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87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
THE
CAT LOVER’S
TREASURY
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
THE
CAT LOVER’S
TREASURY
Witty and enjoyable writings in praise of cats
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
Compiled by Charlotte Gerlings
To Mr Ken – longest whiskers, loudest voice
Contents
Arcturus Publishing Limited 26/27 Bickels Yard 151–153 Bermondsey Street London SE1 3HA Published in association with
foulsham W. Foulsham & Co. Ltd, The Publishing House, Bennetts Close, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire SL1 5AP, England ISBN: 978-0-572-03414-6 This edition printed in 2008 Copyright © 2008 Arcturus Publishing Limited All rights reserved The Copyright Act prohibits (subject to certain very limited exceptions) the making of copies of any copyright work or of a substantial part of such a work, including the making of copies by photocopying or similar process. Written permission to make a copy or copies must therefore normally be obtained from the publisher in advance. It is advisable also to consult the publisher if in any doubt as to the legality of any copying which is to be undertaken.
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data: a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Printed in China
INTRODUCTION
6
CATS AND CHILDREN
8
St Jerome’s Cat
10
Puss in Boots
12
Hey Diddle Diddle
16
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat
17
Three Little Kittens
18
I Love Little Pussy
20
I Have a Cat
22
The House that Jack Built
24
POEMS IN PRAISE OF CATS
26
The Kitten and the Falling Leaves William Wordsworth
28
The Retired Cat William Cowper
30
To Mrs Reynolds’s Cat John Keats
32
Milk for the Cat Harold Munro
34
A Cat Edward Thomas
36
She Sights a Bird – She Chuckles Emily Dickinson
39
Familiarity Dangerous William Cowper Pangur Ban Irish monk
40 42
To a Cat Algernon Charles Swinburne
44
On a Favourite Cat Drowned in a Tub of Goldfishes Thomas Gray
46
A Very Fine Cat Indeed
To My Cat Rosamund Marriott Watson
50
SAYINGS AND PROVERBS
52
James Boswell
98
Florence Nightingale and Her Cats 100 Belling the Cat
54
Proverbs
56
Dreaming about Cats
58
About Black Cats
60
CATS ARE …
62
Comic
64
Endearing
66
Temperamental
68
Aloof
70
Restful
72
Wily
74
Curious
76
Playful
78
Self-assured
80
Companionable
82
Affectionate
84
Prolific
86
Elegant
88
Clever
90
Serene
92
CATS FROM LITERATURE AND LETTERS
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
Take a Cat Geoffrey Chaucer
94 96
Foss Edward Lear
102
In the Duchess’s Kitchen Lewis Carroll
104
Dinah and Her Children Lewis Carroll
106
When Montmorency Meets a Cat Jerome K. Jerome LEGENDS
108 110
The Japanese Bobtail
112
Trixie in the Tower of London
114
The Ship’s Cat
116
Faith, the Blitz Cat
118
The English Watchcat
119
Dogs Remember Faces, Cats Places
120
The Cat of Kazan
122
How the Manx Lost her Tail
124
Halloween Greetings
126
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
128
Introduction cat purring on our knee as we
A
animal would recognize. Millions of
sit beside the fire; weaving its
us confidently set about taming and
greeting round our ankles when we
training these fascinating animals; we
come home after work; stretching full
give them names and – more
length in a patch of sun in the garden;
importantly – food; in return they
all these scenes will be familiar to that
become pleasing companions, and
one-fifth of householders in the
even add a touch of elegance to
westernized world who are also cat
our lives.
Ailurophilia is the single word that
owners.Yet a pet cat is the nearest thing to a wild animal that we’ll ever
defines the love of cats; it admits
take into our homes. No sooner has
people to a unique community whose
an adorable kitten been placed in our
members share their mutual joys and
hands than we learn all about its sharp
frustrations. Everything, from furballs
little teeth and claws.Those luminous
and fussy eating to the wonderfully
eyes belong to a born hunter, just as
soothing effect of stroking a cat, is
the hectic games of chase and ambush
understood.This book has been
are the sort that any fierce jungle
compiled as a tribute to domestic
The cat is the animal to whom the Creator gave the biggest eye, the softest fur, the most supremely delicate nostrils, a mobile ear, an unrivalled paw and a curved claw borrowed from the rose-tree. 87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
SIDONIE-GABRIELLE COLETTE
6
I N T R O D U C T I O N
Best of Friends (1894) H ENRIETTE RONNER -K NIP (1821–1909)
cats everywhere and as a gift to their Numerous writers, artists and
devoted owners.
