THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



THE GOD CAT. 

 (/''rani an old Wood-cut.} 



So runs the legend, and in an old Italian 

 picture representing the departure from the 

 Ark we may observe a big brindled cat lead- 

 ing the procession of animals with an air of 

 dignity and self-satisfaction. According to 



the Arabic scholar 

 Damirei, there was no 

 cat in the Garden of 

 Eden. It is a singular 

 fact that nowhere in the 

 canonical books of the 

 Old Testament nor in 

 the New Testament is 

 the cat mentioned, and 

 if we take into con- 

 sideration the number 

 of books connected 

 with the life, manners, 

 customs, and religions 

 of the Egyptians, this 

 omission is the more 

 striking. The only 

 Biblical reference to 



cats occurs in the Book of Baruch, chap, vi., 

 v. 22. This is a letter by Jeremy to the Chil- 

 dren of Israel, who were taken captive by 

 Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon. Some Hebrew 

 scholars have asserted that the animals that 

 prowled and cried among the ruins of Babylon 

 were jackals, and not cats. 



But however much the origin of the feline 

 tribe is wrapped in mystery, we are certain 

 that more than 3,000 years ago the cat lived 

 and was loved along the banks of the Nile. 

 The ancient city of the Pharaohs paid her 

 homage ; she was admitted into the ranks 

 of sacred animals, she was worshipped in the 

 temples. Jewels were placed in her ears and 

 necklaces about her neck. Figures of cats 

 were kept in the home and buried in the tomb. 

 Trinkets representing both the goddess and 

 the cat were worn upon the person, to indi- 

 cate special devotion on the part of the wearer. 

 There seems but little doubt that the ancient 

 and well-beloved cat of the Egyptians was 

 a barred or marked animal, answering to some 

 extent to our homely tabby. Paintings and 

 statuettes of this type frequently occur, and 



therefore we may it take for granted that the 

 Egyptians, who were so realistic and true to 

 Nature when dealing with the animal world, 

 would have presented cats of other species had 

 they existed. 



According to the historian, animal worship 

 was first introduced into Egypt by Chores, the 

 second king of the Second Dynasty. 



The Egyptians made gods of many living 

 creatures of all kinds, amongst others the 

 bull, the crocodile, the ibis, the hawk, the 

 beetle, and the asp ; but the cat appears to 

 have held the highest place in their hearts. 

 Not only was it preserved from injury, 

 beloved and venerated during life, but at 

 its death it was buried with all respect, 

 and everyone mourned for it with out- 

 ward and visible signs of grief, even to 

 the extent of shaving off their eyebrows. 

 The Egyptian's idea of a correct burial 

 involved mummification, so that all the parts 

 might be preserved and thus kept from 

 annihilation against the day of resurrection. 

 A rich man's cat was very elaborately 

 mummified. Different coloured stuffs were 





AN EGYPTIAN WALL-PAINTING : THE ADORATION 



OF THE GODDESS PASHT. 



(.British Museum.) 



