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Ancestor, Mother, Goddess

Anissa Lynne Johnson

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8,000 years ago, at the dawn of human civilization in the Fertile Crescent, rodents plagued the settlements, attracted by crops and the by-products of agriculture. Humans proved defenseless against the hordes searching for an easy meal, reproducing at exponential rates. No Neolithic weapons were advanced enough to protect the humans’ food supply, that is, until African wildcats followed the rodent aroma and started to chow down, initiating the first feline-human contact. 

Unlike their cousins, the African wildcats were friendly towards people, even interested in relationship with them. The cats didn’t need the farmers to train them to come back for food. They did so of their own freewill. No whips or cages or litterboxes. Just the beauty of symbiosis, of cat and human keeping each other alive. Natural domestication occurred, not out of an exertion of power or control, but out of necessity. Out of affection. And no one enjoyed the African wildcats’ company more than the Egyptians. 

Because the cats were adept at killing both pests and predators, such as venomous snakes, they were quickly recognized and praised in Egypt as protectors, warding off contagious diseases and evil spirits. For this reason, as early as the First Dynasty of Egypt, Pharaoh brought African wildcats to live in his household instead of outside. The longer the Pharaoh’s cats were removed from the wild, the more they adapted to the pampered life indoors. Food at the ready. 

The African wildcats’ easy-going temperament persuaded Pharaoh to breed his cats, selling their litters in markets throughout Egypt. As the descendants of Pharaoh’s cats entered the homes of many Egyptians, their popularity increased. This stimulated the economy while also protecting the people. The cats were so beloved that they were mummified and buried next to their owners, so the pair would remain together in the afterlife.

By the 12th Dynasty of Egypt, cats were worshipped as deities. Believed to be guardians to the underworld. The goddesses Mafdet, Bastet, Sekhmet, and Mut were all depicted with cat-like heads, representing justice, fertility, and power. Cats roamed the city as they pleased and were greeted with the reverence due to a deity. Any harm brought to a cat was considered a high crime and punishable by law, occasionally met with the death penalty—but that one was typically reserved for those who dared to take a cat out of Egypt.  

This is why it took roughly 1,600 years before some gutsy trader managed to smuggle the first domestic cats into Rome, whose sprawling conquests spread the cats throughout the continent. It took yet another 600 years before cats were known in England. And then, in the late 1400s, colonizers of the Americas adored their kitty-cats so much, they couldn’t bear to leave them behind, further extending the empire of the African wildcat.

From the Fertile Crescent all the way to your couch, where your housecat still exhibits its wildness. Hunts small fauna like birds, rats, and mice. Carries kittens around by the scruff of their neck. And, just like its ancestors did on trees, your cat scratches the furniture to sharpen its claws. But also, to mark its territory. This is their house, and you’re just living in it. Bow down with dish of food in your hand.

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Daisy in her absolute favorite place: in a blanket.

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Anissa Lynne Johnson is a disabled writer from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Her work has appeared in Press Pause Press, EcoTheo, Wig-Wag, among others. In 2025, her poem “It is Still Good” won Honorable Mention in the Writer’s Digest 94th Annual Writing Competition. She’s currently snuggling with her miniature dachshund, Daisy.

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