The domestication of cats is a process that scientists believe began thousands of years ago in what is known as the Fertile Crescent area in the Middle East. Today’s breeds of domestic cats are thought to have descended from the African and Asian wildcat species, Felis silvestris lybica. When civilizations began farming and had grains and crops to store, cats became important to them because they helped keep rodents away and the supplies stayed safe. Rodents flocked to storehouses, and cats followed the abundant source of prey.