According to new scientific evidence, the shift from wild predator to domesticated pet happened much more recently – and in a different place – than previously thought.

A study of bones found at archaeological sites suggests that cats began their close relationship with humans just a few thousand years ago, and in North Africa, not the Levant.

“They’re everywhere, we make TV shows about them and they dominate the internet,” said Professor Gregor Larsson of the University of Oxford.

“This relationship that we have with cats now only started about 3.5 or 4,000 years ago, not 10,000 years ago.”