The mouse has been known since before Christ with the Bible recording plagues of mice. They are also recorded as being in China and Japan in various writings such as Aesop's Fables and the works of Aristotle. The ancient Eygptians are also recorded as having kept mice believing them to have supernatural powers.

By 1787 fancy mice were well established in Japan with white and dominant spotted varieties and other colours. The first mouse fancy in the UK, The British National Mouse Club, was formed in 1895.