Collectibles -> Animals -> Cat-Domestic

The history of cat collectibles goes back much farther than you probably realize. Cats were revered in Ancient Egypt where citizens did more than collect cat-related items, they collected the cats themselves. So far, over 300,000 mummified cats have been found buried in ancient tombs. Egyptians viewed cats as god-like and wise, and held them to be sacred creatures. Killing a cat was punishable by death. Other than the cats themselves, the earliest cat collectibles were probably figurines, such as alabaster and carved representations of cats.

Unfortunately, cats weren’t always our respected companions. During the middle ages, the push to establish Christianity as the only religion resulted in widespread slaughter of cats in order to destroy the symbol of any other belief systems. The lack of cats was responsible for rodent overpopulation, and the Bubonic plague. Later, cats were considered evil and companions of witches and the devil, and were hunted and killed again. This is a far cry from the attitudes of Ancient Egypt who created the original cat collectibles, and shaved their eyebrows in mourning when a domesticated cat died.

Cat collectibles today consist of thousands of different items all under one broad umbrella. While figurines are always popular in any type of collectible circles, almost any item that features a cat is considered a collectible in the eyes of feline lovers. And in fact, almost everyone who loves cats loves cat-related items, whether they’re a small collection of cat figurines, keychains, mugs, T-shirts or even tote bags and designer purses that bear the likeness of their favorite four-legged friends.

Whatever a person’s reason for acquiring cat collectibles of a certain kind, you should know that there are favorite areas that interest the majority of collectors. Figurines are probably the most popular type of collectible. The most ancient are extremely valuable, and the most recent mass-produced items have virtually no value. However, some 20th century figurines that can be found in auctions are valuable, and are likely to become more valuable as time passes. Ceramic or porcelain figurines that have the company’s stamp on the bottom and that were produced in Occupied Japan do have more value than other figurines, for instance.

While you can walk into any store today and find a glut of cat collectibles of every stripe available for purchase, many cat lovers prefer shopping at yard sales, flea markets and online auctions for old and vintage cat-related items. Some prefer vintage collectible items because of the history of the time period or the company that manufactured them. Others feel that the enormous number of new cat-related items takes away from their charm and collectibility, so they prefer older items that might have been a bit more unique when they were created. Some search for items representing a particular breed or type of cat, like Persians or black cats. And some just collect the items that appeal to them, regardless of value, because they love the items.

Photo Credits: naydeeyah

Originally posted 2008-10-09 05:00:17. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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