If a cat died of natural causes, the family had to bring the dead animal to the priest to make certain the cat's death was natural. People would sob for their cat with outwardly displays of sorrow. Shaving their eyebrows or beating their chest was a good sign of this sadness. In time, the cat became known for health, fortune, and marriage. To have many cats meant you were very lucky.
Cats spread to other parts of the world by ship.
The crew members would always keep extra cats aboard the ship to kill any mice that might be aboard. Cats spread quickly, and soon were part of many religious beliefs and dieties. One such goddess, Freya, a Norse goddess during the middle ages, had the head of a cat and the body of a woman. The inclusion of cats with religious gods became the cat's downfall. When Christianity spread, it condemned false gods, and cats were viewed as a manifestation of the devil.