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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / March 2005Cats with Earrings
I went to the museum the other day, and saw a reproduction of Bast, sitting there with an earring in his ear. I'm wondering, did the anceint Egyptians put earrings in their cats' ears? (No, I have no plans on starting a new trend.) Thanks, - Ruby Tuesday >I went to the museum the other day, and saw a reproduction of Bast, sitting >there with an earring in his ear. I'm wondering, did the anceint Egyptians >put earrings in their cats' ears? That's a good question. It sounds like something those wild & crazy ancient Egyptians would do. They revered their cats, and if they did wear jewelery, it was likely gold and precious gems. Only the best! :-) Sherry > >I went to the museum the other day, and saw a reproduction of Bast, sitting > >there with an earring in his ear. I'm wondering, did the anceint Egyptians [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > was likely gold and precious gems. Only the best! :-) > Sherry I also posted this to rec.pets.cats.misc, and Cat Protector answered my question thusly: I do not think they did. Bast or Bastet was the god/goddess of cats and were only depicted as being seen with earrings. Cats were possibly adorned with other garb. Besides piercing a cat's ears would cause the cat pain and the ancient Egyptians viewed that harming a cat was a crime and they were punished if they did so. - Ruby Tuesday I am kind of into the mythological especially when it comes to cats. The history of cats in ancient Egypt was quite specific but had many interesting stories. The harming or killing of a cat resulted in death. There were also laws against the smuggling of cats but that sometimes did not stop the Phoenician traders from selling them to Mediterranean countries. As a result, Armies were sent out to recapture cats from foreign lands. Of course other stories of cats in ancient Egypt showed just how devoted people were to their cats. In fact the armies of Ancient Egypt surrendered to the Persians because of their love of cats. One story told was about a Persian General who during the war with the Egyptians came up with a plan on capturing cats knowing that the Egyptians would want no harm to come to them. He then ordered his soldiers to capture as many cats as possible. When the Persians had caught enough cats, they returned to the city of Pelusium and lined up for battle. The Egyptian army surrendered without a fight after seeing scared cats running all over the place on the battlefield. This pretty much showed how dedicated the ancient Egyptians were to cats. Of course dedication and love of cats has many places in history besides in ancient Egypt. The Muslim prophet Mohammed was once to have seen a cat sleeping on his robe. Rather than disturb the sleeping cat, he cut a hole in his robe.  SignatureCat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs! www.panthertekit.com > I also posted this to rec.pets.cats.misc, and Cat Protector answered my > question thusly: [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > - Ruby Tuesday >> >I went to the museum the other day, and saw a reproduction of Bast, >sitting [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >ancient Egyptians viewed that harming a cat was a crime and they were >punished if they did so. Actually, feline mummies have been found with pierced and adorned ears. It is likely that temple cats were bejewelled while others were not. Orchid See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid > >> >I went to the museum the other day, and saw a reproduction of Bast, > >sitting [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > adorned ears. It is likely that temple cats were bejewelled while > others were not. Interesting. Thanks for the info. - Ruby Tuesday > Orchid > See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage > Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid If that happened it could have been done so after the feline had passed. The pharaohs were often buried with valuables with the intent on taking them into the next life. In fact some Egyptians wished to have their cats buried with them. It is a fact that the statues of cats were adorned with earrings. Cats did have fancy collars mad necklaces though. There is much to be learned about cats in ancient Egypt. Incidentally, my cat Isis was named after the most revered goddess in ancient Egypt. SignatureCat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs! www.panthertekit.com >> Actually, feline mummies have been found with pierced and >> adorned ears. It is likely that temple cats were bejewelled while [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >> See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage >> Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid > I also posted this to rec.pets.cats.misc, and Cat Protector answered my > question thusly: [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > - Ruby Tuesday Then again, harming a child is a crime in our society, but we routinely circumcise them and pierce their ears while they're quite young. Acceptable practices vary wildly across cultures. Just because cats weren't to be harmed doesn't mean they didn't pierce their ears. Of course, I have no idea if they did so or not. Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* > Acceptable practices vary wildly across cultures. Just because cats weren't > to be harmed doesn't mean they didn't pierce their ears. It wasn't quite true that cats were not to be harmed in ancient Egypt. Feline mummies have been collected that appear to have been votive offerings. The cats were killed as sacrifices. Then why did they have laws making it punishable by death if a cat was harmed or killed? SignatureCat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs! www.panthertekit.com > It wasn't quite true that cats were not to be harmed in ancient Egypt. > Feline mummies have been collected that appear to have been votive > offerings. The cats were killed as sacrifices. > Then why did they have laws making it punishable by death if a cat was > harmed or killed? Hi, The Egyptians had this law as it was considered a great disrespect to the God Bastet,(Bast for short,the daughter and/or wife of Ra, the God of the Sun). Cats, were manifestations of the Deity, and were sacred; they protected the grain from mice and rats. Best Wishes, Andrea I think that child abuse is stupid, but frankly i'm PISSED OFF at the fact that people seem to think that a child's life is more valuable than a cat's life. i belive a cat's life is worth the same, or maybe more, because a cat's life is shorter than a human's, which is about a century. i am totally outraged at the damn senate for rejecting bill c-22 again and again, and sorry to get off topic, but all the cat lovers here, i can guess, agree with me. >I think that child abuse is stupid, but frankly i'm PISSED OFF at the >fact that people seem to think that a child's life is more valuable [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >c-22 again and again, and sorry to get off topic, but all the cat >lovers here, i can guess, agree with me. I"m not familiar with that bill. What is in it? Sherry Well, it says that you can be fined an unlimited fine, 6 yr. in jail, and an unlimited prohibition of owning another animal, which I am a strong supporter of, this bill. The state of the matter as it is is 2000 bucks fine 6 MONTHS in jail, and 6 months prohibition of owning an animal, which is complete bullshit. The senate are a bunch of ****ers, and they're heartless, clearly, and they won't accept the bill. By the way, this is the 4th time they haven't passed it. The house of commons supports it with all their hearts, but the senate obviously are a bunch of heathans or something. > Well, it says that you can be fined an unlimited fine, 6 yr. in jail, > and an unlimited prohibition of owning another animal, which I am a > strong supporter of, this bill. The state of the matter as it is is > 2000 bucks fine 6 MONTHS in jail, and 6 months prohibition of owning an > animal, which is complete bullshit. If you are talking about a conviction for animal abuse or neglect, 6 months in jail and a 2K fine is a lot more strict than some states mandate. Sad, but true. -L. > >I went to the museum the other day, and saw a reproduction of Bast, sitting > >there with an earring in his ear. I'm wondering, did the anceint Egyptians [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > was likely gold and precious gems. Only the best! :-) > Sherry It's my understanding that cats in Egyptian cats did not have pierced ears, for reasons stated here, even a suspicion of harming a cat was punishable by death. The earrings on the reproductions supposedly represent the reverence cats held. Also, when a cat died in Egypt they were often buried with jewelry and other art, perhaps that helps explain the earrings. I read somewhere as well that the jewelry (earrings and breastplate) were used to depict the cat as a feminine art form. <<even a suspicion of harming a cat was punishable by death.>> That's something I wouldn't argue with!!!!! I've observed that many people treat cats (not to mention all animals) as disposable. I'd love to see these morons that let their cats have litter after litter, only to drop those kittens off at pounds and shelters receive a bit of that Ancient Egyptian justice... Sorry for babbling, but am I totally alone on this?? > <<even a suspicion of harming a cat was punishable by > death.>> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > off at pounds and shelters receive a bit of that Ancient Egyptian justice... > Sorry for babbling, but am I totally alone on this?? NO! I'm with you! :) > <<even a suspicion of harming a cat was punishable by > death.>> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > off at pounds and shelters receive a bit of that Ancient Egyptian justice... > Sorry for babbling, but am I totally alone on this?? No. I think most of us are with you. |
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