← Back to the front page

Meow – The History of Cat Domestication, and How Our Furry Friends Domesticated Themselves

Khalid Elhassan June 3, 2025 17 min

10. A Different Kind of “Like”

X-ray of an ancient Egyptian statuette, with a mummified cat inside. National Geographic

Cat sacrifices in ancient Egypt reveal a complex interplay between reverence and ritual, commerce and devotion. While the idea of sacrificing sacred animals seems contradictory, to ancient Egyptians, such acts were expressions of deep piety. By offering the embodiment of Bastet herself, worshippers sought protection, health, and divine favor.

In short, ancient Egyptians did not see cats like we do today, merely as pets and cute fur ball companions. Instead, they saw them as religious sacrifices to be killed in order to please one of their gods. Ancient Egyptians liked cats, but it was a different kind of “like” than how we like cats nowadays. Today, the preserved remains of the mummified cats continue to captivate archaeologists and historians, and offer a window into the spiritual life of one of the world’s most fascinating ancient civilizations.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.