Before the soft-footed, domesticated Felis catus found its way into Chinese homes, another feline species occupied human settlements for thousands of years. A new genetic and archaeological study1 has revealed that leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis), small wild felines native to East Asia, lived alongside people in China’s early agrarian societies for at least 3,500 years—only to disappear from human settlements centuries before the arrival of domestic cats via the Silk Road.
Researchers analyzing 22 ancient feline remains from 14 sites across China have reshaped the timeline of cat domestication in the region. Their findings suggest that leopard cats filled the niche of rodent control in human settlements long before domesticated cats arrived. But unlike their Middle Eastern and European counterparts, early Chinese societies never domesticated these wild felines. Instead, leopard cats vanished from human settlements roughly 1,800 years ago, leaving a curious gap before the first domesticated cats appeared around 1,400 years ago during the Tang Dynasty.
"Leopard cats were part of human settlements for thousands of years, but their relationship with people was very different from what we see with domestic cats today," said Shu-Jin Luo, a geneticist at Peking University and co-author of the study.
A Feline Mystery: The Gap Between Wild and Domestic Cats
The prevailing theory once suggested that domesticated cats were present in China as early as 5,400 years ago, based on felid remains found at the Neolithic site of Quanhucun. However, subsequent DNA analysis overturned this assumption, revealing that the remains actually belonged to leopard cats, not domesticated felines.
Leopard cats, roughly the size of modern house cats, are adaptable predators with a long history of interaction with human societies. They likely entered settlements in search of prey, much like how wild cats in the Near East started their commensal relationship with early farmers. However, despite their presence in ancient Chinese communities, leopard cats never made the leap to full domestication.
By around 150 CE, leopard cats seemingly vanished from archaeological records. The reasons remain unclear, but researchers speculate that a combination of climate shifts, societal upheaval following the fall of the Han Dynasty, and changes in agricultural practices may have led to their decline.
"Unlike in the Near East, where wildcats transitioned into domesticated companions, leopard cats in China never developed that close bond with humans," said co-author Joel Alves, a bioarchaeologist at the University of Oxford.
The Arrival of Domestic Cats via the Silk Road
For centuries after leopard cats disappeared from human settlements, no feline remains appeared in Chinese archaeological sites. Then, in the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), domesticated cats—descendants of Felis lybica, the African wildcat—arrived in China.
DNA evidence suggests these cats were brought from Central Asia, likely via traders and diplomats along the Silk Road. The earliest known domestic cat in China, excavated from Tongwan City in Shaanxi, dates to between 706 and 883 CE. Genetic analysis shows that this cat was closely related to domestic cats found in medieval Kazakhstan, reinforcing the idea that these animals were transported across Eurasian trade routes.
Interestingly, early Chinese domestic cats likely looked different from their Middle Eastern and European relatives. Genetic markers indicate they had short hair, long tails, and white or partially white coats—traits that remain more common in East Asian domestic cats today.
The Cultural Shift: How China Embraced the Domestic Cat
The arrival of Felis catus was not merely a biological event; it marked a cultural shift in how Chinese society interacted with felines. In contrast to the leopard cats that coexisted in settlements but remained wild, domestic cats quickly became valued members of elite households.
Historical records from the Tang Dynasty depict these cats as treasured pets, sometimes associated with religious rituals. By the Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE), they were widely accepted as companions and protectors of food stores, much like their European counterparts.
"Cats were introduced as exotic pets, but they eventually became widespread, replacing leopard cats as the primary felines in human settlements," said Luo.
Why Didn’t Leopard Cats Become Domesticated?
The question remains: why did leopard cats never make the transition to domesticated status? One possibility is their temperament. Unlike Felis lybica, which has a relatively social nature and was able to adapt to human environments, leopard cats are solitary, elusive, and notoriously difficult to tame. Even today, attempts to domesticate them have been largely unsuccessful.
Another factor may have been competition. When domestic cats arrived, they occupied the same ecological niche that leopard cats once filled—only with a temperament better suited for cohabiting with humans. This may have prevented leopard cats from re-establishing themselves in settlements.
The Legacy of Ancient China’s Felines
The study of ancient feline remains in China adds an important layer to the story of cat domestication. While the domestication of Felis catus is a well-documented phenomenon in the Near East and Europe, China’s feline history followed a different trajectory—one where a native wild cat briefly occupied human spaces before being replaced by an imported species.
Today, leopard cats remain widespread across Asia, though they are rarely found in close association with humans. The story of their early presence in Chinese settlements serves as a reminder that the path to domestication is not always straightforward.
"Leopard cats and domestic cats tell two very different stories of human-animal interaction in China," said Alves. "One coexisted but remained wild, while the other became a companion. The transition was anything but inevitable."
Related Research
For those interested in further reading on the topic, here are some additional studies exploring cat domestication and human-feline interactions:
Ottoni, C., et al. (2017). "The palaeogenetics of cat dispersal in the ancient world." Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1(0139). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0139
Haruda, A. F., et al. (2020). "The earliest domestic cat on the Silk Road." Scientific Reports, 10, 67798. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-67798-6
Yu, H., et al. (2021). "Genomic evidence for the Chinese mountain cat as a wildcat conspecific (Felis silvestris bieti) and its introgression to domestic cats." Science Advances, 7(0221). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg0221
These studies, along with Han et al. (2025), continue to refine our understanding of how humans and felines have interacted across time and geography.
Han, Y., Hu, S., Liu, K., Xu, X., Doherty, S., Jamieson, A. E., Manin, A., Martins, S. G., Yang, M., Yu, C., Wang, J., Wu, Z., Chen, C., Han, S., Lu, D., Peng, L., Wu, X., Li, Z., Fan, W., … Luo, S.-J. (2025). Leopard Cats Occupied Human Settlements in China for 3,500 years before the Arrival of Domestic cats in 600-900 CE around the Tang Dynasty. In bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.31.635809
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