CATS ARE A CURIOSITY

Some of it truth, some of it fancy; the story of our feline friends never disappoints.

Our English word “cat” doesn’t seem to have come into general usage until around 300 A.D., give or take a few decades. Interestingly, several of the World’s languages have a word for this animal very similar to the English words “cat” or “puss” (which itself is believed to have derived from the name of the ancient Egyptian goddess Pasht, a cat-headed deity who was considered a darker manifestation of Bast; a.k.a.Bastet, acknowledged as the Mother of ALL cats and a goddess).

The following examples are all words for the creature we call “cat”: French=Chat, Welsh=Cath, Arabic=Kitt, Polish=Kot, Syrian=Kato, Sanskrit=Puccha, Persia=Pushak, Italian=Gatto, Spanish=Gato, Lithuanian=Puize, German=Katze, Russian=Kots, Irish=Pus

As for the Egyptians, they called this feline creature “Mau”, meaning “to see.” No doubt the name likely made reference to the cat’s familiar meowing. No one really knows for sure, but it is believed that the cat may have been domesticated by the ancient Egyptians 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. That is relatively recent when you consider that the dog has been our companion for at least 20,000 years & perhaps as long as 50,000 years. Having only been so close to humans for such a short time, the cat has retained many of its wilder natural instincts and behaviors, in contrast to dogs that have evolved right alongside us for quite some time now.

There is no doubt that something about their decidedly “un-domestic” & confident personality that we admire. In fact, the ancient Egyptians were so fascinated by the detached quality of the cat that they considered them to be godlike. Although we are aware that this “fact” has been disputed recently, it has been widely thought that to the Egyptians all cats were divine, and extreme behavior was often acted out to reinforce this conviction. For instance, if someone happened to come across a dead cat in the street, he or she would put on a loud display of sorrow and mourning just to make sure everyone knew they were not responsible for killing the cat. You see, according to Egyptian law, being found guilty of cat murder was punishable by death. Further, whenever a household cat died, the entire family would go through a period of grief. Deceased cats were very often mummified and entombed with fine jewelry and treasures; a custom usually reserved for only the most powerful and wealthy of the ruling class.

Now, I don’t know whether or not the following story is true (it is likely an embellishment either way), but should it prove to be, it is by far the most fanatical demonstration of Egyptian devotion to the cat that I know of.

Supposedly, in 500 B.C. during a period of war with Persia, at the city of Pelusium, the Persian and Egyptian armies engaged in fierce combat, but the Egyptians resisted the onslaught with a fixed determination to save their city. The resolve of the Egyptian war machine proved too much for the tiring Persian army. Sensing ruinous defeat if the battle continued, the Persians retreated while they still could. The Egyptians knew that this wouldn’t be the end of it, so the army maintained their state of readiness and waited for the Persians to return.

What the Persians were up to was a brilliant scheme that showed a profound understanding of their enemy’s culture and beliefs. They discovered a kink in the Egyptian armor, a weakness they could fully exploit. Night after night, the Persians deployed their elite forces to the villages and towns in the surrounding area, capturing as many cats as they could lay their hands on. Once they felt they had enough cats, the Persian army returned to the city of Pelusium.

At first, the Egyptians only noticed the distant clouds of dust, kicked up by the approaching Persian army. Both the Persian & the Egyptian troops were ready for battle; they were well rested and ready for combat. The two armies had positioned themselves in assembled ranks, glaring at each other across the battlefield.

The Egyptian General signaled for the attack and instantly, the Egyptian army charged upon the Persians who, surprisingly, held their ground. The Egyptians roared thunderously as they quickly advanced on the Persian front line. Suddenly, there was movement within the Persian forces. Confident & undaunted, the Egyptians continued their charge. Suddenly, they saw something that nearly froze them in their tracks. Hundreds of panic stricken cats were released upon the battlefield. The Egyptian army watched in horror as the animals they deemed sacred ran about the battlefield. Confusion spread through the Egyptian ranks and the Persian army seized the opportunity to take the offensive.

Advancing upon the stunned Egyptians, each Persian soldier held a cat in front of him. The Egyptians knew immediately that they were defeated since no Egyptian soldier would dare engage the enemy, for fear that doing so would surely endanger the lives of the sacred cats.

So, without suffering a single casualty, the Persians devastated the Egyptians, securing their victory. It seems likely that the Egyptians initially used cats to control the rodent population which continually destroyed crops and consumed stored grain. This seems to be a reasonable speculation, but it’s obvious that the cat meant much more to the Egyptians than that. Perhaps their status evolved from their ability to control the very thing that might have otherwise been responsible for the starvation of many citizens.

Certainly, something of the cat’s behavior suggested that a very powerful spiritual connection existed between humans, cats, and the gods. The Pharaohs and the priests alike were quite protective of their honored feline population. The distribution of cats throughout the Kingdom was carefully regulated, and the exportation of cats was absolutely forbidden. Since the cat insured agricultural security by keeping away harmful pests, a surplus of goods was able to develop which gave Egypt wealth, strength, and plenty of economic clout when it came to dealing with other countries. No wonder they guarded these animals so closely. The domesticated cat was nothing less than a priceless secret weapon that contributed immeasurably to the greatness of ancient Egypt.

But eventually domesticated cats did find their way out of Egypt thanks to the Greeks who stole the animals to control their own rodent problem, and to use as powerful bargaining chips in international trade. This didn’t go over so well with the Egyptians. In fact, one Pharaoh sent out his army to various lands in what amounted to a futile effort to recapture the liberated felines and return them home to Egypt.

Unfortunately for the Egyptians, it was too late. Warfare and trade had resulted in the distribution of domesticated cats throughout the Mediterranean and perhaps by this time, even as far as Asia. The Egyptian monopoly on domestic cats had at last come to an end and the rest, as they say, is history.