Cats and silos

Way back in the sixteenth century B.C., the Egyptians invented the silo—a big tower for grain storage. Good news for humans, but also good news for hungry rodents, to whom a silo was a giant buffet. The grain drew rodents, and rodents drew the small Egyptian wildcats.

So naturally the Egyptians appreciated the rodent-eating predators. We really have no idea at what point the rodent killers were adopted as pets, but we can thank the Egyptians for knowing a good thing when they saw it. In terms of the human race at large, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.