Persian forces defeated the Egyptian army at the Battle of Pelusium in 525 BC by literally carrying cats into battle, knowing the Egyptians worshipped the animals and would not risk harming them.

A closer look

Persian forces defeated the Egyptian army at the Battle of Pelusium in 525 BC by literally carrying cats into battle, knowing the Egyptians worshipped the animals and would not risk harming them. King Cambyses II ordered his soldiers to paint cats on their shields and allegedly had them throw live felines at the enemy lines to create panic. Weaponizing your enemy's religious devotion to domestic pets is a stroke of tactical genius that is both incredibly clever and intensely cruel. It is basically the ancient warfare equivalent of using a human shield, except way more effective because humans actually care about cats. You can just picture the utter despair of the Egyptian archers having to lower their weapons because the opposing army decided to armor themselves in a layer of sacred, screaming fluff