Research overview: cats in the Greco-Roman world

Cats appear in Greek and Roman art, texts and household life, though their role as rodent controllers competed with weasels and ferrets that were also kept for the purpose. This overview surveys literary references, mosaics, grave goods and zooarchaeological finds to trace how cats became more common across the Roman Empire and its provinces. It examines the spread facilitated by Roman trade and military movement, the gradual displacement of other domesticated mousers, and regional variation in how cats were valued. The survey connects historical and material evidence to genetic findings about the Egyptian lineage's Mediterranean expansion, presenting the classical period as a key phase in which cats became a familiar part of European domestic and urban environments.