musicians have been inspired by cats:
The illustrations have been chosen from many sources, each one a
T.S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, Mark
testimony to our long and universal
Twain, Colette, Louis Wain, Rossini,
association with cats, which quite
Tchaikovsky, Chopin and Ravel, to
possibly began with the Egyptians
name just a few.
around 3000BCE.You will find pictures
Each spread of this cat lover’s
from China, Japan, Russia and
companion includes not only a picture
India; a Tudor portrait appears
but also something written about cats,
alongside 20th-century photo-
ranging from poetry, proverbs and
journalism; Rousseau and Renoir rub
witty quotations to feline adventure
shoulders with well-known children’s
tales; thus completing the tribute to
book illustrators and Victorian
these beautiful, affectionate and
advertising art.
enigmatic creatures.
The smallest feline is a masterpiece. 87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
LEONARDO
7
DA VINCI
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
Cats and Children The pussy cat makes frequent appearances in children’s stories and rhymes, and not always in a heroic or flattering role, yet this prevalence shows what a firm niche the cat has occupied in the domestic scene for centuries. Pictures of children and cats together generally make a charming combination, although cats were sometimes included in portraits as a hint of the wildness of nature sitting alongside the innocence of childhood. Parents – and the cats themselves – might well think otherwise.
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
The Senses: Touch (1907) J ESSIE W ILLCOX S MITH (1863–1935)
C AT S
A N D
C H I L D R E N
St Jerome’s Cat ANONYMOUS
St Jerome in his study kept a great big cat, it’s always in his pictures, with its feet upon the mat. Did he give it milk to drink, in a little dish? When it came to Fridays, did he give it fish? If I lost my little cat, I’d be sad without it; I should ask St Jerome what to do about it.
I should ask St Jerome, just because of that, for he’s the only saint I know who kept a kitty cat.
Pussy’s Picture (1887)
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
H ARRIETT M. B ENNETT (born c.1850)
10
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
S T J E R O M E
11
’ S C AT
C AT S
A N D
C H I L D R E N
Puss in Boots Adapted from the tale by
C H A R L E S P E R R A U LT
(1628–1703)
A POOR MILLER died, leaving everything to his three sons. The oldest inherited the mill, the second his father’s donkey, but the youngest boy got only the cat. At first, he feared both he and Puss would starve. The cat, however, asked for a bag and a pair of boots and set off, vowing that all would be well. Puss soon caught a plump rabbit but instead of returning to the boy, he took it to the king, saying that it was a present from his master, the Marquis of Carabas – a name he made up on the spot. After that, CLEVER PUSS caught more and more game for the king, each time offering it with the same message. One day, the king went riding in his coach with his daughter down beside the river, where Puss had told the boy to go for a swim.While he was in the water, Puss hid his ragged shirt and trousers, and then called out to the king as he passed that thieves 87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
had made off with his master’s clothes. 12
P U S S
I N
B O O T S
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
‘Puss hid his ragged shirt and trousers, and then called out to the king’
13
Help! (1867) G USTAVE D ORÉ (1832–83)
C AT S
A N D
C H I L D R E N
Illustration from The Terrible Raminagrobis and the Mice (19th century)
The KING quickly sent a servant to fetch some new clothes fit for a marquis. Dressed like a lord, the boy joined the king and the princess in their coach. Puss ran ahead and ordered everyone to say that the land they were working on belonged to the Marquis of Carabas. And so the king thought that the boy must be very rich indeed. Away in the distance, beyond the fields, stood a castle owned by a wealthy OGRE. Puss bravely marched up and knocked on the castle door.There he asked the ogre if it was true that he could turn himself into any sort of animal in the world.The ogre said ‘Yes’ and, to prove it, he changed first into a lion and then an elephant. Puss then challenged the ogre to turn himself into something tiny, like a MOUSE.The foolish ogre did so – whereupon the cat promptly ate him up. When the coach bearing the king, the princess and the boy arrived at the castle, Puss announced that it belonged to the Marquis of Carabas.The king was so impressed that he agreed happily to the marriage of the boy and the princess, who had
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
fallen in love with each other at first sight. 14
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
C AT S
A N D
C H I L D R E N
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
Hey diddle diddle, The cat and the fiddle, The cow jumped over the moon; The little dog laughed, To see such craft And the dish ran away with the spoon.
