Cats have lived alongside humans for thousands of years, and the remains of two domestic felines found in a nearly 500-year-old Spanish shipwreck likely represent the earliest example of the animal in what is now the United States, according to a new study. 

"Cats accompanied sailors on ships where they were relied on to hunt rats and mice that were infesting ships’ holds," researchers wrote in a study published in American Antiquity last month. 

The Emanuel Point II, a Spanish conquistador ship, wrecked in Florida’s Pensacola Bay in 1559 during a hurricane. 

The shipwreck was discovered in 2006, and the researchers said the remains of an adult and juvenile cat were found in the wreckage. 

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"Cats have received limited archaeological attention because their independence limits direct insight into human societies," the researchers said. 

The study said that analyses of the two cats and other historical cat remains show the pets ranged dramatically in size from normal house cats to much smaller. 

The researchers wrote that, based on a chemical analysis of the remains, the adult cat doesn’t seem to have relied on rats for food and mainly ate a diet of fish and possibly domestic meat. 

"These pests were unintentionally introduced to the New World, and cats would have followed, hunting both native and invasive pests," the study said of rats. 

Within the U.S., early cat remains have also been found in the colonial settlements in St. Augustine, Florida, and the British colony of Jamestown in Virginia and were possibly aboard the Mayflower.  

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Cats aren’t native to the U.S. and are believed to have originated in the Middle East before they were brought to the Americas by Europeans. They were likely introduced to Europe for pest control, the scientists said. 

The researchers said they weren’t sure if the cats on the Emanuel Point II were brought on board intentionally, but study co-author John Bratten, an anthropologist at the University of West Florida, told Live Science the cats apparently ate a similar diet to the sailors, which showed that they were fed either because there weren’t enough rats or out of kindness. 

"It was interesting to think about the idea of the cat being a pet or one that was looked after by the Spanish sailors," Bratten told Live Science.

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The study said, "That cats were on board [the Emanuel Point II] suggests their primary role may have been as commensal ratters and mousers that kept the onboard rodent population in check. This does not, however, preclude the possibility that these cats were well liked and cared for by the sailors." 

Cats were also considered lucky by sailors, the researchers added. 

Today, one in three U.S. households has a pet cat.

U.S. officials have finalized new economic sanctions against Russia, including banking and energy measures, to intensify pressure on Moscow to embrace U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to end its war on Ukraine, according to three U.S. officials and a source familiar with the issue.

The targets include state-owned Russian energy giant Gazprom and major entities involved in the natural resources and banking sectors, said an administration official, who like the other sources requested anonymity to discuss the issue.

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The official provided no further details.

It was far from clear, however, whether the package will be approved by Trump, whose sympathy for Moscow's statements and actions have given way to frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spurning of his calls for a ceasefire and peace talks.

The U.S. National Security Council "is trying to coordinate some set of more punitive actions against Russia," said the source familiar with the issue. "This will have to be signed off by Trump."

"It’s totally his call," confirmed a second U.S. official.

"From the beginning, the president has been clear about his commitment to achieving a full and comprehensive ceasefire," said National Security Council Spokesman James Hewitt. "We do not comment on the details of ongoing negotiations."

The U.S. Treasury, which implements most U.S. sanctions, did not respond to a request for comment.

An approval by Trump of new sanctions, which would follow the Wednesday signing of a U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal that he heavily promoted as part of his peace effort, could signify a hardening of his stance towards the Kremlin.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 the United States and its allies have added layer upon layer of sanctions on the country. While the measures have been painful for Russia's economy, Moscow has found ways to circumvent the sanctions and continue funding its war.

Trump "has been bending over backwards to give Putin every opportunity to say, 'Okay, we're going to have a ceasefire and an end to the war,' and Putin keeps rejecting him," said Kurt Volker, a former U.S. envoy to NATO who was U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations during Trump's first term. "This is the next phase of putting some pressure on Russia."

"Putin has been escalating," he continued. Trump "has got the U.S. and Ukraine now in alignment calling for an immediate and full ceasefire, and Putin is now the outlier."

Since assuming office in January, Trump has taken steps seen as aimed at boosting Russian acceptance of his peace effort, including disbanding a Justice Department task force formed to enforce sanctions and target oligarchs close to the Kremlin.

He also has made pro-Moscow statements, falsely blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for starting the conflict and calling him a "dictator."

Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, has advocated a peace strategy that would cede four Ukrainian regions to Moscow, and has met Putin four times, most recently last week.

But three days after that meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated Putin's maximalist demands for a settlement and Moscow’s forces have pressed frontline attacks and missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities, claiming more civilian casualties.

Reuters reported in March that the United States was drawing up a plan to potentially give Russia sanctions relief but Trump in recent weeks has expressed frustration with Putin's foot-dragging on ending the invasion and last Saturday held a "very productive" one-on-one meeting in the Vatican with Zelenskiy.

The next day, Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform that he was "strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions and Tariffs on Russia" that would remain until a ceasefire and final peace deal.

Volker said that Russia has been earning hard currency that funds its military through oil and gas sales to countries like India and China and that it would be "very significant" if Trump slapped secondary sanctions on such deals.

Secondary sanctions are those where one country seeks to punish a second country for trading with a third by barring access to its own market, a particularly powerful tool for the United States because of the size of its economy.