Which animal is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae?

The domestic cat is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae.

Felidae is the mammalian family that includes cats, from lions and tigers to leopards and lynxes. Although humans have tamed or managed individual wild felids, only the domestic cat has undergone domestication as a species. It is generally classified as Felis catus, or sometimes as the subspecies Felis silvestris catus.

Cat domestication began in the Near East, where early farming communities stored grain and attracted rodents. Wildcats that tolerated human settlements gained access to abundant prey, while people benefited from their pest-control abilities. Archaeological and genetic evidence places the process roughly between 11,000 and 4,000 years ago, with early evidence around 7500 BCE.

A common mix-up is confusing domestication with taming. A cheetah or serval may be tamed or kept in captivity, but that does not make the species domesticated. The domestic cat is also distinct from the European wildcat, though the two can interbreed.