anybody help me for research on cats?

Question

what they came off from
example: wolves came from a tree climbing predator.
their life as old modern to new modern

Answer 1

They seem to have diverged roughly 9-10 million years ago. It seems most likely that they evolved from a miacid or similar ancestor although it is actually quite difficult to trace the cat lineage through the archeological record. The remains of cats seem to be few and far between and the fossils we do have are not optimal samples.

In 2006 the O'Brien team published a new cat evolutionary lineage based on genetic analysis, suggesting cats crossing various land bridges approx 11 million years ago and then when the water levels cut off the land bridges they began to evolve apart with big cats diverging at about 6 million years ago.

Answer 2

More than 50 million years ago, a small, "weasel-like" animal called "Miacis" roamed the Earth. Most scientists now believe that this animal was the ancestor of today's domestic cats, as well as the ancestor for other mammals including raccoons, dogs and bears. It was about 40 million years ago that actual members of the cat family first appeared.

Look Here! As early as 3500 B.C., Egyptians were domesticating wildcats from Africa, and these domesticated wildcats became treasured pets and were honored in many forms of artwork for their skill in hunting and killing rodents such as snakes, rats and mice.

Look Here! Around 1500 B.C., cats were actually considered sacred by the Egyptians, and if a person killed a cat, they were usually put to death. Egyptians shaved their eyebrows as a symbol of their grief when their pet cat died, and they made their dead cats into mummies. They also worshipped a goddess of fertility and love named "Bast" or "Bastet", who had the body of a woman and the head of a cat.

Look Here! Cats first came to Europe and the Middle East about 1000 B.C., most likely from Greek and Phoenician traders. The ancient Greeks and Romans also highly valued cats for their ability to control undesirable rodents. The cat was considered the guardian spirit of a household, and the symbol of liberty in Rome.

Look Here! Domestic cats then spread throughout Asia, where they were used to protect the silkworm cocoons from rodents, which was vital to the silk industry. The people of the Orient greatly admired the mystery and beauty of the cat, and many writers and artists in Japan and China celebrated these animals in their art.

Look Here! During the Middle Ages, however, superstitions flourished. In Europe the cat was associated with the Devil, evil and witchcraft, and hundreds of thousands of cats were killed out of this fear. The destruction of so many cats upset the balance of the rodent population contributing greatly to the spread of a form of the bubonic plague called "black death", in which the deadly disease is transmitted to people by rat fleas. Almost one fourth of the entire population in Europe in the 1300's were killed by this plague.

Look Here! Not surprisingly, Europeans once more began to realize the important role cats played in controlling rodents, and cats gradually regained their popularity. Traders, explorers and colonists brought domestic cats with them to the New World during the 1600's and 1700's, and settlers continued to take their cats with them as they moved towards the West. Most all the cats of today in North America are descendants of these cats.

Look Here! Did you know that the very first cat show was held in London in 1871?? And that the first cat association was formed in 1887 in Great Britain, called the National Cat Club of Great Britain?? Cat associations register purebred cats by recording the ancestries (pedigrees) of the animals to ensure the preservation of the breeds. These associations also sponsor cat shows and establish the standards for judging of each breed. Breeders and pet owners display their finest cats at these shows, where the cats compete in groups based on factors such as breed, age, and sometimes sex. Highly trained judges at these shows award points for how well each cat meets the standards of their breed, and cats that earn enough points may become champions or grand champions.

Fun Facts About the History and Evolution of the Cat!

Look Here! Did you know that domestic cats can run about 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour??

Look Here! Did you know that the cat's tail is an extension of its backbone, and the flexible tail helps a cat keep its balance and land on its feet when it falls??

Look Here! Did you know that a cat can move each ear independently, and improve its hearing by aiming the cup of its ears in the direction from which a sound is coming??
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THE CAT IN HISTORY

No one knows exactly when or how the cat first appeared on Earth. Most investigators agree, however, that the cat's most ancient ancestor probably was a weasellike animal called Miacis, which lived about 40 million or 50 million years ago.

