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What wild cat did domestic cats come from?
Domestic cats are linked to the African/Near Eastern wildcat lineage. It is named Felis lybica in some sources and Felis silvestris lybica in others; the differing names reflect taxonomic conventions, not evidence for two separate wild ancestors. An influential 2007 population-genetics study grouped domestic cats with Near Eastern wildcats and proposed domestication alongside early farming communities in the Fertile Crescent. Driscoll and colleagues’ 2007 study assessed 979 domestic cats and wild progenitors.
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Calling a wildcat the “ancestor” describes a lineage, not necessarily one identifiable animal or a single moment when a wild species turned domestic. Wildcats could exploit rodents around grain stores, bringing them into contact with people. A close association, an animal living near a settlement, taming, and domestication are related but distinct things. Archaeological proximity alone does not establish that a cat belonged to the lineage of modern housecats.
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When and where did cats become domesticated?
The familiar account has often placed early domestication in the Near East, in connection with farming. Newer evidence reported in 2025 challenges that timeline: it points to North Africa as the source of precursors to modern housecats and suggests that those cats reached Europe much later than older reconstructions proposed. This is a substantial revision, not a settled final answer; the exact place and date remain open questions.
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| Evidence and interpretation | What it indicates | What it cannot settle alone |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 population-genetics analysis of 979 domestic and wild cats | Domestic cats grouped with Near Eastern wildcats; the authors inferred a Near Eastern origin associated with early agricultural villages. Driscoll et al. (2007) | It predates the reported 2025 whole-genome revision and relied on population-genetics evidence from sampled living cats. |
| 2017 ancient-DNA study spanning approximately 9,000 years | Maternal lineages shifted over time; Egyptian-associated lineages became more frequent in Europe and southwest Asia in later periods, consistent with cats moving with people. Ottoni et al. (2017) | Mitochondrial DNA follows maternal ancestry, not an individual’s complete genetic ancestry. Poor preservation also limited reconstruction of some African and Levantine histories. |
| 2025 whole-genome findings as reported by National Geographic | The report describes 225 sampled ancient cat specimens and 87 obtained genomes. It says sampled cats from before 200 BCE were not ancestors of modern housecats, and proposes a North African origin. Tamisiea, National Geographic (November 27, 2025) | This is a newer proposed interpretation relayed in journalism; the report does not resolve the precise domestication site or date. |
These studies do not ask exactly the same question with the same evidence. The 2007 work compared population patterns in modern sampled cats; the 2017 study traced maternal lineages in ancient and modern material; the 2025 report describes analysis of ancient whole genomes, which can combine evidence from more ancestry lines than mitochondrial DNA alone. Each helps reconstruct a different part of a history complicated by movement, interbreeding, DNA preservation, and the difficulty of distinguishing wild from domestic cat remains.
What does the newer North African proposal say?
According to National Geographic’s November 27, 2025 account of a Science study by Ottoni and colleagues, ancient cats sampled from before 200 BCE were genetically similar to European wildcats rather than ancestors of modern housecats. The report places the oldest remains on mainland Europe identified as ancestral domestic cats in the first century CE. Later domestic cats were genetically similar to present-day African wildcats around Tunisia, which the researchers interpret as support for a North African origin.
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The report describes a proposed dispersal route in which Phoenician and Punic trading and seafaring networks carried cats, followed by Roman-era spread across Europe. It also says cats at Roman military sites in Austria, Serbia, and Britain were closely linked to modern domestic cats. These are interpretations of genetic and archaeological evidence, not direct observations of particular cats travelling on specific voyages. More ancient sampling, especially from North Africa, will be important for clarifying where and when domestication took place.
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The Near Eastern interpretation drew support from the 2007 study’s grouping of domestic cats with Near Eastern wildcats and its proposed connection to early agricultural villages. Later, the 2017 study documented changes in maternal lineages across Europe, North Africa, and southwest Asia. Egyptian-associated mitochondrial lineage IV-C became more frequent in Europe and southwest Asia in later periods, a pattern the authors considered consistent with human-assisted movement through eastern Mediterranean networks.
That result tracks one strand of maternal ancestry; it does not by itself establish the birthplace of all modern housecats. The newer report’s whole-genome account offers a broader genetic view of sampled ancient cats and challenges the older timeline. Neither the earlier findings nor the newer proposal makes every uncertainty disappear: remains can be hard to classify, ancient DNA is unevenly preserved, and animal populations can move and mix.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why do tabby cats look like wildcats?
Tabby is a coat-pattern description, not a separate ancestry. Stripes and other patterns can evoke a wildcat’s camouflage, but a tabby’s appearance does not identify one particular ancestor or prove that its behavior comes directly from a wild relative.
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The 2017 ancient-DNA study examined a variant in the Taqpep gene associated with the blotched tabby pattern. The recessive allele was present in 3% of that study’s medieval southwest Asian sample; the authors reported that it accounted for the blotched pattern in 80% of present-day cats. They did not find the allele in their ancient samples from before the medieval period in southwest Asia. Those figures describe the study’s samples and findings, not a universal estimate for every cat population. The pattern offers one example of domestic coat variation emerging over time rather than defining the original wild lineage.
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