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Cats have lived with humans for thousands of years, and the remains of two domestic cats found in a nearly 500-year-old Spanish shipwreck may represent the earliest example of animals in the United States today, a new study shows.
"Cats accompany sailors to accompany the boats to hunt diseased mice and mice," the researchers wrote in a study published last month in Ancient America.
Emmanuel Point II is a Spanish conquest ship that was destroyed in 1559 in the Pensacola Bay, Florida.
The shipwreck was discovered in 2006, and the remains of an adult and juvenile cat were found in the wreckage.
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A cat living on a Turkish boat. (Gazi Nogay/Anadolu via Getty Image)
"Cats are subject to limited archaeological attention because their independence limits direct insights into human society," the researchers said.
The study said that analysis of two cats and other historical cats still existed showed that pets ranged from normal cats to smaller sizes.
Based on chemical analysis of the remains, adult cats do not appear to rely on rats to eat food, mainly fish and possibly domestic meat, the researchers wrote.
"These pests were accidentally introduced into the new world, and cats would follow pests, hunting local and invasive pests," the study said of mice.
The cat stays with the sailors on the boat for a long time. (Evening Standard/Hugton Archives/Getty Images)
In the United States, early cat remains were also found in colonial settlements in St. Augustine, Florida and in British colonial settlements in Jamestown, Virginia, and possibly in Mayflower.
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Cats are not native to the United States and are believed to have originated in the Middle East before being brought to the Americas by Europeans. Scientists say they are likely to be introduced to Europe to control pests.
The researchers said they weren't sure if the cats on Emanuel Point II were intentionally joined on board, but anthropologist John Bratten, who studied the University of West Florida, told the field science that cats were apparently similar to sailors, suggesting they were fed because they didn't have enough rats or insufficient rats.
Cats were first brought to America by Europeans. (Getty Image)
"Think about the idea that a cat is a pet or a pet that a Spanish sailor is caring for," Braden told Live Science.
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"Cats on board (Emmanuel Point II) suggest that their main role may be a common skyscraper group and mousse that puts the rodent population on board under examination. However, this does not rule out the possibility that these cats are loved and cared for by sailors," the study said.
The sailors also think cats are lucky, the researchers added.
Today, one-third of the households in the United States have pet cats.