Cats were friends of Chinese since ancient times

Although cats may be one of the most popular pets today (there are an estimated 600 million worldwide), precious little is known about how and when humans and cats struck up their close relationship.

The earliest evidence for close human-cat interaction dates back to prehistoric Cyprus, where the remains of a wildcat and a human-dated 9,500 years old-were found buried together.

The earliest evidence of domesticated felines comes courtesy of Egyptian art dating back 4,000 years.