Cats Among the Ancient Egyptians—Feline Peculiarities—Prince Krapotkine's Cat—Sailor s Superstitions About Cats—How a Cat Asked for a Surgical Operation—Steamboat Cats and their Travels—Display of Feline Gratitude—The Cat that Gathered Apples for Its Master—Putting Out a Fire—Cats as Foster-mothers for Rabbits, Foxes and Other Small Animals—Fishing with Hook and Line—Superstitions of Cats—Fashionable Cat Parties—How Dan saved the House from Burning—A wonderful Troupe of Performing Cats—The Lesson of Kindness to Pussy.
As intimated in the last chapter, cats were the subject of conversation between Mr. Graham and his sons, after the story of the horse that lifted the cat out of his manger when he wanted to eat his oats.
Several feline anecdotes were related, and then the further consideration of the topic was postponed until the next evening, when Mr. Webb formed one of the party. Henry Johnson happened in during the course of the evening and contributed his share to the general fund of entertainment.
“Cats are among the earliest animals domesticated by man,” said Mr. Graham, “but possibly they are ante-dated by the horse and dog. We find these three animals appearing on the sculptures and paintings of the ancient Egyptians, by whom cats were held in the highest reverence. Temples were erected in their honor, their bodies were mummified after death, sacrifices and devotions were offered up to them, and it was customary for a family to shave off its eyebrows whenever a cat died in its house.”
“Superstitions concerning cats have descended to the present time,” Mr. Webb remarked, when Mr. Graham paused. “In the Middle Ages, they were supposed to be the familiars of witches, and a black cat was an object of dread rather than of veneration, as it was supposed to be the embodiment of Satan. Sailors formerly had a dread of cats on shipboard, as a sign of ill-luck, and to a considerable extent this belief continues among them to-day. Many people predict rain when they see a cat washing its face, and a cat-call on a housetop is by some persons held to be a sign of death. It was a current belief in the Middle Ages that a cat had nine lives, and the saying is a common one how. The prevalence of this belief has been the cause of a great many cruelties inflicted on this graceful animal.
“Cats do not usually attach themselves to persons,” continued Mr. Webb, “their preference being rather for places than individuals. This preference gave rise to the belief, which was endorsed by Buffon and other naturalists, that the cat is incapable of affection, and retains in its domesticated state its savage ferocity, which is merely disguised by cunning and restrained by selfishness. But there are many stories told, on perfectly good authority, to illustrate the affection of cats for their owners and friends, though it is proper to say that instances of personal affection are far less numerous in the cat than in the dog.”