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THE CAT THROUGH THE AGES

The origin of the domestic cat seems to be hidden in the mists of antiquity. Experts still differ as to its real origin, but many think that its true ancestor as the caffre cat of Egypt, which was tamed and trained by the Egyptians and used for hunting. The first definite evidence of the existence of the domestic cat, apart from the wild cat, comes from ancient Egypt over tree thousand years ago, although it may have been known in the world long before this. In Egypt the cat was held in great esteem. It was worshipped in the temples, protected from injury, loved during life, and at death was mourned by the entire family. Both rich and poor had the bodies of their cats beautifully embalmed, sometimes in finest linen, and placed in mummy cases made of such materials as bronze and wood, often richly decorated and lined with gold leaf. The British Museum has examples of mummified cats and cases. Many mummified cats and even some kittens were sent to Bubastes to be buried near the Temple of Pasht, the goddess with a cat’s head, where the sacred cats were kept.
The Egyptians realised the cat’s immense value in protecting the great granaries from rats and mice. Figures of cats, made of bronze, copper, faience, gold and wood (which was quite valuable in Egypt with so little timber available) have been found showing them wearing little gold earrings and elaborate necklaces. Cat motifs were used constantly in ornamentation and decoration, and appear in wall panels and drawings. Children’s necklaces and bracelets have been discovered made of rows of tiny figures of cats, and there is a delightful small model of a cat sitting on a dais, with an inscription around it indicating that it was a birthday present to a little girl from her pet cat to wish her a happy year. Small models of cats were used on amulets and scarabs. Statuettes of Pasht, the Cat Goddess, show her carrying a small basket and a sistrum-a musical instrument, often adorned with a model of a cat’s head, which was carried in processions in honour of the goddess. Form the many models found the Egyptian cat seems to have been even longer and slimmer that the Siamese of today. Many are depicted with markings something like those of the tabby. Even in those days there appear to have been two distinct types-the long-eared and sharp-nosed, and the short-eared and blunt-nosed, forerunner of the type found in the long-haired cats nowadays.
In India cats were mentioned in Sanskrit writings over two thousand years ago, while in China about 500 BC, Confucius is known to have had a favourite cat. Remains of cats have been found in Etruria and it is thought that the first cats to be kept as pets in Europe may have come from there. The Scandinavian Goddess Freya is depicted in a chariot drawn by two cats. About 600 AD, Mahommed is said to have preached with a cat in his arms, while about the same time Japan has tales of cats being kept in the temples to guard the sacred manuscripts.
It is commonly surmised that the Romans brought the first domestic cats to Britain, and bones have been found in the ruins of some Roman villas. The wild cat was hunted, but the very rare domestic cat was much prized; in 948 A.D., according to laws made by Prince Howel the Good, a kitten cost a penny before its eyes were opened and after it had caught a mouse it was worth two pence, which was a lot of money in those days. Anyone who stole or killed a cat from the prince’s granary was fined a sheep and a lamb, or as much wheat as would cover the dead animal when held up by its tail with the nose touching the ground. In Saxony, Henry the Fowler imposed a fine of 60 bushels of corn for the wilful murder of an adult mouser.
With the advent of the Middle Ages, in England and in many other parts of the world, the once-reverenced and highly prized cat was becoming an animal to look on with fear and dread. It became the victim of sacrifice and ceremonies, connected with Black Magic. Witches were supposed to be able to turn themselves into cats, to ride on cats, and were pictured with cats riding on their broomsticks. Many innocent women were burned to death with their harmless pets. Black cats in particular were picked out for prosecution as being the familiar of the Devil and many thousands of cats were wilfully destroyed. In France cats were publicly burned as sacrifices until the practice was forbidden by law by Louis XIII.
Gradually throughout Europe the witch-hunts died down and the cat was allowed once more to sit by the fire and to go about its true pursuit of killing rats and mice. Many famous people, such as Dr. Johnson and Victor Hugo, were devoted to their cats, although Napoleon is supposed to have detested them. By the Victorian period the cat was again coming into its own, and most households had their pet cats. Lewis Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland with its Cheshire cat. There was a boom in cat pictures cards and calendars, and Louis Wain had a great following with his cat sketches for children’s books. Interest in the cat as an individual began to increase and the first Cat Show was held at the Crystal Palace in 1871; this became an annual event. People began to think about cat breeding; breeders experimented in producing different varieties and the first pedigrees were written. More and lovelier cats were produced. The cats; meat man became a well-known character, with stalls in most market places where a half-pennyworth of cats’ meat was sold on skewers. The two wars with the consequent food shortages had severe effects on cat breeding, but today the cat is more popular than ever.
Today the cat is very much in the public eye. Famous authors and film stars are photographed with their cats, and old-age pensioners will go without food themselves to buy the best possible for their pets. In fact, if an ancient Egyptian were to visit Britain now he would feel quite at home and suppose that we are a nation of cat worshippers. With plays written about cats; with their appearance in all kinds of advertisements, in cartoons and films and on television and the Internet; with factories turning out millions of tins of food, toys and medicines all for cats; with pottery and china models; with the many books about cats; and with the silver cups and trophies given for cats at shows, future generations too may well have reason to think that the cat is held in the same reverence by us as by the Egyptians.