Cats and Egyptians Cats (Felis silvestris catus), known in Ancient Egypt as "mau", were important in ancient Egyptian society. Based on recent DNA comparisons of living species, it has been estimated that cats were first domesticated from the Middle Eastern subspecies of the Wildcat about 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent. Thousands of years later, the peoples in what would later be Upper and Lower Egypt had a religion centering around the worship of animals, including … [Read more...]