Cat lovers have been expressing their love for these majestic for as long as they were around. And although it has been commonly accepted that cats were first domesticated in Egypt 4,000 years ago, it has been reported that their history among human beings goes back much further.

In fact, wild cats are now known to have lived among the Mesopotamians over 100,000 years ago and to have been domesticated there approximately 12,000 BCE, roughly at about the same time as dogs, sheep, and goats.

The cat’s association with ancient Egypt, however, is completely understandable. The Egyptian culture was famous for idolizing this animal. For example, the export of cats from Egypt was so strictly prohibited that a branch of the government was formed for the sole purpose of dealing with this issue. Government agents were dispatched to other lands to search for and return cats which had been smuggled out.

Also, by 450 BCE, the penalty in Egypt for killing a cat was death.

They also had a goddess named Bastet, commonly depicted as a cat or as a woman with a cat’s head. She was among the most popular deities of the Egyptian pantheon. Bastet was the keeper of hearth and home, protector of women’s secrets, guardian against evil spirits and disease, and the goddess of cats.

So if you’re one of those crazy people who can’t understand why others love this animal so much, build yourself a time machine and visit ancient Egypt. They’ll explain it to you.