History Facts – Though ancient Egyptians didn’t literally worship cats, they did see them and other animals as symbols of the gods’ divine qualities. They admired felines as much for their hunting prowess as they did for the way they nurtured their young, and both aspects factored into their reverence.

Their devotion was so fierce, in fact, that they shaved their eyebrows when their own cats died — the beginning of a mourning period that didn’t end until their eyebrows grew back.

Keeping a cat in one’s home was considered a way of both attracting good fortune and warding off evil spirits, and a cat’s passing was considered a significant loss — many Egyptians even mummified them. Continue reading →