Cat

The Egyptian name for the cat ( maaou ) is evidently onomatopoetic. As a symbol, this animal played a part which has hitherto not been clearly determined. Certain papyri show us the cat severing the serpent’s head from its body, a symbol which would seem to point out the cat as the destroyer of the enemies of the daylight and the sun. Again, the godde Bast is represented with a cat’s head, the animal being sacred to her.