It’s a point worth making. You hear a lot about the first domestic cats coming into being about 10,000 years ago. These are the first N. African wildcats who befriended humans and vice versa; both benefiting in an act of … continue reading…
Our perception of the domestic cat and our lack of knowledge of the species (more so in the past than today) directs us to assign symbolic meanings to the cat. The primary symbol of the domestic cat is one of … continue reading…
Introduction – the relationship between Ancient Egyptians and domestic and wildcats was not as rosy as you think Cats in ancient Egypt were used for the benefit of people despite being worshipped, and despite the idea that they were treated … continue reading…
NEWS AND NEWS-CAIRO, EGYPT: This cute and confident calico cat became a social media star in Egypt when she gatecrashed the Cairo Film Festival (19-28 November 2020). She hobnobbed with the rich and famous on the red catwalk (excuse the … continue reading…
Answer: shaving the eyebrows to mourn the passing of their cat, is a clear signal to others. Some background information on the relationship between ancient Egyptians and animals helps, I think, to understand the practice of shaving eyebrows on the … continue reading…
ANALYSIS: Exhuming ancient Egyptian coffins and mummies is disrespectful. It is desecrating old burial grounds. Today, splashed all over the online news media is the story that Egyptian experts have unearthed 13 sealed wooden coffins in the desert necropolis of … continue reading…
The purpose of this article is to inject a bit of realism into the concept that Ancient Egypt was a blissful era for the domestic cat. It wasn’t. It couldn’t be because animal welfare in that era was very poor. … continue reading…
This is a legendary cat. The ancient Egyptian Sun-God, Ra (also known as Re) took many forms one of which was a cat. Ra was also depicted as a full-bodied ram, a bull, a lion, a heron, a phoenix and … continue reading…
The domestic cats of ancient Egypt were all brown, mackerel tabbies whereas the bronze statues of cats from that era had plain coats. The statues look like modern day Abyssinian cats both in terms of their coat and body confirmation … continue reading…
It is sensible to ask why ancient Egyptians worshipped deities (gods) and then ask why one of them was a cat (Bastet). There are various theories on why humans created a range of gods in the ancient world. These are … continue reading…
The question asks what is the ancient Egyptian word for ‘cat’? I have had to explain it because the question is not 100% clear. It is a question that people ask Google and sadly Google does not produce the correct … continue reading…
At the date of this post, Egyptian egyptologists are ecstatic at the recent discovery of a cache of 75 wooden and bronze statues and five lion cub mummies at the Saqqara necropolis near the famous Giza pyramids in Cairo. They … continue reading…
In ancient Egypt cat mummies were offered to the gods for a favour or a sign of the person’s gratitude to the gods or God. A recent CT scan of a cat mummy indicates to some researchers that priests were … continue reading…
This is an interesting photograph as it shows a group of mummified cats as found and in situ in a tomb. The tomb is in the King Userkaf pyramid complex at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara, south of Cairo. Purpose? … continue reading…
An ancient Egyptian mummified cat or kitten is being auctioned on 29-30 Aug 2018 with a guide price of $1,500 to $2,000. You can bid online by clicking on this link. This is probably a kitten, bred specifically for sacrifice … continue reading…
