KAZAKHSTAN: The remains of a tomcat found in the ruins of Dzhankent represent the oldest known case of feline domestication along the Silk Road. The find dates to around the 8th century A.D., several hundred years before it was thought that local Oghuz tribes first kept cats as pets. Skeletal analysis shows that the animal suffered tooth loss as a result of a soft, protein-rich diet provided by its human owners. The feline had also suffered multiple injuries during its lifetime, limiting its chances for survival without human assistance.