16
H E Y
D I D D L E
D I D D L E
&
P U S S Y
C AT
,
P U S S Y
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, where have you been? I’ve been to London to look at the Queen. Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, what did you there?
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
I frighten’d a little mouse under the chair.
17
C AT
C AT S
A N D
C H I L D R E N
Three Little Kittens This nursery rhyme first appeared in The Only True Mother Goose Melodies (1843)
Three little kittens they lost their mittens, and they began to cry, ‘Oh mother dear, we sadly fear our mittens we have lost.’ ‘What! Lost your mittens, you naughty kittens! Then you shall have no pie.’ ‘Meeow, meeow, now we shall have no pie.’
Three little kittens they found their mittens, and they began to cry, ‘Oh mother dear, see here, see here, our mittens we have found.’ ‘What! Found your mittens, you clever kittens Now you shall have some pie’
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
‘Meeow, meeow, now let us have some pie.’
18
T H R E E
L I T T L E
K I T T E N S
Three Little Kittens (1930) CLARA M. BURD (1873–1933)
‘Oh mother dear, we sadly fear 87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
our mittens we have lost’ 19
C AT S
A N D
C H I L D R E N
I Love Little Pussy
(c.1830)
I love little Pussy, her coat is so warm, And if I don’t hurt her, she’ll do me no harm.
So I’ll not pull her tail, nor drive her away, But Pussy and I together will stay.
She’ll sit by my side and I’ll give her some food, And Pussy will love me because I am good.
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
I Love Little Pussy postcard (c.1920)
20
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
I L O V E L I T T L E
21
P U S S Y
C AT S
A N D
C H I L D R E N
I Have a Cat A playschool rhyme with actions: chant each line slowly (and the children echo) I have a cat (I have a cat) (Cross arms in front and wiggle fingers like whiskers)
My cat is fat (My cat is fat) (Hold arms out in a circle at stomach level)
I have a cat (I have a cat) (Cross arms in front and wiggle fingers like whiskers)
My cat wears a hat (My cat wears a hat) (Raise arms and touch fingertips over head)
I have a cat (I have a cat) (Cross arms in front and wiggle fingers like whiskers)
My cat caught a bat (My cat caught a bat) (Hands in front, one on top of the other, fluttering fingers)
I have a cat (I have a cat) (Cross arms in front and wiggle fingers like whiskers)
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
MEOW! 22
I
H AV E
A
C AT
Whisky in the dolls’ pram, 1954
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
P RIVATE C OLLECTION
23
C AT S
A N D
C H I L D R E N
The House that Jack Built Nursery rhyme first popularized by
R A N D O L P H C A L D E C OT T
(1846–86)
This is the house that Jack built.
This is the malt That lay in the house that Jack built.
This is the rat, That ate the malt That lay in the house that Jack built.
This is the cat, That killed the rat, That ate the malt That lay in the house that Jack built.
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
The English artist, Randolph Caldecott (1846–86), illustrated a whole series of children’s books, including this picture for The House that Jack Built (1878).The Ralph Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Children’s Division of the American Library Association, ‘to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children’ produced in that year.
24
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
T H E
H O U S E
T H AT
25
J A C K
B U I LT
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
Poems in Praise of Cats The oldest poem in this selection dates from the 9th century and we can guess that, quite apart from its accepted function in vermin control, the domestic cat very soon managed to work its way deep into the affections of our early ancestors. Poetry, like music, has the power to represent our emotions, so these poems are as much about ourselves – our passions, fears and desires – as the many and various cats who appear in their verses.
