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The Cat in Ancient and Modern Egypt
The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum has many examples of cat
images from ancient Egypt, in every material form bronze, through wood, and
including mummies!
Cats were first domesticated in ancient Egypt. This means
that all cats were wild until the Egyptians began sharing their homes with
them. This happened over 6,000 years ago! All of our cats today are descended
form Egyptian wild cats.
Egyptians loved their cats, and considered them to be
protectors of the house. Most cats did not have names: they were just called
Ta-Mieuw, or "The Meower", out of respect for their privacy.
The Egyptians thought a name was magical. Cats were so
spoiled in Egypt, that some even wore jewelry, such as earrings.
After death, the housecat was mummified and given a decent
burial. One prince of Egypt, Thutmose, had his little female cat, "Ta-Miewet",
buried with him in a stone coffin of her own.
The cat lived well in Egypt, even when the state religion
changed to Christianity, and later, Islam. There is a legend that the Prophet
Mohammed so loved cats, that he cut the sleeve off his own coat, rather than
wake a kitten that had fallen asleep on it, Another legend says that Egyptian
cats are striped, because those are the finger marks where the Prophet petted their
ancestors.
Even today, cats are treated better in Egypt than in many
other parts of the Near and Middle East. But if you travel and decide to take
home a kitten, make sure it is a tame one and not one of the wild cat cousins
of the desert!
by Lisa Schwappach-Shirriff, MA
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Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum & Planetarium
