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Did Cleopatra Have a Cat? The Interesting Answer

Codee Chessher

By Codee Chessher

cat in luxor temple in Egypt

Cats are closely associated with ancient Egypt, so it’s only natural to wonder if any pharaohs owned cats—and no pharaoh is as famous as Cleopatra. Sadly, despite her life being heavily mythologized, there’s no historical evidence to suggest the last pharaoh owned a cat herself. One legend claims that she had a pet leopard named Arrow, but no evidence has ever been found to support its veracity.

We are pretty sure that Cleopatra interacted with cats, considering how sacred they were to the Egyptians. But to get the full picture, we need to talk some more about the role cats played in Egyptian society and mythology.

Join us below for more detailed info on how Egypt viewed cats, including their connections to deities and more.

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Cats in Ancient Egypt

Cats played a big role in ancient Egypt, where they were prized for keeping homes clear of rats and venomous snakes. Families would name their cats and give them jeweled collars, but they were generally allowed to roam wherever they pleased. Despite their association with royalty, many lower-class homes had cats because they required less training than dogs and were more independent to boot.

With that said, cats were beloved by Egyptian royalty too. They were seen as sacred animals, and when cats died, they were mummified like members of royalty. Their royal owners would shave their eyebrows and mourn the cat until they grew back, which is depicted in many hieroglyphics.

The oldest known cat mummy was dated back to 1350 BC and found in an intricately decorated limestone casket.1 Given the timing, historians think the cat was Prince Thumose’s favorite pet.

Even the modern word “cat” goes back to Egypt! The African word “quattah” inspired most European counterparts like the Spanish word “gato” and the French word “chat.” This happened because Egyptians strictly banned the export of their cats, though some Greeks smuggled three pairs out to sell to other countries. The Egyptians were so vigilant of their felines that they even formed a whole government agency to investigate and punish those who stole and harmed kitties.

Street Cat In Egyptian Temple
Image Credit: Youssef Abdelwahab, Shutterstock

Cats in Egyptian Mythology

Cats are most closely aligned with the goddess Bastet, who was originally depicted with a lion’s head. In her lion head form, Bastet was worshiped as a warrior goddess and protector of Ra, the sun god. Bastet later softened into a more domestic fertility goddess, which is when we see her portrayed with a more housecat-like head.

Cats were seen as envoys of Bastet, protecting Egypt from rats that could ruin crucial grain reservoirs and snakes that roamed the region. They got so popular by the 22nd dynasty that Bastet had a whole temple in the city of Bubastis with countless carved figurines depicting cats.

The cat craze only grew from 500 BC onward, with legendary historian Herodotus describing the festival at Bastet’s Bubastis temple as the largest in all of Egypt. Cats were routinely mummified, coffined, and even had their own cemeteries. Isis became associated with cats around this time, too, and some sources claim cats would be sacrificed as offerings—a dubious claim, to say the least, given their sacred status.

goddess of egypt bastet
Image Credit: Mia Stendal, Shutterstock

Other Animals in Ancient Egypt

Cats were the most sacred animal to ancient Egyptians, but other animals were widespread too. Dogs were seen as working animals, primarily bred for war, hunting, or policing. Some dogs close to royalty were mummified, but the practice was rare compared to cats. There are also records of the Egyptian word for dog being used as an insult, so they clearly had mixed feelings.

Exotic animals were big too, from baboons, falcons, and even crocodiles. The High Priestess Maatkare Mutemhat was long thought to be a celibate figure, so archaeologists were baffled to find her buried with a small mummified child. In the 60s, though, X-rays determined that it was actually her pet monkey!

Much like today, we think falcons were used as a less common hunting companion. As far as crocodiles, temples to the crocodile-headed underworld god Sobek would keep and feed them to curry divine favor.

saltwater crocodile
Image By: pen_ash, Pixabay

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Final Thoughts

While we don’t know for sure if Cleopatra owned a pet cat, chances are high that she knew a few. Ancient Egypt revered the felines as attendants to Bastet, but they also had dogs and more exotic pets.


Featured Image Credit: JodieAndCan, Shutterstock

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