The Vikings Helped Spread Cats Across The World

Vicious opportunists who take what they want, they're rightly feared by those smaller and weaker than they are. On the other hand they're also beautiful, paying constant attention to grooming and presentation in a way that might seem at-odds with their otherwise brutal instincts. Adored by women, lionized in mythology, and plastered across they Internet, they seem to be everywhere.

The question is are we talking about cats, or Vikings?

Because while the Vikings were far better groomed than history likes us to think (they were quite the dangerous divas, according to Ranker), they also had a long, working relationship with their cats. And while a bellowing berserker in a bear belt with a Dane ax raised high doesn't usually make you think of a guy who keeps a furry friend on his ship, history tells us that's actually a pretty likely scenario.

How Cats Came North

Most of us know that today's cats can trace their common ancestry to the Middle East, particularly in and around Egypt, as well as more fertile locations around the Mediterranean. However, according to Science Alert, cats actually expanded in two, separate waves when they spread around the world. So while this first explosion around 15,000 years ago is the one most of us know, there was another one that happened around the 4th century B.C. This second wave, according to researchers, spread cats throughout Europe.

While the first wave of expansion was driven by the discovery of agriculture (cats basically domesticating themselves by hunting rodents preying on crops and grain storage, forming a symbiotic relationship with humans), the second wave was actually driven by cats being brought onto ships for much the same purpose. Because there's nothing worse than finding out your rations have been devoured by rats, so it was just good sense to make sure you had a furry crewmate to handle that issue. This second expansion is what brought cats out of the Middle East and across Europe, which is why they eventually made their way to Scandinavia... and once the Vikings brought them on board, cats would travel even further.

Out of The Land of The Ice and Snow

Even a cursory reading of the surviving myths and stories of the ancient Norse shows you exactly how big of a deal cats were to them. Freya, the Vanir goddess of beauty and queen of the valkyries, rode in a chariot pulled by two huge cats (more about her in Goddesses of Badassdom: Freya), and Thor once grappled with the world serpent in the guise of a cat. The ancestors of modern Norwegian forest cats were called norsk skogkatt, and were referred to as "fairy cats" according to History Things. Some people even believe that a cat was a necessary wedding gift to a new bride, and while cats definitely lived on Norse peoples' farms to control rats and mice, there is no record of them being required as part of the dowry (as cool as that would be).

When you combine the heavy presence of cats among the Norsemen, and the sheer distance they traveled in their longships, a pattern starts to emerge. From the shores of England, to the Russian steppes, to the heart of the Middle East, all the way to Greenland and the edges of what would one day be America, the Vikings went all over the world... and their cats came with them. These felines escaped to settle into new areas, had kittens, and in all likelihood were traded like other goods, spreading them even further than the second wave of expansion already had.

While it would not be accurate to say that the Vikings were solely responsible for spreading cats around the globe (there were plenty of other sailing cultures who contributed to this task), the sheer breadth of their voyages meant they may have had an outsized impact in helping to ensure that cats outnumber dogs by around 75 million across the globe today.

Would You Like To Know More?

If you love cats and stories about them, take a moment to check out my noir mystery novel Marked Territory, featuring a Maine Coon from the Bronx who gets caught up in someone else's troubles, no matter how hard he tries to keep his nose out of them. Alternatively, if fun trivia and unusual facts are your jam, then you should check out my full Vocal archive where you'll find articles like:

- 9 Superpowers Your Cat Has: In case you didn't think cats were awesome enough already!

- Glima: The Martial Art Created By The Vikings: While you may not have heard of this unique wrestling style before, rest assured it's just as awesome as you're imagining.

- The Vikings, Not Columbus, Were The First Europeans in The Americas: And they got here about 500 years before Chris did, too.