Bastet was the cat goddess and deity of the Egyptian town of Bubastis. From the Late and Ptolemaic Periods, priests at her temple began killing cats to mummify them. The mummified cats were sold to people coming to worship Bastet and left at the temple to honour her.

This cat headed bundle was x-rayed at Manchester Royal Infirmary in 2007 and it was confirmed that it contained a complete cat skeleton.