There is no cat in the Chinese zodiac. Many people believe this is because domestic cats hadn’t been introduced to China by the time the zodiac was created. But when exactly were domestic cats introduced to China, and when did the Chinese people start “petting cats”? Recently, a research team led by Professor Luo Shujin from Peking University’s School of Life Sciences and the Life Science Joint Center published a paper in Cell Genomics, finally shedding light on the 5,000-year history of cat companionship in China through ancient DNA research.
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The Common Ancestry of Domestic Cats
The story of domestic cats unfolds almost simultaneously with the rise of agricultural civilizations. About 10,000 years ago, humans in the Near East began settling down and practicing farming. With fixed homes came food storage, which attracted rodents, and in turn, wild cats that preyed on them. These wild cats, often seen near human settlements, gradually formed a “commensal relationship” with humans and were eventually domesticated. All domestic cats (Felis catus) around the world trace their origins back to the African wildcat (Felis lybica) from the Near East and North Africa, from where they were domesticated and spread globally. Did China have native cats? Yes, but local wildcats, such as the desert cat and the Asian wildcat, did not play a role in the domestication of the Chinese domestic cat. The desert cat, unique to the Tibetan Plateau, has shown some genetic exchange with domestic cats, but this interaction occurred only after domestic cats arrived in the plateau. Therefore, the domestic cats in China, like those around the world, originate from the domesticated African wildcat.
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Leopard Cat or Domestic Cat?
When did domestic cats first arrive in China? In the past, scholars proposed two theories based on archaeological findings: one suggesting the Neolithic origin and the other pointing to the Han Dynasty. Evidence supporting the Neolithic arrival comes from the Quanhucun site in Shaanxi, dating back about 5,400 years. The carbon-nitrogen isotope ratios of small cat bones found at this site were closer to those of domesticated animals. However, further geometric and mitochondrial DNA analyses confirmed that these bones belonged to the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), not the domestic cat (Felis catus). Although the two species are similar in appearance, they are not the same. The Han Dynasty-origin theory is supported by findings such as a suspected domestic cat ulna from Chang’an and cat-shaped images on lacquerware from the Mawangdui tomb, as well as records of cats hunting rats. However, due to the similar appearance of leopard cats and domestic cats, and the ambiguity of ancient texts, the classification of these remains has remained uncertain. How long did the leopard cat coexist with humans in ancient China? And when did the domesticated cat, descended from the African wildcat, arrive in China? These questions need further exploration.
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Rising to Prominence in the Tang Dynasty
On November 27, 2025, the research team led by Professor Luo Shujin from Peking University and their collaborators published a study in Cell Genomics, detailing the findings from ancient genomics research. The team analyzed mitochondrial genomes from 22 skeletal samples of small cats excavated from 14 archaeological sites across China. These samples span from the Late Neolithic period of the Yangshao culture (about 5,400 years ago) to around 150 years ago, covering most of the known ancient cat remains in China and solving the mystery of the origin of domestic cats in China. The genome and carbon-14 dating analysis produced surprising results—apart from one sample, all the cat remains from the Late Neolithic to the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty belonged to the leopard cat, while all samples from the Tang Dynasty and later were domestic cats. The earliest known domestic cat was found at the Tang Dynasty site of Tongwan City in Jingbian, Shaanxi, about 1,200 years ago. This is almost concurrent with the earliest images of domestic cats in China. This reveals that humans coexisted with leopard cats in East Asia for at least 3,500 years, from the Neolithic to the Han Dynasty. However, this tradition abruptly ended after the Han Dynasty, and domestic cats only arrived in China around the Tang Dynasty. Why did the leopard cat disappear from human settlements? Researchers suggest that the decline of agriculture and a sharp population decrease between the late Han and Sui-Tang periods destroyed the commensal environment that leopard cats depended on. As the Sui-Tang period brought prosperity back, domestic cats arrived and adapted better to human environments, gradually replacing the leopard cat. Additionally, during this time, domesticated chickens were caged, which likely provided leopard cats with easier access to poultry, making them perceived as pests, rather than the “beneficial animals” mentioned in the Li Ji.
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Arriving via the Silk Road
This study also reveals the route through which domestic cats entered China. Genomic analysis shows that ancient Chinese domestic cats had close genetic links to cats from the Zankent site in Central Asia and Kazakhstan, as well as to African wildcats and domestic cats from the Levant in the Near East. This genetic path, which starts in the Levant and travels through Central Asia to East Asia, aligns perfectly with the route of the Silk Road, suggesting that domestic cats likely arrived in China via trade along the Silk Road. After their arrival, domestic cats in China maintained a stable population structure, with little genetic mixing from other domestic or wild cat species. The genomic analysis also reconstructed the appearance of the oldest known Chinese domestic cat, found at the Tang Dynasty Tongwan City site: a pure white or white-spotted tabby male cat with short fur and a long tail, showing no genetic defects common in modern domestic cats. This study has reshaped our understanding of the history of domestic cats in China, providing new insights into human-animal relationships and ancient East-West cultural exchanges. While it was previously believed that domestic cats arrived in China as early as the Han Dynasty, this research reveals that they likely arrived only around the Tang Dynasty, brought by the Silk Road.
More importantly, this research for the first time reveals the 3,500-year-long history of commensalism between leopard cats and humans. Both the leopard cat and the African wildcat were small feline species that once shared a commensal relationship with humans. However, they ultimately followed different social and cultural paths, leading to vastly different outcomes. The African wildcat was domesticated into the house cat, which has since become one of the world’s most popular pets. In contrast, the leopard cat left human settlements, returning to the forests, where it now exists as one of our secretive wild animal neighbors.