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
Girl with Kitten (1745) J EAN -B APTISTE P ERRONNEAU (c.1745–83)
P O E M S
I N
P R A I S E
O F
The Kitten and the Falling Leaves
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
An extract from a poem by
C AT S
(1807)
W I L L I A M W O R D S W O RT H
28
(1770–1850)
T H E
K I T T E N
A N D
T H E
FA L L I N G
L E AV E S
ee the kitten on the wall,
S
sporting with the leaves that fall.
Withered leaves – one – two – and three from the lofty elder tree! ... Each invisible and mute, In his wavering parachute. – But the Kitten, how she starts, crouches, stretches, paws, and darts! First at one, and then its fellow just as light and just as yellow; There are many now – now one – Now they stop and there are none. ... Were her antics played in the eye of a thousand standers-by, clapping hands with shout and stare, what would little Tabby care For the plaudits of the crowd? Over happy to be proud, Over wealthy in the treasure Of her own exceeding pleasure!
Cat on a Wall (1914)
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
C ECIL A LDIN (1870–1935)
29
P O E M S
I N
P R A I S E
O F
The Retired Cat An extract from a poem by
C AT S
(1791)
W I L L I A M C OW P E R
(1731–1800)
poet’s cat, sedate and grave,
A
As poet well could wish to have,
Was much addicted to inquire, For nooks to which she might retire, And where, secure as mouse in chink, She might repose, or sit and think. I know not where she caught her trick – Nature perhaps herself had cast her, In such a mould philosophique, Or else she learn’d it of her master. Sometimes ascending, debonair, An apple tree or lofty pear, Lodg’d with convenience in the fork, She watched the gard’ner at his work; Sometimes her ease and solace sought, In an old empty wat’ring-pot, There, wanting nothing save a fan, To seem some nymph in her sedan, Apparell’d in exactest sort,
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
And ready to be borne to court.
30
Cat (1747) S HEN Q UAN (1682–1762)
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
T H E R E T I R E D
31
C AT
P O E M S
I N
P R A I S E
O F
C AT S
To Mrs Reynolds’s Cat by
J O H N K E AT S
(1818)
(1795–1821)
at! who hast pass’d thy grand climacteric,
C
How many mice and rats hast in thy days
Destroy’d? – How many tidbits stolen? Gaze With those bright languid segments green, and prick Those velvet ears – but pr’ythee do not stick Thy latent talons in me – and upraise Thy gentle mew – and tell me all thy frays Of fish and mice, and rats and tender chick. Nay, look not down, nor lick thy dainty wrists – For all the wheezy asthma – and for all Thy tail’s tip is nick’d off – and though the fists Of many a maid have given thee many a maul, Still is that fur as soft as when the lists In youth thou enter’dst on glass-bottled wall.
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
‘How many mice and rats hast in thy days destroy’d?’
32
T O
M R S
R E Y N O L D S
’
S
C AT
Tabby Cat (1874)
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
W ILLIAM H UGGINS (1820–84)
33
P O E M S
I N
P R A I S E
O F
C AT S
Milk for the Cat An extract from the poem by
H A RO L D M U N RO
(1879–1932)
he white saucer like some full moon descends
T
at last from the cloud of the table above;
she sighs and dreams and thrills and glows, transfigured with love.
She nestles over the shining rim, buries her chin in the creamy sea; her tail hangs loose; each drowsy paw is doubled under each bending knee.
A long dim ecstasy holds her life; her world is an infinite shapeless white, till her tongue has curled the last holy drop; then she sinks back into the night.
Draws and dips her body to heap her sleepy nerves in the great arm-chair, lies defeated and buried deep three or four hours unconscious there.
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
Kitty’s Breakfast (1883) E MILY FARMER (1828–1905)
34
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
M I L K F O R
35
T H E C AT
P O E M S
I N
P R A I S E
O F
C AT S
A Cat by
E DWA R D T H O M A S
(1878–1917)
he had a name among the children;
S
But no one loved though someone owned
Her, locked her out of doors at bedtime And had her kittens duly drowned.
In Spring, nevertheless, this cat Ate blackbirds, thrushes, nightingales, And birds of bright voice and plume and flight, As well as scraps from neighbours’ pails.
I loathed and hated her for this; One speckle on a thrush’s breast Was worth a million such; and yet
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
She lived long, till God gave her rest.
