Cats in Ancient Egypt: Revered Companions and Divine Symbols

Nov 06, 2025 0

Despite their stereotypically aloof attitude, cats are so popular today that they have been photographed the world over, are the stars of YouTube videos and have even been provided sanctuary at an archaeological site. But their story goes back much further to ancient Egypt, where they were not just pets, but revered symbols of divinity and protection.

Domestication and Early Evidence

When were cats domesticated? Cats are traditionally believed to have been domesticated in Egypt during the Middle Kingdom (c. 1950 B.C.E.). Excavations conducted at Hierakonpolis, the capital of Upper Egypt during the Predynastic period, yielded evidence suggesting that cats were tamed as early as the fourth millennium B.C.E. The skeleton of a jungle cat discovered in an elite cemetery dated to c. 3700 B.C.E. showed signs of a healed leg fracture, indicating that the animal was held in captivity and cared for for several weeks before its sacrifice.

In another burial, the skeletons of six cats-two adults and four kittens-were uncovered next to contemporaneous burials of baboon and dog skeletons.

Around 3500 B.C., the Nile River nurtured the rise of sophisticated civilization - ancient Egypt. It’s also where a remarkable partnership blossomed: the one between humans and African wildcats. These early felines, drawn to human settlements by their natural pest-control prowess, became the first domesticated cats.

The African wildcat had many admirable traits. They caught rodents and other pests that could have posed a significant threat to early farming societies like those in ancient Egypt. In the days when poisonous reptiles posed a serious threat, having a cat around was incredibly beneficial.

Read also: Protect Your Cat: African Violets

The Role of Cats in Egyptian Society

Ancient Egyptian civilization flourished for millennia, and alongside its rise came a growing appreciation for felines. By the New Kingdom (1540 B.C.), cats held a revered position within both households and broader society. Cats were praised for killing venomous snakes, rodents and birds that damaged crops, and protecting the Pharaoh since at least the First Dynasty of Egypt. Skeletal remains of cats were found among funerary goods dating to the 12th Dynasty.

The protective function of cats is indicated in the Book of the Dead, where a cat represents Ra and the benefits of the sun for life on Earth. Cat-shaped decorations used during the New Kingdom of Egypt indicate that the domesticated cat became more popular in daily life.

Cats played a central role in the daily life and religious practices of ancient Egyptians. They kept their humans safe from snakes and scorpions and Egypt’s grain supply safe from rats and mice. Cats even came to represent in animal form some of Egypt’s most important gods.

Cats were praised for killing venomous snakes, rodents and birds that damaged crops, and protecting the Pharaoh since at least the First Dynasty of Egypt. Skeletal remains of cats were found among funerary goods dating to the 12th Dynasty.

Read also: Cats of Nigeria

Egyptians loved cats for their companionship as well-not just as hard-working professionals-and played a major role in domesticating them. When cats stretched themselves out in the sun for a catnap, ancient Egyptians associated them with the sun god Ra and his daughter Bastet.

Famously devoted to these furry creatures-calling them miw onomatopoetically-the Egyptians mummified deceased cats and depicted them in paintings and sculptures.

Art from ancient Egypt shows statues and paintings of every type of feline. Cats were so special that those who killed them, even by accident, were sentenced to death.

Only one deity, the goddess named Bastet, had the power to become a cat. In the city of Per-Bast, a beautiful temple was built, and people came from all over to experience its splendor.

To honor these treasured pets, wealthy families dressed them in jewels and fed them treats fit for royalty. When the cats died, they were mummified. As a sign of mourning, the cat owners shaved off their eyebrows, and continued to mourn until their eyebrows grew back.

Ancient Egyptians worshipped many animals for thousands of years. Animals were revered for different reasons. Dogs were valued for their ability to protect and hunt, but cats were thought to be the most special. Egyptians believed cats were magical creatures, capable of bringing good luck to the people who housed them.

The word for cat was miu or miut, which probably sounded a lot like the sound a cat makes! (Interestingly, other ancient Egyptian animal names were also onomatopoeic, like the word iwiw for “dog,” which may have sounded like a dog’s bark.) Initially, humans in the Nile Valley probably appreciated the presence of cats near their homes because of the cats’ ability to control pest populations. Over time, as cats have done for thousands of years, these animals became beloved (and often pampered) pets. Depictions on tomb walls and on funerary stelae show domesticated cats seated under or near their owner’s chairs, and some pet cats were even afforded special burials with elaborately carved sarcophagi inscribed with the animal’s personal name. The best known of these pet cat coffins belonged to a royal pet, the cat Ta-miu (whose name means “The female cat”).

Cats and Religion

According to Egyptian mythology, gods and goddesses had the power to transform themselves into different animals.

In ancient Egypt, a pantheon of gods influenced daily life, and several deities held a strong association with cats. Bastet, a prominent goddess depicted as a woman with a cat's head, symbolized protection and good health. Her significance was such that killing a cat, even accidentally, resulted in severe punishment. Beyond their religious significance, cats were cherished companions in Egyptian households. Wealthier families indulged their felines with table scraps and even adorned them with gold jewelry. Egyptians deeply mourned the loss of their feline companions, often dedicating them to Bastet. Sekhmet, a lion-headed goddess representing war and Bastet's sister, further exemplifies the Egyptians' reverence for felines. These deities embodied the cat's duality - both graceful and fierce. Mafdet and Mut, lesser feline deities, reflected similar aspects of protection and fierceness.

