The Romans brought cats to Britain

Cats didn’t just enter Britain, the Romans introduced them too.

A comprehensive new genetic study reveals that the moggies lounging on British sofas today owe their origins to felines carried by Roman legions around 1,900 years ago.

For decades, scientists have debated whether the domestic cat arose from ancient Egypt, early farmers in Türkiye, or another prehistoric hotspot.

Now, after analyzing DNA from 87 cats (70 of which are ancient specimens) dating back 10,000 years, researchers say the modern domestic lineage emerged in North Africa about 2,000 years ago, before hitchhiking along the Roman Empire’s vast road network.

“Since Imperial Roman times, cats genetically more similar to modern-day domestic cats have spread into Europe from a distinct North African population,” the study authors write.

They state that the oldest known specimen belongs to a cat found in Mautern, Austria, between 50 BC and 80 AD.

Once these proto-domestic animals emerged, they spread rapidly; in classical Roman style, often alongside the army.

Professor Jonathan B. Losos, an evolutionary biologist at Washington University in St Louis, said: “Ancient DNA records a rapid spread of these domestic cats across much of Europe, often in harmony with the Roman army, and appearing in Britain around AD 100.”

One such moggy appeared in Fishbourne, England, perfectly timed with the Roman conquest – a moustachioed witness to history.

The study also revealed a surprising detour: Domestic cats arrived in Sardinia and Corsica about 1,000 years before they appeared on the European mainland. This first wave created an isolated colony of wildcats, genetically close to Moroccan wildcats, that still roam the islands today.

The research is part of Project Felix, an effort to unravel the stubbornly mysterious history of cat domestication.

Professor Losos said: “The study is part of an ongoing project by Project Felix, which also aims to address other important questions about the domestication of cats. Cats, always sphinx-like, reluctantly give up their secrets.”