then, did not begin until humans began selectively breeding cats. It was not until the first pedigreed (meaning selectively bred) cats, came about that the feline became truly domesticated. The older the pedigree, the more domesticated the cat, in a manner of speaking.

The difference in temperament between pedigreed and non-pedigreed cats has not been officially studied, but experienced breeders who have both have been known to make some telling observations. The pedigreed cats are definitely more 'domesticated' than the non-pedigreed. This has long been the observation among cat fanciers and breeders alike.

Compared to dogs, goats, sheep, and horses, cats have been domesticated for only a short while. However, it can already be seen how selective breeding has changed and altered the cat and its personality. Based on this, most breeders would say that every effort should be made to breed as much for temperament as for do color and type.

Though the truth about the origins of the domestic cat will likely always be shrouded in mystery, it can be stated with a fair degree of certainty that the domestication of the modern feline began in or around ancient Egypt. This domestication spread, until the appearance of what is now seen as the modern cat.