Post by Tiger on Aug 20, 2010 23:46:01 GMT -5
Ancient Times
Fifty Million years ago, this weasel like creature walked the earth. Today scientist believe that this was the first cat, dog, raccoon and bear to ever walk this land. Then later probably around forty million years is when scientist believe that the first cat family appeared.
We have reason to believe that the first domesticated cat appeared 5,000 years ago in the Nile, Upper Egypt. The small cats where valued and treated like gods because of their hunting skills of pest such as snakes, rats as well as mice. The people back then where farmers and depended on grain which brought in the rodents and snakes, but also attracted the cats. Cats back then where offered a steady supply of food in addition to the vermin so they would continue to protect the grain. They knew they where in for good things, plenty of food, nice vermin and a safe place away from predators So they stuck around. Wouldn’t you?
As the numbers in Egypt grew the wild cats soon where domesticated and allowed to be loved in the house holds. But with more people came more storage for grain, which also meant more vermin. So then one of the early Pharaohs realized he needed more cats to keep the grain save and the rodents under control. Though he figured people wouldn’t be happy having to give up their cats. Here’s his story. The Pharaoh, who himself revered as a now living god, decided to make cats demigods. Since it would be unthinkable for a mere human to own a demigod, the Pharaoh would be the owner of these small deities. Humans most certainly could provide shelter and food for the new demigods and, as part of their ritual worship each caretaker would be required to bring his cats to an assigned granary each night and pick them up each morning. Thus, the cats where looked upon as dependents, and the care takers were given a benefit in the form of a tax break.
Cats where so valuable to the Egyptians’ that it was a crime to hurt or even kill one. If a fire occurred in the house, the cat was always the first to be taken out and then finally humans would be recovered if they weren’t dead. Then when a cat would die the whole house would morn their loss, cry, shave their eyebrows and beat their breast to show their grief. Cats where so greatly loved that they where mummified and placed in special cemeteries. In the twentieth century, a cemetery in Beni Hassan was found with more than 300 thousand mummified cats in it.
Then their love for cats carried even further when the goddess, Bastet was depicted. She had the head of a cat and the body of a woman. In her left hand she held an amulet with the ‘all seeing eye’ or what they called it utchat. Because of this goddess household cats where believed to have special powers that prevented disease or injury to its family.
Back then the word for cat was Mau which sounds like ‘meow’. However the utchat seems to have been the reason for the majority of names for a cat: cat, chat, cattus, gatus, gatous, gato, katt, katte, kitte, and kitty. The name of the cat goddess Bastet became Pasht in later Egyptian times from the name Pasht derived many other names for cat: pasht, past, pushd, pusst, puss and thingy.
Since it was a capital crime to take a cat from the Pharaoh the domestic cat remained in Egypt for a long time. However when ships started to set sail from Egypt cats would be placed on them to keep the grain safe there as well. When boats would dock cats would wander off which meant cats started to spread to the Mediterranean area. Domestic cats also were taken by traders to India, Burma, Siam and China around 1500 B.C.E. Though it wasn’t until the Persian, Greek and Roman conquest of Egypt that the cat’s lost their deified status. So therefore cats started to spread across the world and emprise of Darius, Alexander and Caesar.
Cats first appeared in Europe and the Middle East around 1000 B.C.E, most likely because of ships from the Greek and Phoenician traders. Like the Egyptians the Greeks and Romans also valued the cats for their vermin control. In Rome the cat was considered a guardian spirit of the household and was also the sign of liberty and freedom. Soon the Romans where calling the cat felis which means “good omen.”
Soon cats where traveling the world on ships and eventually ended up in Britain.
Cat’s During the Middle Ages
The Norse Goddess Freya was depicted as riding in a chariot pulled by two large cats. The Christians soon bar the worship of her and her cats. Though they considered her a demon and her cats where therefore thought to be a manifestation of the devil.
As Christianity set it’s course across Europe during the middle ages, the cat became the object of superstition. Hundreds to thousands of cats where tortured and killed for them being the manifestation of the devil. But also many thousands of humans where killed for keeping or protecting cats. As a result cats almost where whipped off the planet.
Naturally killing so many cats brought an over population of vermin. Not only did the vermin eat the grain but they also carried the plague also known as the “Black Death.” During the 1300’s nearly 1/4th of the entire human population was whipped off the face of Europe by the plague.
While this epidemic was going on, people couldn’t kill cats because they got to sick so therefore cats had the time to recuperate and reset their numbers. With the increase of cats brought the lessening of rats carrying the plague thus there wasn’t as many vermin with the sickness. The Black Death began to loosen it’s grip of Europe and once the plague was subsided the killing of cats started once more. The cats where thought as the witches helpers and in 1484, Innocent VIII denounced the cat and all who housed it.
Despite the superstitions the surrounding cats remained a necessity for keeping vermin under control more then ever on the ships. With this cats soon began to spread across the world. In Asia they where valued cause they would protect silk worms from vermin. Then in Japan and China people soon started writing and painting these mysterious and beautiful creatures. In Burma and Siam it was believed the peoples souls would move into a cats body after death.
During the 1600’s and 1700’s traders, explorers, colonist and settlers brought cats with them as they traveled the New World. So today many of the cats in North American are descendents from these cats.
The Cat in Modern Times
The first ever cat show was held in London in 1871. The first cat association, the National Cat Club of Great Britain was formed in 1887. Like today’s associations it only would accept purebred cats to ensure the preservation of the breeds. The associations also sponsored cat shows and established standards for judging of each breed. Only finest cats where shown in the shows by their owners and would compete in groups based off breed, age and possibly even sex. The judges soon where highly trained at all shows.
Cats have lived in many places along with many people, kinds and even presidents such as Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Also Napoleon’s conqueror, the Duke of Wellington, and Queen Victoria kept cats, and Grace’s Cardinal Richelieu provided care for fourteen cats! Then in Japan and China certain emperors and Louis XV of France favored white cats over any other color breed.
Many superstitions float around the worlds even today. Such as the legend of cats having nine lives. Another from the Middle Ages; has it that on every black cat there is a single white hair and if someone can pull out the white hair without being scratched that it will bring wealth or love. A common superstition in North America is that a black cat crosses your path you’ll have bad luck but in Great Britain it would be good luck.
