How cats evolved through the ages





    At one time in history, cats were considered to be deity and, at another time, cats
    were considered to be devils.  How did this happen?  

       Diety
    Cats became useful to humans during the time in ancient history when nomadic
    tribes settled down and built granaries to store the grain they were able to
    harvest only once or twice a year.
    Then the reigning Pharoahs built royal granaries for the whole country.  Rats and
    mice caused a problem by being attracted to the grain and causing diseased food,
    so farmers used cats to keep the rodent population down.  Pharoahs confiscated
    cats and called them royal property, at which time it became a capital crime to kill or
    injure one.  
    The cats endeared themselves to humans who came to enjoy them as household
    companions and they became an essential part of everyday life.  Soon, due to their
    mysterious and fascinating nature, they were elevated to the level of gods,
    associated with fertility, motherhood, grace and beauty.  The cat god was called
    Bastet and became one of the most revered gods in worship.  
    We can find evidence of this in stories written on papyrus, in ancient jewelry
    depicting cats, and by the numerous statues and paintings of household cats which
    were created during this period.    























    When a household cat died, the Egyptian family mourned, embalmed the cat and
    usually placed it in a coffin in the Temple of Bastet, where 300,000 cat mummies
    were later excavated.  Interestingly, mummified rodents were placed along with
    the cat mummies, to provide food for the cat’s afterlife.  The city where this temple
    was located was called Bubastis and was the capital of Egypt for some time.     
    Cats traveled on ship throughout the Mediterranean to protect the crew’s grain
    and to help predict natural disasters.  They soon became popular in the ports of
    other countries.  They also became popular in India and China, where they
    protected the silkworms from prey.

         Devil
    A big change occurred in the Middle Ages, when the mysterious cats became
    feared, hated and often sacrificed.  This was at the time of the Grand Inquisition,
    when the church was persecuting not only humans but cats as well.  Catholics
    began to associate cats with witches and other heathens, since witches sometimes
    performed rituals with black cats. Pope Innocent VIII proclaimed cats as evil “by
    association” with witches.  Leaders of the church declared that cats must be killed,
    sometimes killing the owner along with the cat.     
    In places where the church was predominant, the cat population dwindled and the
    rodent population grew.  Rodent fleas passed on the bacteria that caused humans
    to succumb to illness and death.  The result was the Bubonic Plague.  After some
    time, people became very busy taking care of the sick and dying, and so the cat
    persecution stopped.  The cat population grew and killed enough of the rodents to
    stop the Plague.  Eventually, the cause of the Plague was identified and people
    again realized that cats were very useful.  

    Companions
    By the Renaissance, having a cat no longer needed to be kept secret.  Cats
    returned to their useful place in the household.  It wasn’t until about the
    nineteenth century, however, that cats were kept merely for pleasure.      
How cats evolved