Ancient Ancestors
The earliest known ancestor of the modern cat lived about 25 million years ago in Asia. This ancestor, called Proailurus, was a small, tree-dwelling animal.
However, the modern cat species, Felis catus, evolved much later, around 10,000 years ago.
This is based on fossil evidence and genetic studies. While Proailurus was a crucial step in the evolutionary path leading to modern cats, it wasn’t the same species.