Felis sylvestris catus, the ancestor of all modern domestic cats, became vital in terms of protecting Egypt's grain stores early in Egypt's history. So important were these once wild animals, that they had their own deities to honor them. First, the goddess Mafdet, a lion-headed deity, was also associated with protection from and for the domestic cats; later Mafdet was supplanted by Bast or Bastet, who soon became assoicated not just with Egypt's cats, but with protection, fertility and motherhood. Cats, both in an effort to honor the goddess Bastet and to ensure that they too would join their people in the next life, were mummified with the same level of care as people, and placed in tombs.
Herodotus, the historian who visited Egypt in 450 B.C.E., reports that a city, Bubastis, was dedicated to the feline deity Bast, and that the city center was dominated by a vast temple dedicated to her worship. So sacred were cats, that Herodotus reports it was illegal to kill one. At various points in Egypt's history is has been illegal to export Egypt's cats. Over hundreds of years, the cat became Felis catus, the domestic cat.
The breed of domestic cat most closely associated with Egypt is the Egyptian Mau; a phonetic transcription of the Egyptian word miw, a word whose root means "sight." While these elegant cats with their slender bodies and wide-flared ears are not known to be descended from the ancient cats of Egypt's temples, they are certainly strikingly similar. The are a short-hair species of domestic cat, and the only domestic breed that is naturally spotted. In addition to their spots, and their long, lean muscular build, they have some species-specific traits. These include hind legs that are slightly longer than their front legs, giving the Mau a natural advantage in terms of a ground-covering and very fast stride, enhanced by the extra skin fold under their belly and hind quarters. This flap of skin, a trait which the Mau shares with the Cheetah, allows the Mau's hind legs to stretch even farther. The Mau are temperature-sensitive, and prefer warm climates. They are also exceedingly vocal.
As a known breed, the Egyptian Mau's history begins in 1953, when a Russian living in exile, Princess Natalie Troubetskay, became fascinated by the cat of the Egyptian Ambassador to Italy. She convinced the Ambassador to assist her in obtaining a number of additional cats from Egypt, and she began to breed them. They are now a registered breed, with prices in the $300.00 to $800.00 range.
align="right">Image Credit: Lil Shepherd