Cats

Archaeologists on Cyprus have excavated the 9,500-year-old remains of a cat (at bottom in top photograph) buried with a human (at top in top photograph) and decorative artifacts. At bottom, the cat skeleton is shown in a plaster shell during excavation.
Top photograph courtesy P. Gérard/Science, bottom photograph courtesy K. Debue/Science [caption and pictures from National Geographic]
Oldest Known Pet Cat? 9,500-Year-Old Burial Found on Cyprus

The carefully interred remains of a human and a cat were found buried with seashells, polished stones, and other decorative artifacts in a 9,500-year-old grave site on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. This new find, from the Neolithic village of Shillourokambos, predates early Egyptian art depicting cats by 4,000 years or more.

Dogs were domesticated earlier--burials of dogs with people have been found that are 12,000 years old.

The report of the discovery was published in the 9 April 2004 issue of Science. Supporting online material available here (full text only for subscribers!)