A gift from the cat
Today morning when my husband and I were moving around in front of our house, a cat came towards us carrying a rat, it left the rat near us and ran away. I was telling about this to my daughter when she said, “Oh my God, do you know that cats give gifts to humans?” I had absolutely no idea. I have seen cats behaving differently in Egypt and after we came back, the cats around our house are behaving in a totally different way with us. I wanted to write an article on this today and when daughter gave me this information I thought I can add this if found true.
So I did a search on the net and I was totally taken aback to find it to be true! When a cat brings you an animal they caught, they consider you a part of their family. Their instincts are telling them this is what they need to do to survive and that they need to pass these important, life-saving skills onto their family.
Moving around and relaxing in groups
While exploring Egypt, I was surprised to see cats moving in groups. In India we see this behaviour in dogs, but I have never seen it among cats. While visiting an artisan’s place in Nubian village, I saw many cats sitting around, relaxing. They were not bothered as we sat next to them.
Even while visiting monuments, cats will be relaxing or moving around very comfortably among the tourists.
Different behaviour of cats at home
On coming back from Egypt we found a distinct difference in the cats’ behaviour to us. One day we saw a cat sitting on the parapet in front of our house. It had the air of owning this house. It was sitting with eyes closed, when we made some sound, it looked at us, then closed eyes again! Another day, two cats were sitting near the gate, and they would just stay put when we open the gate and come in.
Cats – Magical creatures
Egyptians believed cats were magical creatures, bringing good luck to the people who housed them. These treasured pets were honoured by wealthy families, they were adorned with jewels and fed with treats fit for royalty. When the cats died, they were embalmed, coffined and buried in cat cemeteries, or mummified. On the death of a household cat, the entire neighbourhood mourned for it. The cat was embalmed and mummified and usually buried along with their masters.
According to Egyptian mythology, Gods and Goddesses had the power to transform themselves into different animals. Only one Goddess named Bastet, had the power to become a cat and a beautiful temple was built in the city of Per-Bast, where people came from all over to experience its splendour. The Egyptian goddess Bastet had the head of a cat and the body of a woman.
In Ancient Egypt, civilians would suffer severe punishment if they hurt a cat. From at least the year 450 BC if anyone even hurt a cat, the punishment was death. Through their ubiquitous presence in the art, fashion and home ornamentation of ancient Egypt, cats served as an everyday reminder of the power of the gods. Cats were drawn on walls, on ceilings, carved out of stones, sculpted on amulets and painted on clothes.
Cleopatra loved cats
Cleopatra loved cats, and it is claimed that her pet was an Egyptian Mau, one of the first domesticated cats in the world. “Mau” is the sound of the cat and perhaps an ancient Egyptian word. They are spotted short-haired cats with green or amber eyes and tend to be very friendly and loyal.
The cat culture continued for centuries, until 30 AD when Egypt became a part of the Roman Empire. Several pagan rituals were banned by the Romans in the following centuries, thus cat worshipping and religion grew apart. Since then, the affection and significance for cats declined.
References:
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/pages/article/cats-rule-in-ancient-egypt
https://www.history.com/news/cats-ancient-egypt
https://www.thesprucepets.com/cat-hunting-gifts-553946#:~:text
https://visa-for-egypt.com/blog/why-were-cats-important-in-ancient-egypt/
