Dealing with Loss: The Egyptian Way

For many of us the death of a beloved pet, like the family cat, is a source for tremendous sadness and loss. The loss of a cat is the loss of a companion and family member and we all have different ways of dealing with the sorrow. Some cat-owners bury their cats at special pet-graveyards whereas others choose to handle their grief by getting a new pet.

The most peculiar way of handling the death of a cat must be attributed to the old Egyptians. The famed traveller and author Herodotus noted that in Egypt, when a cat died they were often taken to the holy place of Bubastis to be mummified and buried in a great cat-cemetery. At Bubastis the Swiss Egyptologist Edouard Naville also discovered proof of cats having being cremated. Naville found piles of cat-remains around the area and a great many graves. Near each grave lay a furnace with bricks blackened from fire. At other places, especially along the Nile, many cats were given a full embalming ceremony and buried in great cemeteries.

When a cat died their former owners would go into a period of mourning and shave their eyebrows off as a sign of grief. The process of feline mummification encompassed the following steps:

1. Removal of organs
2. Body is stuffed with sand or packing material
3. Feline is placed in a sitting position
4. Body is wrapped tightly
5. Faces and designs are painted on wrappings with black ink

In the tombs of the cats were filled with bowls of milk along with mice and rats. Also, cats were not only revered by every Egyptian, but also by the law. The devoutness of the Egyptian culture to the cat was so fierce, that if a human killed a feline, either intentionally or unintentionally, the person was to be sentenced to death.

Nowadays though, we might find mummifying cats slightly odd. However, there is help available for the grief-struck. Here are some listed sites who may be able to help you:

http://www.pet-loss.net/index.shtml
http://www.lightning-strike.com
http://www.humananimalinteraction.org.au/category/pet_loss_and_grief
http://www.rainbowsbridge.com/Grief_Support_Center/Pet_Loss_Resources/petloss_hot_lines.htm
http://www.foaonline.org/petloss.html