When were cats domesticated?

All domestic cats descend from the Near Eastern wildcat, Felis silvestris lybica. As farming spread in the Fertile Crescent, grain stores attracted mice, and wildcats that hunted them benefited from living near humans. A 9,500-year-old grave in Cyprus contained a human buried with a cat, showing a close bond by that time. Ancient Egyptians later revered cats and associated them with the goddess Bastet. Unlike dogs, cats changed relatively little genetically during domestication, which is partly why many people describe them as 'semi-domesticated'.