Beloved Ancient Chinese Cats Were Wilder Than Once Thought

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TThe precise origins of domestic cats have intrigued generations of scientists. Recently, genetic analysis identified North African wildcats as the most likely direct ancestor of the feline friends who now share our homes and steal our hearts. This study also indicated that the first domestic cats spread across the world much later than previously thought.

But this pet image becomes even more complex: Long before the cats we know and love today evolved, some human communities may have formed friendships with wild cats that never evolved into domestic cats. This includes people who lived in what is now Europe more than two millennia ago.

A new study suggests that this also appears to be the case for China’s early agricultural settlements, where people lived in close proximity to the native leopard cat for around 3,500 years. An international team of scientists has published a genetic analysis of feline remains from Chinese archaeological sites in Cellular genomics.

Read more: »The mystery of cave cats»

Previously, researchers thought that 5,400-year-old cat remains found in a human settlement in what is now western China belonged to domestic cats, but later genetic studies revealed that these remains belonged to leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis).

These little cats are native to various regions of Asia. Some scientists have suggested that domestic cats arrived in China during the Han dynasty, which spanned from 202 BC to 220 AD, according to a bone found in the ancient capital city of Chang’an, now located in China’s Shaanxi province. But it is difficult to distinguish the bones of domestic and wild felines with the naked eye.

Now, to clear up the confusion surrounding the history of the Chinese cat, researchers studied genetic information extracted from 22 ancient cat bones from China dated between 3500 BC and 1800 AD. These remains included almost all of the remains of small cats unearthed at archaeological sites across China.

The study’s findings rewrite the history of cats in the region. For example, researchers discovered that bones dating from the Han Dynasty period did not actually belong to domestic cats. This means that fully domesticated cats may not have arrived in China until around 1,400 years ago, probably transported by Silk Road merchants. The authors noted that domestic cats appear to be one of the most recent imports to China, since Eurasian domestic animals like goats, sheep, and cattle appeared between 3,000 and 2,000 BC.

Instead, they attached feline remains from some earlier human villages to leopard cats. These kittens appear to have bonded with humans by gobbling up small rodents, which rids farms of parasites. This intimate and mutually beneficial relationship is documented in ancient Chinese art, notably in paintings and plates.

Unlike domestic cats, now inextricably integrated into people’s daily lives, the study highlighted that the relationship between humans and leopard cats eventually faded and the creatures retreated to their natural habitats. This coincided with the collapse of the Han dynasty, against a backdrop of colder and drier conditions, reduced agricultural yields and social unrest.

The findings suggest that domestic cats only appeared six centuries later through traders – the feline species that captured the hearts of Chinese people and communities around the world.

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Main image: Soumyajit Nandy / Wikimedia Commons

• Molly Glick

  Published on December 9, 2025

  Molly Glick is the newsletter editor of Nautilus.