Sacred Cat
The ancient Egyptians mummified animals with the same care they took for people. Sometimes, people mummified their pets, so that the pets could accompany them in their afterlife. Cats were treated as pets as early as 2100 B.C. By the later period, the cats were considered as sacred animals. Anyone who killed a sacred cat would suffer form penalty of death. When a pet cat died, the owner might shave their eyebrow as a mark of respect.
Cat goddess, Bastet was the daughter of Re, the sun god. She represent happiness, peace and love. She has a cat head and a women's body. Festivals were celebrated for her.
Cats were useful as they protected food and kept away snakes and rats.
Just like dead human beings, cat mummies had their own cemeteries. Elaborate mummification processes were also taken on the cat mummies. The biggest centre of cat worship was Bubastis. Some wooden cat coffins were found there. Thousands of cat mummies were also found in the desert near Beni Hasan. Some head of the mummy cases which were in the shape of a cat, were in green colour symbolizing bronze mask worn by mummy.
To mummify a cat, the embalmers began by removing its inside. Then they filled the pet's body cavity with earth or sand and wrapped it in bandages that had soaked in natron or treated with resin.