Cats enjoyed an honored place in Ancient Egyptian society. According to Egyptian creation myth, Ra sent his daughter Sekhmet as punishment against humanity.
Bastet (also known as Bast), her kind sister, personified the feminine feline qualities of nurturing and protection. Many bronze statues featuring feline goddesses feature dedicatory inscriptions asking for health, fertility and protection for them and their humans.
Egyptians
Ancient Egyptians lived alongside wild lions, panthers and jungle cats. Cats also served as domestic pets or were bred for physical appearance or hunting skills. Bastet, an Ancient Egyptian cat goddess first associated with Lower Egypt depicted as a fierce goddess depicted as a fierce female lioness, became increasingly revered among them due to her terrifying abilities as one of several leonine deities; she could assume an intimidating form that threatened enemies at any moment – Egyptians fearing divine female rage while venerated sacred cats for their inherent fierceness.
Bastet was eventually overshadowed by Sekhmet and her image softened into that of a domestic cat goddess. Sekhmet served as a protector against disease and evil spirits while also patronising domestic animals and encouraging fertility and growth – in Egyptian culture killing cats was strictly forbidden.
Greeks
Olmecs of Central America had pre-Columbian myths of gods appearing as felines; after being conquered by invaders, many religious tales and rituals from these cultures merged with that of their captors, eventually adopting cats as deities; this trend also exists today with big cats such as South America’s jaguar being revered as powerful deities; indeed there have been stories about were-jaguars!
Ancient Egyptians revered Bastet, or “sacred cat,” as a god. She was revered as an invigorating healer, pest controller, fertility provider and fertility god – her temple served as the hub of city life and seeing a cat washing its face near a door was seen as good luck; while any instance where it urinated on an object could signal danger.
Rural Thailand holds an annual rainmaking ceremony wherein a female cat raised in a temple is the center of attention during a rain-making ritual, being paraded from house to house while devotional songs are sung and the cat is showered with water. European witch trials held during 16th and 17th century CE held similar belief about individuals being able to shape-shift into cat form (along with bats, owls and toads).
Chinese
Ancient Egyptians held cats in high regard, particularly due to their mutually beneficial relationship: cats kept rodents away from crops while humans provided food.
Domestic cats were long seen as symbols of hearth and home, with their reproductive habits serving to further this connection. Egyptian goddess Bastet, for instance, is often depicted both as a mother cat with multiple kittens as well as being shown wearing both roles simultaneously.
Li Shou was revered as the goddess of cats in China, representing their role in world creation. Pets that looked similar to her were made to honor her, while petitions and sacrifices were often offered up as thanks for protection and fertility.
Even today, Chinese people still adorn their cats with jewelry that reflects her features, calling them nekomata (cat spirits). Cats are also widely kept pets in Japan where they are known as bakeneko while Thailand and Burma believe cats carry souls directly to heaven upon their deaths.
Quechua Indians
Cats have played an essential role in Indian society for millennia. Cats feature prominently in two epic texts of India – Mahabharata and Ramayana. One famous tale involves Lomasa helping Palita escape death.
Egypt venerated cats as sacred and the goddess Bastet used her felines as instruments of her punishment on humans. While she could be quite fearsome at times, Bastet also represented motherly love despite being considered an angry deity.
The Bastet legend resembles that of Egypt’s Lioness who guarded her cubs; in Greek myth, cats played an integral part in Heracles’ shape-shifting; throughout medieval Europe black cats became associated with witchcraft and evil; today in Japan maneki neko (the cat with one raised paw) symbolises Kitty Kato who brings good luck into homes.