36
A
C AT
The Afternoon Nap J ULES G ASSON (1853–1924)
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
‘This cat ate blackbirds, thrushes, nightingales, And birds of bright voice and plume and flight’
37
P O E M S
I N
P R A I S E
O F
C AT S
She Sights a Bird – She Chuckles (1862) by
E M I LY D I C K I N S O N
(1830–86)
he sights a Bird – she chuckles –
S
She flattens – then she crawls –
She runs without the look of feet – Her eyes increase to Balls – Her Jaws stir – twitching – hungry – Her Teeth can hardly stand – She leaps, but Robin leaped the first – Ah, Pussy, of the Sand, The Hopes so juicy ripening – You almost bathed your Tongue – When Bliss disclosed a hundred Toes – And fled with every one.
Grey Cat Ready To Pounce (1900)
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
M URIEL I. H UNT (1883–1973)
38
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
P O E M S
I N
P R A I S E
O F
C AT S
Familiarity Dangerous W I L L I A M C OW P E R (1731–1800) from a Latin poem by V I N C E N T B O U R N E (1695–1747) translated by
s in her ancient mistress’ lap
A
The youthful tabby lay,
They gave each other many a tap, Alike disposed to play.
But strife ensues. Puss waxes warm, And with protruded claws Ploughs all the length of Lydia’s arm, Mere wantonness the cause.
At once, resentful of the deed, She shakes her to the ground With many a threat that she shall bleed With still a deeper wound.
But, Lydia, bid thy fury rest: It was a venial stroke: For she that will with kittens jest
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
Should bear a kitten’s joke.
40
FA M I L I A R I T Y
D A N G E R O U S
‘She that will with kittens jest should bear a kitten’s joke’
Tabby Cat (early 18th century) 87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
P RIVATE C OLLECTION
41
P O E M S
I N
P R A I S E
O F
C AT S
Pangur Ban and Pangur Ban, my cat,
I
In the 9th century, an Irish monk revealed his love for his little white cat in a poem he wrote in the margins of a manuscript.
’Tis a like task we are at;
Hunting mice is his delight, Hunting words I sit all night.
’Tis a merry thing to see At our task how glad are we, When at home we sit and find Entertainment to our mind.
Oftentimes a mouse will stray In the hero Pangur’s way; Oftentimes my keen thought set Takes a meaning in its net.
The Cat
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
H ENRI G AUDIER -B RZESKA (1891–1915)
42
PA N G U R
’Gainst the wall he sets his eye
Practice every day has made
Full and fierce and sharp and sly;
Pangur perfect in his trade;
’Gainst the wall of knowledge I
I get wisdom day and night,
All my little wisdom try.
Turning darkness into light.
When a mouse darts from its den. O how glad is Pangur then! O what gladness do I prove When I solve the doubts I love!
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
B A N
P O E M S
To a Cat
I N
P R A I S E
O F
C AT S
(1893)
An extract from a poem by
ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE
(1837–1909)
tately, kindly, lordly friend,
S
Condescend
Here to sit by me, and turn Glorious eyes that smile and burn, Golden eyes, love’s lustrous meed, On the golden page I read. All your wondrous wealth of hair, Dark and fair, Silken-shaggy, soft and bright As the clouds and beams of night, Pays my reverent hand’s caress Back with friendlier gentleness. Dogs may fawn on all and some As they come; You, a friend of loftier mind, Answer friends alone in kind. Just your foot upon my hand
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
Softly bids it understand.
44
T O
A
C AT
Tortoiseshell Cat (1866)
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
W ILLIAM H UGGINS (1820–84)
45
P O E M S
I N
P R A I S E
O F
C AT S
On a Favourite Cat Drowned in a Tub of Goldfishes (1748)
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by
T H O M A S G R AY
(1716–71)
46
O N
A
FAV O U R I T E
C AT
This poem, on the death of his cat, was greatly prized by Horace Walpole. After the poet’s death, the bowl was placed on a pedestal at Walpole’s house in Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, with a few lines from the poem as an inscription.
D R O W N E D
...
was on a lofty vase’s side,
T
Where China’s gayest art had dyed
The azure flowers that blow; Demurest of the tabby kind, The pensive Selima reclined, Gazed on the lake below.
