History of cats and the history of Ancient Egypt are inseparably linked among themselves as Egyptians the first cultivated cat's what they tell the evidence of stay of cats in Egypt dated in the III millennium B.C. about. On paintings in tombs and frescos of a cat already then were represented in collars and in the house near owners.
We made sure that ancestors of modern Cats and Barsikov left the first prints of the paws in Ancient Egypt. However we still do not know how cats appeared? Some researchers claim that these animals appeared as a result of crossing of wild euro-African and cane cats.
The reason why fluffy owners of big mustache and tails played so important role in the history of Ancient Egypt, is simple. This country always was mainly agrarian, and cats helped the owners the fact that controlled the number of rodents, thereby protecting crops. Nevertheless, the history of origin of cats in Egypt is connected not only with protection of harvests of the owners. Animals also used these as hunters, training on rats, moles, birds and even hares.
We continue to light the history of cats in Egypt. These lovely creatures held not only as rodents and birds hunters. They were considered as true keepers of the center, loved them, even idolized. When the cat died of an old age, Egyptians grieved over loss, as if someone from family members died. Buried cats with all honors at special cemeteries. The mummified remains of the Egyptian cats found even in some tombs of Pharaohs.
It is not necessary to doubt that cats in Ancient Egypt were really worshipped. Not for nothing the goddess of female beauty, love, happiness, fun and fertility Bastet was represented in the form of a cat or the woman with the cat's head. Ra, by the way, too sometimes represented Ancient Egyptian god of the sun in the form of a red cat.
Cats as sacred animals and Bastet's favourites were in every possible way preserved and protected. For premeditated murder of a poor cat or kitty of the person sentenced to death, and for inadvertent – to essential penalties.
The truth there were in the history of Egypt also sad pages related to favourite pets of Egyptians. According to Ptolemaeus, in 525 the cats played a crucial role in occupation of the boundary city of Pelusiya by the Persian tsar Kambis of II who intruded in Egypt. Persians were not able to storm the strengthened cities and to take Pelusy, Kambis II resorted to cunning. Knowing about love of Egyptians for cats, he ordered to the soldiers standing in the forefront troops to tie to boards of poor animals. When Persians went forward, troops of the Pharaoh did not dare to throw the enemy arrows and copies, being afraid to kill sacred animals inadvertently. According to other version images of cats were applied to boards of the Persian soldiers.
Nevertheless, even despite this disappointing loss, Egyptians did not cease to consider cats sacred animals and to worship them.