egyptian cat Low-poly 3D model

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For over 30 centuries, cats were integral to ancient Egyptian social and religious practices. Deities such as Mafdet, Bastet, Sekhmet, and Mut were often depicted with feline features. Cats were praised for protecting the Pharaoh by eliminating venomous snakes; skeletal remains of these felines have been found in funerary goods dating back to the 12th Dynasty. The Book of the Dead highlights their protective role, representing Ra and the benefits of the sun for life on Earth. Cat-shaped decorations from the New Kingdom era indicate that the cat cult was increasingly influential in everyday life. Cats were often associated with Bastet's name. In the late 1880s, over 200,000 mummified animals, mostly cats, were discovered in Beni Hasan cemetery. The African wildcat (Felis lybica) and jungle cat (Felis chaus) were common among the mummified felines found in Gizeh. This demonstrates that the cat cult significantly contributed to Egypt's economy, requiring breeding of cats and a trading network for their food, oils, and resins needed for embalming.