According to a new study that traced the roots of the common domestic housecat (Yes yes I know, there's nothing "common" about your housecat), the Mother Of All Housecats originated in the middle east:"The roots of the domesticated cat's family tree all converge in the Middle East, with many surprising ancestral twists and turns along the way, reveals a new genetic study on house kitties that included purebreds, mutts and even feral felines.The study, one of the most extensive of its kind, used 39 genetic identity markers identified in 11,100 cats. Like branches on a person's family tree, these were used to determine the heritage of today's cats." [...]
"This work does support that significant genetic variation is found in cats from the Near East and Turkey, supporting the Fertile Crescent (as the housecats' site of origin)," co-author Leslie Lyons told Discovery News."
Cue the howls of wingnut outrage about the Feline Fifth Column.
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