<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Cats (Felis silvestris catus), known in ancient Egypt as "Mau", were considered sacred in ancient Egyptian society . Based on recent DNA comparisons of living species, it has been estimated that cats were first domesticated from the Middle Eastern subspecies of the wildcat about 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent . Thousands of years later, the peoples in what would later be Upper and Lower Egypt had a religion centered on the worship of animals, including cats . </P> <P> Praised for controlling vermin and its ability to kill snakes such as cobras, the domesticated cat became a symbol of grace and poise . </P>

Why were cats so special in ancient egypt