The earliest feline cat goddess recorded was called Mafdet and is described in the Pyramid Texts as killing a serpent with her claws. But the most famous cat goddesses in the world, first revered by the ancient Egyptians were Bastet (also known as Bast, Pasch, Ubasti) and the lion-headed Sekhmet. The marvellous feature in cat's eye, which enables the amount of light hitting the retina to be increased, is the tapetum lucidum. This is positioned at the back of the eye, behind the retina and acts like a mirror, reflecting light back onto the light sensor cells in the retina. This gives the cats eyes the characteristic night-time glow when they are caught in a beam of light.