Cats’ Culture: Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians showed great respect towards the cat when it died.  The latter was wrapped in linen and put in coffins on the top of which a cat-like face was painted with the eyes made of costly crystal and gold. In Egyptian culture, the cat was closely related to the gods – the goodness of the moon was even represented by the cat.  This is due to the fact that at night when the eyes of the animal reflect moonlight, a strange feeling is felt.   This is the reason why the cat is considered to be a superstitious creature. At that time, the Egyptians banned the cat being sent abroad and it was more than a century afterwards that the cat was smuggled and made its way to the European and Asian countries.

In Europe, at first, the cat was respected – it even got the title as the symbol of fertility.  Alas!  This was not to last long.  Mad stories about women who prayed the cat arose.  It was said that they possessed evil powers which they could used against people and to go unnoticed, they became cats to cast their harmful spells.  Although all these tales were false, the cats were treated cruel for their ‘evilness’.  They are either packed in baskets to burn them publicly or thrown from the top of churches.  The lighted eyes of the cat were now associated with the Devil which quickened their being fatally treated.  All their qualities became hindrances and a rite was even set up in a European city whereby cats were thrown from the peak of the town.  Fortunately, the cat led a better life in Asia where it is much respected by the people.  The Chinese population believed that if the birth year of an individual is that of the cat, he will be a perfectionist, intelligent and will have various virtues.  On the other hand, the Japanese kept pet cats, thinking that they brought good fortune.