Beauty Today: the Domesticated Cat

She’s stretched out on the floor, licking her paw. Just a few seconds ago she was meowing like crazy by the closed door. A few seconds before that she was going nuts for her feathered toy. Now she’s already doing something else – patrolling around our feet waiting for some attention. This is why I love cats. They’re sporadic, unpredictable, hilarious, and sometimes, when they want to, they can be extremely affectionate and loving. She’ll wait patiently by my bed until I wake up in the morning. She’ll come after me when I go to the washroom, wait by the door until I finish showering and then proceed to licking my damp feet dry (or wet?). She’ll follow me from room to room, even if she’s sleeping peacefully, she will wake up and come after me. She grooms herself every 20 minutes and sits like a royal princess. She gets extremely excited when you take out her favorite toys or feed her her favorite foods. And I love her to bits. So, after a song recommendation from Alana over at Sewn Stories today, I decided it was a great time to look into the history of the domesticated cat and hopefully come to appreciate them even more.

The domesticated cat’s early ancestors are the Miacids, which were one of the earliest carnivores and are said to be ancestors also to raccoons, dogs and bears. The descendants of Miacids are Lions and Tigers and further down the line you find the modern wild cat. There are three main modern wild cats – the European wild cat, the African wild cat and the Asiatic desert cat. To be more specific, the Jungle cat of Southeast Asia, the Chinese Mountain Cat, the African Wild cat and the Arabian Sand cat. It is said that the domesticated cat originates mostly from the African Wildcats in the Near East (the Bengals resemble the African Cats quite well).

The Ancient Egyptians are probably the best known cat lovers. Cats were used as hunters, as a means for vermin and other pest control, and therefore the Ancient Egyptians saw them as sacred. They worshiped cats as gods and goddesses and this can be seen in the depiction of various Egyptian goddesses such as Goddess Bastet and Goddess Sekhment, Bastet’s sister. The Egyptians loved their cats so much that they even imposed a death penalty for killing cats. Upon the death of a cat, their owners would shave their eyebrows as a symbol of grief and then mummify the cat. Other ancient civilizations also started domesticating cats and eventually some tame felines were taken into Italy from where domesticated cats spread out into the rest of Europe. The worshiping of cats did not continue in Italy, however they were seen as the guardian spirit of the household and the symbol of liberty in Rome.

Then came Asia, where they were used to protect the silkworm cocoons from rodents, and since this was vital to the silk industry, the Asian people greatly admired the talents and the mystery of the cat. So much so, that you are likely to see or read about a cat in Chinese and Japanese art or literature. You might be familiar with the Japanese Maneki Neko – also known as the good fortune or good luck cat. These cats are often used in Japanese restaurants (even in North America) since the cats flapping hand is considered a “come here” gesture. To better understand this, let’s look at the legend behind this cat. The legend has it that a cat waved at a Japanese landlord who was intrigued by this and went towards the cat. A few seconds later a lightning bolt struck where the landlord had previously stood. The landlord then attributed his luck to the cat’s action.

Unfortunately domesticated cats also had it rough. Thousands of cats were killed during the Middle Ages in Europe because people thought they were evil omens (people always need to blame someone or something for their troubles). You know the staple halloween symbol? Okay, not the pumpkin, but the witch on a broom with her black cat? Yeah, that stems from the many superstition during the Middle Ages, when Europeans thought that the cat was associated with witchcraft and the devil. The killing of so many cats backfired however. The rodent population grew and the bubonic plague manifested. The Black Death was a major plague, killing nearly one fourth of the European population. Eventually the usefulness of cats was again realized, and later on, during the 1700’s domesticated cats were brought to the New World (North America) by explorers and pilgrims. Pretty much all of the cats in North America nowadays are descendants from these cats which were brought over in the 1700’s by boat.

While researching the history, I also found out that the most popular type of cat is the Moggy cat (black & white). Interesting, because I would have thought that the Tabby would rank as first, but Tabby’s actually rank third. The black cat comes in on second place. There are also 36 recognized breeds of cats today, with the Siamese being the most popular. On that note, the first cat show was held in London, in 1871 and the first cat association was also formed in London in 1887. Today, the the most popular association is The International Cat Association (TICA) – which recognizes 55 breeds, the general 36 plus a whole bunch of newer breeds. If you’re interested in looking at the different breeds, take a look at the TICA website. It’s interesting to see the physical appearance of all the different breeds – they vary in their appearance just as we humans do.

So, although some people might not be cat lovers, cats have been around for a long time and their history is quite interesting. They have been worshiped, they have been loved, they have been feared. If you watch a cats behaviour, it can be both amusing and perplexing. Sometimes Isis will meow at the ceiling or she’ll run around the apartment as if it’s the end of the world, sliding into things, jumping onto couches and tables only to fall off a second later. She’s broken many glasses and some plates as a kitten because her curiosity got the best of her. She’s rolled a whole roll of toilet paper into her litter box, she’s kept me awake at nights with her running around and jumping on me. But those frustrating times don’t matter, not when she’ll sleep on the chair beside my bed at night, or curl up beside me, or get super excited when the brush comes out (yes, she actually enjoyes being brushed), or when she’ll wait for me by the door when I come home. As different as cats are, they all have something lovable about them, and if you take a moment to look at their big round eyes, you’ll have to admit, they’re pretty darn cute.