Infographic on 19.5 tons of Egyptian mummified cats imported into England 1890

Commercial use of mummified cats 1890

The BBC video on the BBC website about the shipping of 19.5 tons of mummified cats (180,000 mummies) from Egypt to Liverpool, England in 1890 is excellent but for one omission. It does not refer to a very important part of the story; how so many mummified cats came into existence. Where exactly did …

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180,000 cat mummies ground into fertilizer in UK

Ancient Egyptian cat mummy in a tomb

This is a fascinating – and slightly horrifying – story from the 19th century. 🙀 Here’s the story: in the 1800s, there was a booming trade in mummies and mummy parts. Egyptians mummified a lot of animals, especially cats, which were sacred creatures in their culture. Victorians, however, didn’t see these mummies as cultural …

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Picture of a domestic cat outside an Egyptian temple

Picture of an Egyptian domestic cat outside a temple in which the cat looks like an ancient Egyptian statue

This is a lovely photograph as the cat looks like an ancient Egyptian statue. All the ancient Egyptian statues depict elegant, rather slender, shorthaired cats. They remind me of today’s Abyssinian cat and there may be a connection there but there is no evidence. This cat has a grey coat and steely, golden eyes …

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If you believe that a black cat brings good luck this is why

Black cats bring good luck for some. I explain the origins of this belief

To be candid, the superstitions surrounding the black cat are numerous and they either say that they bring bad or good luck in about equal numbers. That’s the power of superstition. Completely irrational but understandable. It is only the human who can harbour these strange beliefs. However, if you believe that black cats bring …

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Infographic on “What kind of cat did Cleopatra have?”

Cleopatra and cat

The infographic answers the question as best I can. It is not clear when the multitude of different domestic cat coats first emerged through natural selection (evolution) except for the classic (blotched) tabby which emerged in the 18th century. But as the domestic cat is a domesticated North Eastern wildcat which is a rather …

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First pet cats were tamed wildcats not true domestic cats

Ancient tabby cat

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 ‘commensalism’ as it is called. These early pet cats were tamed wildcats. Their behaviour …

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Animal symbolism: domestic cat

Domestic cat symbolism

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 protection. For all symbolism the true meaning is personal. Symbolic cat meanings Mysterious Independent …

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