Mummified Egyptian Cats

The remarkable Egyptian findings: the tomb of Tutankhamun, Abu Simbel temples, the Khufu Ship, and the Cairo Manuscript continued to fascinate humankind generation after generation. Among the ancient Egyptian civilization, animals were considered divine symbols even though they were first adapted as predators. Among these animals, cats had the greatest attention and respect ever! It did not take long for Egyptians to realize their cats’ abilities to protect them from rodents, scorpions, and snakes. They realized cats as smart, quick, and powerful animals. The Egyptian kings: Pharaohs used to have big cats themselves and these Egyptian royals never forgot to dress their cats beautifully. They let their beloved cats have meals from the same plates they had, says Monique Skidmore, a professor of anthropology at Deakin University, Australia. Having seen their kings with adorable giant cats, the general population too started adapting cats and to dress them and jewel them the best way they could afford.

Julia Troche, an Egyptologist, assistant professor of history at Missouri State University says that Egyptians never worshiped animals, instead they recognized them as divine symbols and representors of God. Ancient Egyptian arts were never missed to fill with prominent cat features: their beneficial companions. The wall painting at the Tomb of Nebamun, now in the British Museum has a cat figure hunting birds himself painted with gold eyes symbolizing the god Ra. Often cats with kittens were painted near the women in the paintings to represent fertility. Some cat figures were drawn with daggers to symbolize the protection they provide against predators.

The ancient Egyptians believed that their gods could assume different forms of lives and cats are one of those. This belief made them to mummify their cats and to let them have respectable afterlives. Says Skidmore.  Cat mummies found alongside the tombs belonging to humans resemble the respectable afterlives they had and how Egyptians wished to continue with their cats even after death. Cats were also recognized as the sacred animals of the goddess Bastet. So, the mummified cats were often donated at her temples where such two main temples are located at Bubastis and Saqqara. The containers of the mummified cats were often found with pierced ears and necklaces. The expression of the eyes, its posture and long legs represent the sense of controlled power within the cat. These felines had had strong companionship with their masters and were wished to have in the next lives and treated respectfully.

Don’t you think it’s the time to get a break from the screen to remind your cat how divine they were in the past and to give your kitty a soft belly rub?