Cats & History
From divine beings to internet gods — the long reign of the cat
The First Alliance
As humans began farming in the Fertile Crescent, grain stores attracted rodents — and wild cats followed. This wasn't domestication so much as a mutual business arrangement. Cats got easy food; humans got pest control. Neither asked permission.
Gods Among Us: Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, cats were sacred. The goddess Bastet — protector of home, fertility, and women — was depicted as a cat or cat-headed woman. Killing a cat, even accidentally, was punishable by death. When a family cat died, the entire household shaved their eyebrows in mourning.
The Dark Times
Medieval Europe was not kind to cats. Associated with witchcraft and superstition, cats were persecuted across the continent. Ironically, reducing the cat population likely contributed to the spread of the Black Plague — fewer cats meant more rats, more rats meant more fleas, more fleas meant more plague.
Cats at Sea
Sailors considered cats good luck and essential crew members. Ship cats controlled the rat population that would otherwise destroy food supplies and chew through ropes. Many famous vessels had official ship cats, some of whom served through multiple wars and earned their own service records.
Félicette: First Cat in Space
On October 18, 1963, France launched Félicette — a Parisian stray — into space aboard a Véronique AG1 rocket. She survived the journey and parachuted safely back to Earth. She is the only cat to have gone to space and returned alive, and received a memorial statue in 2019.
The Internet Era
If Ancient Egypt was the first golden age of cats, the internet is the second. Lolcats, Grumpy Cat, keyboard cat, Nyan Cat — internet culture and cat culture became synonymous. Studies suggest that watching cat videos genuinely improves mood and reduces stress. Science has spoken.