cat: hey you gonna eat that?
human: uh, that’s a rat. They’ve been showing up ever since we started harvesting grain. We don’t eat them, they eat our food.
cat: free game then. Cool.
human: be my guest.
cat: hey is this spot free? It looks warm and I need a place to have my litter.
humans: this is my house. Feel free, I guess, just don’t get stepped on.
cat: hey can you watch my kittens for me? I need to hunt and I don’t want predators finding them.
human: holy shit these buggers are cute. Nothing will happen to them.
cat: I am going to climb on your lap now and you are going to love me.
human: I’m ok with this.
The Domestication of Humans
That’s probably how it happened. “Oh look, the tiny tiger is saving our grain...” was the foot paw in the door.