Cats in Ancient Egypt.

Cats were a revered animal in Egypt. Egypt had a cat goddess, Bast or Bastet, and all cats themselves were considered demigods. Cats lived pretty cushy lives, better so than many of the people of Egypt themselves. Egypt's original use of cats was to keep the royal granaries and such of Egypt vermin free. The cat's job itself was not so simple; the vermin bred quite rapidly and ate like kings in the mountains of …

…ancient Egyptian love for cats is incomparable to that of any other civilization. They were held as greatly needed by city workers, beyond reproach and dearly loved family members. Their deaths were as upsetting as that of a human, if not more, and their all seeing eyes were amulets for those in need of protection. Today cats are no longer demigods or city workers, but in many cases they are still dearly loved family members.