But, as all cats do, they knew how to take advantage of a situation. In Ancient Egypt, with a bit of charm, a few “accidental” nudges to expensive jars, and a couple of innocent glances, Egyptians began to see them as something more than useful pets. They became sacred. In fact, mistreating a cat wasn’t just unforgivable, it was an actual crime.
Let’s take it from the beginning.
How the field hunters became household rulers
The human-cat relationship began sometime in the Neolithic Era, around 7500 BC, when humans started storing grain. Where the granaries appeared, the mice appeared. And where the mice appeared… the wild cats of the Middle East soon followed. There was no forced domestication like with dogs. Cats approached on their own terms, humans tolerated them, and gradually it turned into a win-win situation: fewer rodents for humans, more food for cats.
Egypt turned them into deities
Even though the first contact happened earlier, it was the Egyptians who upgraded the cat from “useful animal” to a holy symbol. The cat became Bastet, the cat-headed goddess, protector of family, joy, fertility, and, let’s be honest, of doing whatever one wants without apologizing.
She wasn’t just a deity. She was a goddess you could literally cuddle, at least for as long as she would allow it. Tombs are filled with depictions of cats beside their owners and entire cemeteries are full of mummified cats. To put it in context: Egypt built pyramids for pharaohs… and mausoleums for cats.
The cat’s law
Their value was so high that killing a cat was punishable by death. There is even a documented incident where a Roman soldier killed a cat, the Egyptian crowd lynched him, and the authorities politely pretended they saw nothing. Why? Because a cat was more sacred than the priesthood itself.
Yes, Egyptian law made sure the Pharaoh never forgot who the real boss in the house was.
From the Nile to the world
Through trade and sea travel, cats journeyed with the Egyptians and later the Phoenicians across the Mediterranean. That’s how they reached Europe, where they received a very different kind of welcome.
In the Middle Ages, cats became associated with magic and witches, and were often hunted alongside them. But during the Renaissance they began to recover, and by the 18th - 19th century, they had claimed their rightful place in elegant living rooms.
From goddess to meme
And yet, if you think about it… the pattern hasn’t changed. From a statue of Bastet looking down on you, to a cat looking down on you from a Facebook meme, the essence is the same: admiration mixed with a tiny bit of fear.
Thousands of years later, cats still sit in the most inconvenient places of the house, ignore us with professional dedication… and become memes we scroll through at 3 a.m. Some things just don’t change.
🐾 Quiz time: How many cats do you have at home?
🐱 A. None (but they follow me on my feed)
🐱 B. One (the absolute queen/king)
🐱 C. Two–three (they own the house, I’m the guest)
🐱 D. I’ve lost count…
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