We have always been here.

A new genetic study indicates that domestic cats have been living with humans for more than 100,000 years, and not the roughly 10,000 as previously thought from archaeological evidence.
The researchers speculate that a few wild cats chose to live with humans to feed of the rodents that constantly plagued grain stores.

This all makes sense, because I've known a lot of cats that tolerate their owners only because they get fed by them.

Plus, you can never get a cat to do something it doesn't want to do, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was cats that chose to live with us, and not the other way around.