Religious Significance
All of the animals in Egypt had some kind of religious significance but the animal that had the most religious significance was the cat. The cat was sacred to the goddess Bastet. They were raised in the temple and ritually killed to the gods. They were considered guardians of the temple and were worshipped as a goddess. Many believed the cat was daughter of Isis and goddess of the sun and the moon. They believed the glows from the cats eyes held captive the light of the sun. Many people carve wooden figures of cats, crafted furniture, and jewelry of cats. If you killed a cat it was a crime punishable by death. The Egyptians used to steal cats and bring home to their true home. The white cats were popular among royalty. When a cat died people would perform many different ceremonies for them. Cat mummies had hollow-cast bronze coffins.
References:
6th grade students at Urbana Middle School. Pets.com - Pets. February 12, 2001
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/VideoTestbed/Progects/Mummy/pets.html
