Cyprus-Forum.com

[supporttheunderdog]

According to page 100 of Wild Cats of the World by Mel Sunquist, Fiona Sunquist:

Wildcats do not occur naturally on Cyprus

Perhaps they have got it wrong, but this is the situation as far as I know it.

They were a gift from an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh.

Cypriots were probably keeping cats long before there were Pharaohs...where Cyprus being an island they were probably brought in by Humans from Anatolia

[GreekIslandGirl]

Some of the earliest forms of today's domesticated cats, related to our Cypriot one (being the oldest known pet), originated between Egypt and the Levantine coast, in particular around Israel. Eventually the Egyptians banned the export of these animals but the Greeks tended to have some on board their trading ships and so eventually they were spread (from Alexandria etc) across Europe, this habit (ship cats) eventually being continued by the Romans.

[Mikiko]

The cats were brought to remove snakes by Agia Eleni . this is the reason of their population . This is from Cyprus tourist organistaion :

Situated on Cape Gata south east of Akrotiri Salt Lake near Lemesos (Limassol), Agios Nikolaos ton Gaton (St Nicholas of the Cats) is perhaps the first monastery in Cyprus. The present church probably dates to the late 14th century. Abandoned in the late 16th century, it was re-occupied by Orthodox nuns in the early 1980s. According to tradition, the monastery was founded in the 4th century by Agia Eleni, mother of Constantine the Great, who left a piece of wood from the Holy Cross there. At the time, the island was experiencing a severed rought, forcing many people to leave the island. Snakes multiplied and life in Cyprus, particularly at Akrotiri peninsula was unbearable. According to the medieval historian Stephen Lusignan, after Agia Eleni's departure, Constantine the Great sent governor Kalokeros to Cyprus who brought thousands of cats to the island to exterminate the snakes.

There are still thousands of cats in that place, probably direct descendants from the snakes’ exterminators. And judging by the look of some, there must have been some wild cross-breeding between cats, snakes and perhaps even nuns involved…

[Tim Drayton]

Here are a couple of quotes from a pretty impeccable source that may put things on a more objective basis:

http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/felis_catus.htm

Regional Occurrence:
Domestic Felis catus are believed to be the results of several millennia of human domestication of one or both of two closely related wild species, the European wild cat, Felis silvestris (probable ancestral line), and the African wild cat Felis lybica. The area of original domestication is believed to be centered in or around Egypt.

Domestic and escaped feral F. catus are now distributed worldwide, notwithstanding a few isolated islands where the species has either not been introduced by humans or has failed to become established (La Bruna 2001).

Invasion History:
Domestication of Felis silvestris and possibly Felis lybica began around 4,000 years ago in Egypt. Domesticated Felis cattus can readily interbreed with both of these to form viable (fertile) offspring. In fact, recent mitochondrial DNA studies suggest that both F. lybica and F. cattus should be considered subspecies of F. silvestris.

Human-aided spread of Felis cattus was facilitated both by the animals' beneficial mousing skills and the fact that Egypt was an important trading port in the ancient world. The Egyptians took cats with them on shipping vessels to keep rodent populations in check, and they likely introduced domestic cats to Europe in this manner. In turn, expansion of the Roman Empire and, later, European missionary zeal facilitated the spread of domestic cats into Asia and beyond.

Modern house cats keep feral cat numbers high through escapes and through high fecundity and multiple estrous cycles of females.

[supporttheunderdog]

Just watched a part of a BBC 2 documentary on cats. They gps tagged and fitted collar cameras to a number of cats in a village to study Their activity. Very interesting.

[supporttheunderdog]

No need to trap strays... This one just invited itself in.

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[GreekIslandGirl]

Can you re-size your image?

[supporttheunderdog]

Best I can do

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[GreekIslandGirl]

Oh sweetie ... Can you look after it, stud?

[supporttheunderdog]

Oh sweetie ... Can you look after it, stud?

Indeed. Just leave it some food and drink, tickle it under the chin, stroke its tummy....rescue it from the daughter who wants to dress it up and put in the toy pram....

Just wondering how our dog will react. Normally he is ok once he knows a cat is officially allowed in. On one occasion he even took his favourite toy and dropped it for the cat to play with. Our current moggy is however showing signs of jealousy...