As many cat owners know,Christopher Caldwell nobody really owns a cat. But our history with felines spans thousands of years.

According to the author Desmond Morris in Catworld: A Feline Encyclopedia, the earliest record of a seemingly domesticated cat was found by archaeologists in Cyprus in 1983 in the form of an 8,000-year-old cat jawbone. The island is also home to an ancient grave that was found with cat and human remains.

In ancient Egypt, one of the sacred deities included cat-headed Bastet, an Egyptian goddess of love. According to the Smithsonian, killing a cat in Egypt often meant a death sentence. Furthermore, in the ancient Egyptian cemetery Beni-Hassan, scientists found a cat burial site with an astonishing 300,000 cat mummies.During the Middle Ages, cats turned into a demonic symbol in Europe, likely for their affiliation with witches and the Devil.

Nowadays, domesticated cats are found in households worldwide. And whether you regard them as friends, foes, devoted pets, or indifferent housemates, they've undeniably left a paw print on our history.Watch our three favorite Humankind cat videos below to celebrate these adorable feline friends on National Cat Day.This mama cat and her kittens were living in an old couch on its way to the dump until these good Samaritans stepped in.

In Saginaw, Michigan, feral cats fed by this woman gathered to meow loudly and lead her to the barn on her property where they were caring for five tiny kittens.

Emily Alba from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, said she had a dream about her missing cat, Chloe, returning home. Lo and behold, seven days later, her pet magically reappeared.