Her conscious tail her joy declared; The fair round face, the snowy beard, The velvet of her paws, Her coat that with the tortoise vies, Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes, She saw; and purred applause.
Still had she gazed; but ’midst the tide Two angel forms were seen to glide, The Genii of the stream; Their scaly armour’s Tyrian hue
Kittens and Goldfish Bowl POSTCARD (1910)
Thro’ richest purple to the view
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Betrayed a golden gleam.
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The hapless Nymph with wonder saw: A whisker first and then a claw, With many an ardent wish, She stretched in vain to reach the prize. What female heart can gold despise? What Cat’s averse to fish?
Presumptuous Maid! with looks intent Again she stretched, again she bent, Nor knew the gulf between. (Malignant Fate sat by, and smiled.) The slippery verge her feet beguiled, She tumbled headlong in.
Eight times emerging from the flood She mewed to every watery god, Some speedy aid to send. No Dolphin came, no Nereid stirred: Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heard. A Favourite has no friend!
Comic Sketches (1834)
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ROBERT S EYMOUR (1800–36)
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D R O W N E D
...
From hence, ye Beauties, undeceived, Know, one false step is ne’er retrieved, And be with caution bold. Not all that tempts your wandering eyes And heedless hearts, is lawful prize;
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Nor all that glisters, gold.
49
P O E M S
I N
To My Cat by
P R A I S E
O F
C AT S
(1895)
R O S A M U N D M A R R I O T T WAT S O N
(1860–1911)
alf loving-kindliness, and half disdain,
H
Thou comest to my call serenely suave
With humming speech and gracious gestures grave In salutation courtly and urbane; Yet must I humble me thy grace to gain, For wiles may win thee though no arts enslave, And nowhere gladly thou abidest save Where nought disturbs the concord of thy reign. Sphinx of my quiet hearth! who deign’st to dwell Friend of my toil, companion of mine ease, Thine is the lore of Ra and Rameses; That men forget dost thou remember well, Beholden still in blinking reveries With sombre, sea-green gaze inscrutable.
Tabby Cat (2006)
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P RIVATE C OLLECTION
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T O M Y
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‘The cat sees through shut eyes’ 87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
Old English Saying
Sayings and Proverbs The air of mystery that cats have managed to create around themselves has made them prime objects of superstition down the ages.Their shrewd gaze can penetrate anything, it seems; and their elusiveness is legendary. They are, of course, nocturnal hunters and lovers, as well as our cuddlesome daytime companions.What other domestic creature offers us so much fascination and puzzlement?
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Puss Napping (1856) G EORGE B AXTER (1804–67)
S AY I N G S
A N D
P R O V E R B S
Belling the Cat From the fable by
AESOP
A group of mice once held a council to discuss what was to be done about their great enemy,
THE CAT. One by one they were being caught and killed, so it was clear that they urgently needed some kind of warning of the cat’s approach. One young mouse proposed that they should tie a bell around the creature’s neck; then, when they heard the tinkling sound, they could all run away and hide.This idea was greeted with immense enthusiasm; one member of the council knew the whereabouts of a bell and two others offered to gnaw a length of ribbon from the housekeeper’s hat. However, when the oldest mouse stood up and asked who would actually tie the bell onto the cat, strangely enough, there was not one among them willing to risk it. ‘Just as I thought,’ said the old mouse, ‘certain things are
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easier said than done.’
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T H E
‘Just as I thought,’ said the old mouse, ‘certain things are easier said than done.’ Kitten and Ball of Wool (1866)
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M URATA KOKODA (1840–98)
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Proverbs i The cat’s a saint when there are no
i A cat has nine lives. For three he plays, for three he strays, and for
mice about.
he last three he stays.
Japanese
English
i The cat who frightens the mice
away is as good as the cat who
i A cat may look at a king.
eats them.
English
German
i A house without either a cat or
i Those who dislike cats will be
a dog is the house of a scoundrel. Portuguese
carried to the cemetery in the rain. Dutch
i After dark, all cats are leopards.
i When the cat’s away, the mice
Native American
will play.
i Cats don’t catch mice to
English
please God.
i When the mouse laughs at the cat,
Afghan
it means there’s a hole nearby.
i I gave an order to a cat and the cat
Nigerian
gave it to its tail.
i When rats infest the Palace, a lame
Chinese
cat is better than the swiftest horse.
i If stretching were wealth then the
Chinese
cat would be rich. African i One should not send a cat to
The Favourite
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deliver cream.
