While Native Americans did not have Felis catus
house cats before Columbus arrived, there is some evidence that they had tamed a
native cat called the jaguarundi. This long-bodied brown cat is still found from Arizona to Argentina. Its lanky body and otterlike head have led to its being called the “weasel cat” or “otter cat.” Pre-Columbus, the native peoples of South America tamed it and used it to kill
rodents. Whether they really made a pet of it and doted on it the way Europeans and Asians doted on their house cats is not known.