Bastet was the goddess of the home, fertility, joy, and the protection of children; and she is often depicted in statuary as a woman with the head of an alert, attentive cat. Even earlier depictions of Bastet, however, show a fierce and wild lioness. Some scholars believe this shift in imagery is connected to the domestication of cats-from the Near Eastern wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) to the modern-day housecat (Felis catus). These traits of the goddess Bastet-vigilance, protectiveness, companionship-were reflected in the characteristics of Felis catus.

Bastet appears in the written record as early as the Second Dynasty (ca. Texts make it clear from the start that she has a gentle and protective nature. In the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom she is described as the deceased king’s nurse, and in the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts she protects the deceased. At first her iconography is that of a cat. By the time of the New Kingdom she appears as a woman with a cat’s head.

Bastet’s place was in the home. She was primarily a protective domestic goddess who, like a mother cat with her kittens, took good care of the children in the house. As a goddess closely connected to motherhood, fertility and nurturing, a popular way in which Bastet is shown is as a mother cat nursing her litter. Glencairn houses a charming bronze votive statuette of a mother cat suckling several kittens (Figure 10). Dating to the Late Period, this cat undoubtedly would call to mind the protective nature of the goddess Bastet in her role as a domestic goddess taking care of the family, house and home. It may also express a wish for fertility.

Ra, in his cat form, also shared these characteristics. By the Ptolemaic period of Egyptian history (305-30 BCE), Bastet was hugely popular. Her temples drew thousands of pilgrims every year. These pilgrims would buy statuettes of the goddess or actual cat mummies to leave at the temple. This was a way for the pilgrims to commemorate their visit and to venerate Bastet.

When the number of these statues and cat mummies grew too large, the priests of the temple would dig special trenches and bury them to make room for more. About two thousand years later in the nineteenth century, archeologists would begin to unearth these trenches and discover more cat mummies and Bastet statuary than they knew what to do with.

Feline and leonine imagery abounds in ancient Egypt, so it is clear that the Egyptians held cats in high esteem. Classical writers also observed the importance of the cat in Egyptian society and remarked on the ways in which cats seemed to be favored.

The Greek historian Herodotus (who lived ca. c. 484-425 BCE) wrote much about his impressions of ancient Egyptian history, culture and religion. He too remarked on the special position of the cat in Egyptian society. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, who was active ca. 60 and 30 BCE, had much to say about the Egyptians’ relationship with cats. He recorded his personal observations of the fate of a person who harmed a cat in ancient Egypt. The Macedonian author Polyaenus, who wrote in the 2nd-century CE, described a battle between the Egyptian army and that of the Persian king, Cambyses. He notes how the foreign invader used the Egyptians’ love of cats against them (Figure 7).

Bastet - Who was the Feline Goddess of Ancient Egypt?

Mummification

Ancient Egyptians believed their cats could be inhabited by deities, extending their reverence for these felines even beyond death. As Egyptians meticulously prepared for the afterlife, cat mummification became a common practice. The mummification process involved drying and carefully wrapping the cat's body in colorful cloths, often placed within a sculpted figure resembling a living animal. Thousands of discovered cat mummies serve as a testament to their revered position, and valued companions even in the afterlife.

Millions of cats were mummified in ancient Egypt either to be buried alongside their owner or to be sold to pilgrims devoted to Bastet. Cat mummification in the name of Bastet became an industry because many temples-depending on the whim of pharaonic decree-had to sustain themselves financially on their own. Sometimes a temple might sell a pilgrim a “fake” cat mummy!

Cat cemeteries at the archaeological sites Speos Artemidos, Bubastis, and Saqqara were used for several centuries.

The first known indication for the mummification of a cat was found in an elaborately carved limestone sarcophagus dated to about 1350 BC.

Mummifying animals grew in popularity during the Late Period of ancient Egypt from 664 BC onwards.

In 1890, a shipment of thousands of animal mummies reached Liverpool. Most of them were cat mummies.

Many museum collections around the world house cat mummies. More often than not, these cat mummies were originally votive offerings dedicated by worshippers at temples dedicated to Bastet, or another feline deity. Literally thousands upon thousands of cat mummies have been excavated in Egypt.

Decline of Cat Veneration

Cats and religion began to be disassociated after Egypt became a Roman province in 30 BC. A series of decrees and edicts issued by Roman Emperors in the 4th and 5th centuries AD gradually curtailed the practice of paganism and pagan rituals in Egypt. Pagan temples were impounded and sacrifices prohibited by 380 AD. Three edicts issued between 391 and 392 prohibited pagan rituals and burial ceremonies at all cult sites. Death penalty for offenders was introduced in 395, and the destruction of pagan temples decreed in 399. By 415, the Christian church received all property that was formerly dedicated to paganism.

Despite the decline of cat veneration with the rise of Christianity, the legacy of cats in ancient Egypt remains a testament to the unique bond between humans and felines.