15 Mind-Blowing Cat Facts You Need To Know
11. Egyptian Cat Owners Used To Shave Their Eyebrows In Mourning
When someone you know - be it a relative, a friend, or a pet - passes away, the normal process is to go into a period of mourning to remember your loved ones. This can include crying, a funeral, and other general feelings of depression. However, it's said that when Egyptians lost their feline friends, they used to treat the situation rather differently.
In an article published in the Ancient History Encyclopedia in January 2012, Herodotus stated that in ancient Egyptian times (around 440BC, to be precise), cat owners would shave off their own eyebrows upon the loss of a cat out of mourning. This only applied to cats who passed on from natural causes (e.g. old age). Every member of the household where the cat lived, regardless of their age or gender, would shave off their brows as a sign of respect.
As for dog owners, they would shave their entire body upon the passing of man's best friend - head included. Those ancient Egyptians took loving your pets to the next level!
While not the most exciting fact ever, it's highly intriguing to see just how respected cats used to be treated hundreds of years ago.