The History of House Cats

The History of House Cats. Written by Keith and Sarah Kordermarten. Focus Question. How did the relationship between cats and people change over time?

《家猫的历史》，作者：基思·科德马滕、萨拉·科德马滕。 核心问题：猫和人类的关系是如何随时间变化的？

an unlikely friend. Cats are the world's most popular pet. However, they are different from most other tame animals. Cats are friendly, but they don't need help from others. They usually hunt and live alone.

意想不到的朋友。 猫是全世界最受欢迎的宠物。 不过它们和其他大多数驯养动物不一样。 猫很友好，但不需要其他同类的帮助。 它们通常独自捕猎、独自生活。

Cats also don't work for humans in the same way that dogs, cows, horses, and sheep do. This means that cats and humans are a surprising pair. So how did cats become some of our dearest friends?

猫也不像狗、牛、马、羊那样为人类工作。 这说明猫和人类是一对出人意料的搭档。 那猫是怎么成为我们最亲爱的伙伴的呢？

The Taming of Cats Some scientists think that cats were first tamed in the Middle East about 12 ,000 years ago. At that time, people began to grow and store grain for food. Mice and rats came to eat the grain, and cats came to hunt them. People might have started feeding cats because they were happy to get rid of the pests. Over time, cats that were better with people bred rapidly near towns. These cats were especially successful because they could easily get food.

猫的驯化。 部分科学家认为，猫最早在中东被驯化的时间大约是一万两千年前。 当时，人类开始种植并储存粮食作为食物。 老鼠会跑来吃粮食，猫就来捕猎这些老鼠。 人们可能会开始喂猫，因为他们很高兴能除掉这些害虫。 久而久之，更亲近人类的猫就在城镇附近快速繁衍。 这些猫活得格外好，因为它们能轻松找到食物。

Some scientists think that people simply may have liked the way cats looked. Cats have big eyes and round faces. These features tend to bring out a caring response in humans. In other words, people may have taken in cats because they are cute.

还有部分科学家认为，人类可能单纯就是喜欢猫的长相。 猫有着大大的眼睛和圆圆的脸蛋。 这些特征很容易激发人类的关爱之心。 换句话说，人类收养猫可能就是因为它们太可爱啦。

A growing friendship. The friendship between cats and people grew over time. In ancient Egypt, for example, people believed that cats were magical animals that brought good luck. Some of their gods even took the form of cats.

日渐深厚的友谊 猫和人类的友谊随着时间推移变得越来越深。 比如在古埃及，人们相信猫是拥有魔力的动物，能带来好运。 他们信奉的一些神灵甚至会化身成猫的样子。