A dog may be a human's best friend, but cats aren't far from it either. Worshiped since the times of ancient Egypt, these lovely furry creatures sure know ways to people's hearts. Therefore, it will probably come as no surprise that even long before the era of the internet and YouTube, cat videos were already popular. Back in 1894, inventor Thomas Edison filmed two kittens "boxing" inside a ring, and this just proves the fact that humans have long been obsessed with cute cat content way before it was cool.
However, one thing that separates dogs from cats is how they became domesticated. One recent survey of cat genes suggests that the felines might have actually domesticated us, and not the other way around. According to scientists, the earlier ancestors of domestic cats spread from southwest Asia into Europe sometime around 4400 B.C. Cats started hanging around farming communities in the Fertile Crescent about 8,000 years ago, where they formed a mutually beneficial relationship with humans.
Surprisingly, the same study reveals that wild and domestic cats showed almost no major differences in their genetics, with one of the traits telling them apart being their tabby coat markings. It is speculated that the marking began appearing in domesticated cats in the Middle Ages, and the gene for this type of coat goes back to the Ottoman Empire. It was only in the 18th century that the tabby coat markings became widespread to be fully associated with domestic cats. However, creating new cat breeds came even later—in the 19th century.
“I think that there was no need to subject cats to such a selection process since it was not necessary to change them,” Eva-Maria Geigl, an evolutionary geneticist, told National Geographic a few years ago. “They were perfect as they were.” Recently, a Facebook page called OMG Meow shared a comprehensive list of the most popular cat breeds that every respectable cat lover should know. Scroll down below to see all 50 of them and vote for the ones you like the most!
More info: Facebook
#21
"The Snowshoe is a breed of cat originating in the United States of America in the 1960s. Snowshoes were first produced in Philadelphia when a Siamese breeder's cat gave birth to three kittens with white feet."
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74points
#22
"The Korat cat is a silver-tipped blue-grey, short-haired breed of domestic cat with a small to medium build and a low percentage of body fat. Its body is semi-cobby, and unusually heavy for its size. It is an intelligent and playful active cat that forms strong bonds with people."
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72points
#23
"The Toyger breed of domestic cat, the result of breeding domestic shorthaired tabbies to make them resemble a 'toy tiger,' as its striped coat is reminiscent of the tiger's."
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71points
#24
"The Nebelung is a rare pedigree breed of domestic cat. Nebelungs have long bodies, wide-set green eyes, long and dense fur, and mild dispositions."
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71points
#25
"The Burmese cat is a breed of domestic cat, originating in Thailand, believed to have its roots near the present Thai-Burma border and developed in the United States and Britain."
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70points
#26
"The European Shorthair, called the European in FIFe and WCF is a cat breed originating in Sweden. The term has also been used as an elaborate way of referring to common domestic cats of Europe, causing some confusion as the pedigree cats of this breed also should resemble the typical domestic cats of Europe."
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70points
#27
"The Ragamuffin is a breed of domestic cat. It is a variant of the Ragdoll cat and was established as a separate breed in 1994. Ragamuffins are notable for their friendly personalities and thick, rabbit-like fur."
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68points
#28
"The Chartreux is a rare breed of a cat from France, and is recognized by a number of registries around the world. The Chartreux is large and muscular with relatively short, fine-boned limbs, and very fast reflexes."
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66points
#29
"The Ocicat is an all-domestic breed of cat which resembles a wild cat but has no recent wild DNA in its gene pool. The breed is unusual in that it is spotted like a wild cat but has the temperament of a domestic animal. It is named for its resemblance to the ocelot."
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66points
#30
"The Turkish Van is a semi-long-haired breed of domestic cat, which was developed in the United Kingdom from a selection of cats obtained from various cities of modern Turkey, especially South-east Turkey."
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64points