Current Events > Mummified Cats - why was this a thing?

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People would steal cats of the streets and put them in air tight boxes to suffocate them. Sometimes with a candle to use the air up quicker. Apparently the screams of the cats were meant to drive out evil spirits.

Once they were dead theyd just mummified and put in wall cavities to keep lit evil spirits.

You just know somewhere people are still doing this shit.

SHRlKE posted...

You just know somewhere people are still doing this shit.

What makes you believe this? If I'm not mistaken, every mummified cat found so far has been centuries old.

Maybe not in this country but somewhere round the world its probably happening.

SHRlKE posted...

Maybe not in this country but somewhere round the world its probably happening.

Eh, probably not. It was primarily found to be done in European countries, where there was a heavy belief in witchcraft. It wasn't really happening in less civilized countries, so it's doubtful to be happening there, and said practice obviously ended a long while ago in the European countries.

SHRlKE posted...

Maybe not in this country but somewhere round the world its probably happening.

Citation needed.

I thought this was going to be about Egyptian mummified cats. I saw one in the London museum 20 years ago

This, I never knew about. Very disturbing

At one dig they found a baby tiger in with a bunch of mummy cats. Weird and wild stuff.

The Egyptians, btw, mummified their cats and birds for the same reason we bury our pets. It's just cause they loved their pets. The didn't literally worship their animals, they "worshipped" them in the same way that we dote over our animals.

Robot2600 posted...

The Egyptians, btw, mummified their cats and birds for the same reason we bury our pets. It's just cause they loved their pets. The didn't literally worship their animals, they "worshipped" them in the same way that we dote over our animals.

This is true. They believed certain deities shared traits with the common cat, not the other way around of believing cats were deities. Egyptians just really fucking loved cats as pets.

Many animal mummies weren't even made with ANY pieces of what the sellers said they were. They could just wrap up sticks and dirt in the shape of the animal the customer wanted.

having been to places like Florida Im going to have to side with the OP when they say:

SHRlKE posted...

Maybe not in this country but somewhere round the world its probably happening.

StealThisSheen posted...

This is true. They believed certain deities shared traits with the common cat, not the other way around of believing cats were deities. Egyptians just really fucking loved cats as pets.

The ancient Egyptian word for cat is "Meow"