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The cat's ancestors first started to roam the earth when dinosaurs were alive. As they were warm-blooded, they had a survival advantage over reptiles, including dinosaurs, in cooler climates.

Paleontologist have used bones and teeth that were found to determine the cat ancestry. Biochemical tests, DNA analysis and comparisons of teeth and bone were used to see what the time era was when the animal was alive and to establish the evolutionary lineage of all cats.

When The Cat First Appeared: A Timeline

~60 million years ago, Miacids, a carnivorous forest dweller

~50 million years ago, Dinictis was about the size of a lynx

~3 million years ago linx arose from the "great" cats

~34 million years ago, the saber tooth tiger lived

~presently the domestic cat tolorates humans

~25 million years ago, lion sized cats

~15 million years ago, origin of domestic cat appears

~12 million years ago, small South American ancestors were seen

~9 million years ago, Old World cat ancestors developed

~5 million years ago, great to mid sized cats, (puma and cheetah)

Bibliography

Understanding Cats Their History, Nature and Behavior. Robert Tabor. David and Charles Publishers 1997

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