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Today’s house cats come from African wildcats. They are now some of our best pets.

However, cats were not people’s first pets. Dogs were. Why? Dogs were very useful and important to ancient people. They helped them in hunting and sometimes protected them from wild animals. Cats did not become useful to people until much later. People farmed and stored crops, and mice ate the crops. People needed help and wildcats helped them. They ate the mice and people took care of the cats in return. Gradually, the wildcats changed and became people’s pets.

People became friends with cats, and they took their cats everywhere. Farmers from Africa and the Middle East brought cats to Europe and Asia. Sailors also carried cats on their ships all around the world.

Do you have a cat as a pet at home? Today there are more than 370 million cats, and they are important pets in households around the world.