I have been sacred to more than one religion, and at different times and places have been considered both good and bad.

I was not around during this period, but I am told the Goddess Bastet was often said to be the daughter of Ra, and she was associated with cats, those who took care of cats, joy, pleasure, children and all things feminine.

Her cult was centred in the city of Bubastis, where, once her temple stood. The Greek historian, Herodotus said "there is no temple more beautiful than that of Bubastis". Besides that, there was a necropolis where hundreds of mummified cats were buried. She also had an annual festival, which seems to have been one of the most popular in Egypt. She is often represented either as a woman with a cat's head, or just as a cat.

Killing one of us was a heinous crime, and when a household cat died mourning rites were performed for it. We were often found in temples and were ritually fed;

Stray cats were treated with honour and the household cat was allowed to share the family's food.

There were also Cat amulets produced and elaborate cat-sized sarcophagi crafted for cats who had died, and who were often embalmed as humans were.

Followers of the goddess Diana also considered the cat sacred. It was told to me she once assumed the form of a cat, and cats were under her special protection.

Norse... we were venerated alongside the goddess Freyja, a Vanir goddess of youth, sexual love and fertility, pretty much the Scandinavian equivalent of Aphrodite. The day Friday is named after her (in German, in fact, it is Freitag). Her connection with cats is this. Her personal transport was a magnificent chariot, drawn by two large grey cats. Probably this connection was made because of the fertility cults which passed from Egypt (the rites of Bastet) to Scandinavia via Rome. As the cats travelled, lore and myth travelled with them...

In Britain and Australia black cats are considered lucky, and in some places white cats are correspondingly unlucky. In many parts of Europe and in the United States, however, it is the black cat who is ill-omened. In Britain tortoiseshell cats will bring their owners luck.

Blue cats bring luck in Russia. There is an old saying about black cats: 'Whenever the cat of the house is black, the lasses of lovers shall have no lack'. It was also said that if the household cat sneezed near a bride on her wedding day, she would have a happy married life. It was funny watching them trying to make one sneeze <3~'