Pets were very important to the ancient Egyptians and considered gifts from the gods to be cared for until their death when they were expected to be returned to the divine realm from which they had come. In life, pets were well cared for and, at their death, were often mummified in the same way as people.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/875/pets-in-ancient-egypt/.