Egyptian Cat: the animal that's spent 5,000 years asking no one's permission

April 19, 2026

⏲ ⏱ 3 min read

The Egyptian cat is not a pet. It never was. In Ancient Egypt, cats were considered living manifestations of Bastet, goddess of protection, the home, and fertility. Killing one was a capital offense. When a household cat died, the whole family shaved their eyebrows in mourning. Greeks and Romans who visited Egypt came back stunned by what they'd seen: a civilization that grieved cats like people.

The animal that doesn't negotiate its rank

There's a posture the Egyptian cat holds that no other domestic animal has. Sitting upright, facing front, completely still. Not the posture of one who waits or one who obeys — it's the posture of one who has already decided the world owes it something and won't move until it receives it.

That's the posture I tried to capture in the Egyptian Cat. Total frontality, geometry without apology, lines that don't waver. The design has something of the art of that era: the figure facing forward, eyes looking straight at the viewer, no perspective, no softening shadow. As if the cat is watching from outside of history, looking in.

Bastet bronze figurine with Eye of Horus — LACMA, Ancient Egypt — Figurine of the goddess Bastet as a cat — bronze with gold details, Eye of Horus on the chest. LACMA, Ancient Egypt, Late Period (664–332 BCE).

The 700,000 cats of the Nile

The Egyptians didn't just worship living cats. They mummified them by the hundreds of thousands. The Egyptian Museum in Turin has an entire room dedicated to cat mummies — objects offered at Bastet's temples as acts of devotion. It's estimated that in the 19th century alone, more than 180 tons of Egyptian cat mummies were exported to Europe, many used as fertilizer. The rest ended up in museums.

Gato Sphynx — The Sphynx — no fur, full attitude. The Egyptians would have worshipped it if they'd had Instagram.

What fascinates me about that practice is the level of craft it implies. The bandages crossed in geometric patterns, the face modeled over the linen, the animal's features reproduced in cloth and resin. It's basically a sticker before stickers existed. An image of the cat designed to last thousands of years.

Cat mummies — Egyptian Museum of Turin, 19th century collection — Collection of Egyptian cat mummies — Egyptian Museum of Turin. Each with geometric bandaging, modeled face, features reproduced in cloth. Funerary art made to last.

Why a sticker and not a shirt

The Egyptian Cat already exists as a character in the Gato shirt — appearing there indirectly, as a reference. But the sticker version is something else. The sticker format gives the Egyptian Cat the pedestal it deserves. No fashion context, no size, no season. Just the design, matte laminated, on whatever surface you choose.

I designed it as a small cult object — something you stick in your notebook, on your laptop, on your car, and it stares back at you from there with that five-thousand-year-old deity face that doesn't need to explain anything. The sticker is the most honest format for a character that doesn't need context to exist.

“A small cult object. You put it wherever you want and from there it stares at you with that five-thousand-year-old face that doesn’t need to explain anything.”

Matte laminated sticker. High-resolution digital print.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Egyptian Cat a sticker or a shirt? +

The Egyptian Cat is available as a matte laminated high-resolution sticker. For a shirt, there's the Gato — the same feline universe but in multicolor with midnight energy.

What's the reference behind the Egyptian Cat design? +

The design is inspired by Ancient Egyptian art and the goddess Bastet — cat goddess of protection, home, and pleasure. The total frontality, clean lines, and symmetry come straight from pharaonic art.

Which pack does the Egyptian Cat belong to? +

The Egyptian Cat is part of Stickers Pack Vol.1, alongside PCMan, Satan, Tele, Mano 86, Lupe and 10 other matte laminated stickers.

Why did Paul Felmer choose the Egyptian cat as a design? +

Because the Egyptian cat already has all the attitude built in — it's been worshipped for 5,000 years and sees no reason for that to change. Egyptian geometry (frontality, clean lines, symmetry) fits perfectly with the visual language of the catalog.