The cat charm

sound made by cats, but also meant “to see.”

Snake hunters

rodent killers . Various types of poisonous snakes live in Egypt, notably the infamous asp (the species Cleopatra used to kill herself). Tru...

The oldest cat art

Precisely when the ancient Egyptians began domesticating cats is in dispute, but the oldest artwork depicting a cat dates from around 1950 B...

Deep mourning

ancient Egyptians did when a pet cat died. The whole family would go into mourning and, as an obvious outward sign of grief, shave off thei...

Sterile tom, false pregnancy

One curiosity about neutered tomcats is that some of them still seek out a female in heat and go through the motions of mating, even though ...

Ancient Egyptian humor

sacred or as beloved pets of the household—but not always. Humans have always had a sense of humor, even in ancient times. There survives ...

Ritualized mating

queen (who is in heat, naturally) is delivered in a carrier to a special queen pen in the stud house. This separates her, via wire or bars,...