What the cat skulls reveal

Ancient Egyptian cats were culturally important, but the skulls examined at Beni Hassan suggest that many lived with injuries and signs of disease. This article explains what the archaeological findings can—and cannot—tell us about cat care in ancient Egypt.

Beni Hassan cat remains provide evidence about the animals’ health and living conditions, while the study’s focus on skulls limits conclusions about their overall lives.

Skull findings: More than half of the 131 well-preserved cat skulls showed signs of gum disease.
Animal health: Researchers also found healed fractures, puncture marks, and deformations linked to illness or infection.
Age profile: Adults made up 86% of the specimens examined in the study.
Study limitation: The skulls alone cannot provide a complete picture of the cats’ health or treatment.

Ancient Egyptians famously valued cats, which appear in hieroglyphics, obelisks, and other forms of art. Cats eventually became symbols of divinity and protection in Egypt, but whether that status meant they were pampered is less clear, according to new research.

A close analysis of 131 well-preserved felid skulls from Beni Hassan, an ancient Egyptian funerary site, revealed “pathologies” that suggest some cats lived in poor conditions. More than half showed signs of gum disease, and the researchers also found “healed fractures, puncture marks, and deformations” associated with infections or other illnesses. The study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, also presents evidence that the cats were kept in crowded spaces.

“What struck us most was the high proportion of injuries and evidence of disease, suggesting that these cats lived in poor conditions,” Bea De Cupere, a study co-author and zooarchaeologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, told Phys.org. “This is not what one would expect for animals destined to become votive mummies.”

What does the archaeological record say about cats in ancient Egypt?

Ancient Egyptian art and burials show that cats held an important place in Egyptian society, though beliefs and practices changed over time. The evidence includes cat mummies in human tombs and images of cats in domestic scenes.

Archaeological records document cats in both funerary and everyday contexts, but they do not establish that every cat received the same treatment.

A limestone drawing depicts a scene from a cat fable. The image dates to around 1120 BCE, during Egypt’s 19th dynasty. © Egyptian Museum via Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)

Julia Troche, an Egyptologist at Missouri State University, said it is “hard to say the Egyptians thought one thing or another, since so much change happened across their 3,000+ years of history.” She added that the archaeological record strongly suggests cats were important. Mummified cats have been found in human tombs whose walls depict cats lying beneath chairs, chasing birds, or playing.

That significance was not always reflected in how animal remains were treated in the 19th and early 20th centuries. According to the study, people then unearthed pits containing “densely packed layers of mummified cats, ten to twenty animals deep.” Animal mummies were not considered especially important at the time and were “repurposed as ship ballast, fertilizer, fuel, or even powdered medicine,” the researchers wrote.

William A. Herdman, a British biologist, helped preserve some of these remains by securing a small portion of roughly 200,000 animal mummies that had been set aside for a fertilizer auction. However, Herdman mostly salvaged the skulls, and the rest of the bodies were probably discarded, according to the study.

How did researchers study the Beni Hassan cat skulls?

The researchers combined osteological analysis with noninvasive methods, including X-ray analysis, to examine the remains and estimate the cats’ ages at death. They also identified several types of felids and used radiocarbon dating on nine skulls.

X-ray analysis and radiocarbon dating helped researchers assess age and chronology, while the skulls supplied evidence of injuries and dental conditions.

The researchers used basic osteological analysis and noninvasive methods where possible, including X-rays to construct an age profile. Adults accounted for 86% of the specimens in this study; previous studies of cat mummy deposits typically found a much lower adult proportion, around 20%.

The remains included jungle cats, domestic cats, African wild cats, and possible hybrids. Radiocarbon dating of nine skulls placed eight between 380 and 40 BCE, spanning Egypt’s Late Period and Ptolemaic period. The remaining skull dated to much earlier, during the Third Intermediate Period, around the 10th century BCE.

Egypt Cat Skulls Punctures — Examples of **puncture marks** observed on the cat skulls. © Van Neer et al., 2026

Compared with modern cats, the Beni Hassan cats had dental problems “broadly comparable to or lower than those reported” in modern feral populations, according to the study. The skulls also showed different puncture marks and fractures, possibly caused by other cats or by humans. Some lesions suggested that a cat had been struck with a sharp metal object and possibly a thick wooden stick. The injuries had not healed, which likely means they caused the cat’s death.

What do the injuries suggest about the cats’ living conditions?

The combination of injuries, disease, and evidence of crowding suggests that some cats experienced poor conditions and nutritional stress. Researchers said dense populations could have contributed to stress, aggression, and the spread of disease.

Injuries and disease in the cat skulls provide evidence of health problems, but they do not reveal a single explanation for every wound.

“The intention behind these acts of violence is not always clear,” the research team wrote. Fatal injuries may have caused a quick death before mummification, while healed wounds show that some cats survived injuries. The study also notes that some injuries might have resulted from human “disciplinary measures.” The “numerous indications” of infections and metabolic diseases point to poor conditions and nutritional stress.

“The high density of animals would inevitably have led to stress and aggression among them, resulting in injuries, while diseases could spread easily,” Wim Van Neer, the study’s first author and a researcher at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, told Phys.org.

Sarcophagus Prince Thutmose Cat — A **cat image** is inscribed on the sarcophagus of a cat belonging to Egypt’s Crown Prince Thutmose. © Larazoni via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Can the skulls prove that ancient Egyptians mistreated cats?

No. The findings point to injuries, disease, and possible crowding among the cats studied, but the researchers could not determine how every injury occurred or assess the animals’ full health from skulls alone.

Cat skull evidence supports conclusions about some health conditions, not a definitive judgment about all ancient Egyptian cat care.

The findings do not prove that Egyptians were bad cat owners. The study had important limitations because only the skulls were available; the researchers said a near-complete skeleton would make health diagnoses more straightforward. The remains also come from a period thousands of years ago, and the evidence cannot establish what care was available to the people responsible for the cats.

What can researchers learn from cat mummy skulls?

Cat mummy skulls can reveal dental disease, fractures, puncture wounds, and other changes to bone, but they provide less information than complete skeletons. Researchers can use those findings to investigate animal health and possible living conditions.

Skull analysis identifies some physical evidence while leaving important questions about the animals’ overall health unanswered.

How many Beni Hassan cat skulls were examined?

The study examined 131 well-preserved felid skulls from Beni Hassan. More than half showed signs of gum disease.

The Beni Hassan study analyzed 131 cat skulls.

What periods did the dated skulls come from?

Radiocarbon dating placed eight of the nine tested skulls between 380 and 40 BCE, and one skull in the Third Intermediate Period, around the 10th century BCE.

Radiocarbon dating placed most tested skulls in the Late or Ptolemaic periods.