Cat  Facts   The Egyptian word for cat was miu. In Chinese it was and still is   mao. In Latin, felis was the word. During the fourth century,   Maltese, cattus. It came from the Nubian (North African) word kadis. Different languages have different names for cats.  Here's a few. In French - chat; Swedish - katt; Italian - gatto, German -  Katze; Dutch - Kat; Icelandic - kottur; Polish - kot; Norwegian - katt; Yiddish - kats, Greek - gata and Qittah is the modern Arabic word for cat.     When a cat turns around and around before laying down, this is   an instinct left over from the days when they slept in tall grass.   The turning action pushed the grass down into a nest.  This both made it more comfortable for them but afforded them protection by camouflaging where they were sleeping.     Domestic cats come from the North African wild cat, Felis lybica,   via the ancient Egyptians around 3500 years ago. The proof is in   specific records and drawings found on temple and palace walls   in Egypt. They worshipped a Goddess who had a cat's head on a   woman's body. Her name was Bastet which means She of Bast.   The main cat temple was in Bast. Every year nearly 50,000 people   gathered for a festival to revere cats. Bastet represented fertility   and beauty, and was the symbol of the sun, moon and light. Since   the Egyptians considered cats sacred, they mummified and buried   them with mice, jewels and their favorite toys to feed and   comfort them on their journey into the after-life.