Miacis is believed by many to be the common ancestor of all land-dwelling carnivores, including dogs as well as cats. But apparently the cats existed for millions of years before the first dogs. Perhaps best-known of the prehistoric cats is Smilodon, the saber-toothed cat sometimes called a tiger. This formidable animal hunted throughout much of the world but became extinct long ago.

Cats in the Ancient World

The first associations of cats with humans may have begun toward the end of the Stone Age. It took many centuries, however, for the cat to become established as a domestic animal. About 5,000 years ago cats were accepted members of the households of Egypt. Many of the breeds we now know have evolved from these ancient cats. The Egyptians used the cat to hunt fish and birds as well as to destroy the rats and mice that infested the grain stocks along the Nile. The cat was considered so valuable that laws protected it, and eventually a cult of cat worship developed that lasted for more than 2,000 years. The cat goddess Bastet--whose name was also spelled Bast, Pasht, and many other ways--became one of the most sacred of all figures of worship. She was represented with the head of a cat. Soon all cats became sacred to the Egyptians, and all were well cared for.

After a cat's death, its body was mummified and buried in a special cemetery. One cemetery found in the 1800s contained the preserved bodies of more than 300,000 cats.

The Egyptians had strict laws prohibiting the export of cats; however, because cats were valued in other parts of the world for their rat-catching prowess, they were taken by the Greeks and Romans to most parts of Europe. Domestic cats were also found in India, China, and Japan where they were prized as pets as well as rodent catchers.

Cats in the Medieval World

The fate of the cat underwent a radical change in Europe during the Middle Ages. It became an object of superstitions and was associated with evil. The cat was believed to be endowed with powers of black magic--an associate of witches and perhaps the embodiment of the devil. Persons who kept cats were suspected of wickedness and were often put to death along with their cats. Cats were hunted, tortured, and sacrificed. On religious feast days, large numbers of cats were sometimes burned alive as part of the celebrations. Live cats were sealed inside the walls of houses and other buildings as they were being constructed, in the belief that this would bring good luck. As the cat population dwindled, the disease-carrying rat population increased, a factor that contributed greatly to the spread of plagues and other epidemics throughout Europe.

By the 17th century the cat had begun to regain its former place as a companion to people and a controller of rodents. Cardinal Richelieu, in France, was noted for his love of cats. Many writers, particularly in France and England, began to keep cats as pets and to write of their good qualities. It became fashionable to own and breed cats, especially the long-haired varieties. By the late 1800s cat shows were being held in England and the United States and cat fanciers' organizations were established. Many of the superstitions that arose during the period of cat persecution, however, are still evident today in the form of such sayings as "A black cat crossing your path brings bad luck."
More info: http://www.lookd.com/cats/history.html

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History of the Domestic Cat ~

A Wild Puma

Cats have always been a source of fascination for mankind throughout history. Today cats have become one of the world's most popular pets perfectly suited to the lifestyle of our day. They are beautiful, enigmatic and easy-to-care for pets. But where and when did the domestic cat originate? This page will give you some insight into this question.

It has been about 4000 years since the first cats were domesticated. The Ancient Egyptians were the first to keep and use cats to control vermin and other pests to protect stores of food. In Ancient Egypt, the cat was revered as a hunter and worshiped as gods and goddesses. The ancient Egyptians imposed the death penalty for killing cats and cats were also mummified before being buried.

Other ancient civilisations later began to domesticate the cat and took tame felines to Italy where they slowly spread around Europe. Eventually, they arrived in the New World with the Pilgrims. The shorthaired domestic cat spread across the world from Egypt while longhaired cats came later from Turkey and Iran. The domestic cat also spread from India to China and Japan.

Except for a short period of persecution in the Middle Ages when cats were associated with the devil, by the eighteenth century cats had become popular household pets world wide.

The wild cats of today such as Lions and Tigers descended from early carnivores called miacids. From there the modern wild cat developed into three main types; the European wild cat, the African wild cat and the Asiatic desert cat. The domestic cat is thought to have evolved from the African wild cat because of its tabby markings.
More info: http://www.catsinfo.com/history.html