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Yiddish 56
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P R O V E R B S
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Dreaming about Cats i If you dream of a tabby cat, you
i Dreaming of a white cat means that
will have a happy home and fortune
you are in love.
will smile on all who live there.
i Dreaming of a black cat warns of
i Dreaming of more than one
some misfortune about to happen.
cat means that your partner
i To dream of a grey cat means you
is unfaithful.
should follow your ambitions.
i To dream of a cat meowing warns
i To dream of a ginger cat predicts
against rumours and false friends.
success in business.
i Dreaming of a cat fight signifies
i To dream of a black and white cat
a quarrel.
means either that children will
i To dream of being scratched by a cat
bring you luck or that there will be
warns against sickness and trouble.
a birth in the family.
‘To dream of a tortoiseshell cat means that you will be lucky in love’
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Kittens G EORGE S HERIDAN K NOWLES (1863–1931)
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D R E A M I N G A B O U T
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About Black Cats i In England, a black cat crossing
i The Scots believe that a strange
black cat on your porch
the path of the bride as she leaves
brings prosperity.
the church is said to grant a happy marriage.
i It’s very lucky for a black cat
i Stroking the tail of a black cat will
to come into a house or aboard
cure a stye in the eye.
ship, and the cat should never be
i The Irish say that a black cat
chased away, in case it takes the
crossing one’s path by moonlight
luck with it.
means death in an epidemic.
i In Britain and parts of Europe, it’s
i A black cat in the audience on
good luck for a black cat to cross
the opening night portends a
your path.
successful play.
i There is a popular saying that
i A black cat walking towards you
‘Whenever the cat of the house is black, the lasses of lovers shall
brings good fortune but if it walks
have no lack’.
away, the luck is removed.
On every black cat there is a single white hair. If you can remove it without the cat scratching you, this white hair will bring you either wealth or luck in love.
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Black Cat on Window Sill ( 1999 ) P RIVATE C OLLECTION
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Cats are… Cats are … well, so many things, it is no wonder mere humans are completely captivated by them.The following quotations amount to an anthology of wit and wisdom specially designed for cat lovers, who – it is hoped – will nod, smile and roll their eyes in recognition of their own furry housemates, with every turn of the page.
Playing With a Cat (1897)
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TOYOHARA C HIKANOBU (1838–1912)
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Comic There is no more intrepid explorer than a kitten. He gets himself into every kind of trouble. JULES CHAMPFLEURY
Kittens believe that all nature is occupied with their diversion. F. A. PARADIS
DE
MONCRIF
If he is comic, it is only because of the incongruity of so demure a look and so wild a heart. ALAN DEVOE
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A Curious Kitten (1881) F RANK PATON (1856–1909) 87B0604C02C7429D95F252D72A21CF6F
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michelle grieco
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Endearing A kitten is in the animal world what a rosebud is in the garden. ROBERT SOUTHEY
It is impossible to keep a straight face in the presence of one or more kittens. CYNTHIA E.VARNADO
The trouble with a kitten is that Eventually it becomes a cat. OGDEN NASH
I named my kitten Rose – fur soft as a petal, claws sharper than thorns.
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ASTRID ALAUDA
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E N D E A R I N G
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Kittens Up To Mischief (c.1870) H ORATIO H ENRY C OULDERY (1832–c.1893)
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Temperamental One must love a cat on its own terms. PAUL GRAY
The man who carries a cat by the tail learns something that can be learned in no other way. MARK TWAIN
Some people say man is the most dangerous animal on the planet. Obviously those people have never met an angry cat. LILLIAN JOHNSON
Those who play with cats must expect to be scratched. MIGUEL
DE
CERVANTES
Naughty Puss (late 19th century)
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A DVERTISING IMAGE FOR J AYNE ’ S TONIC V ERMIFUGE
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Aloof After scolding one’s cat, one looks into its face and is seized by the ugly suspicion that it understood every word. And has filed it for reference. CHARLOTTE GRAY
A cat’s got her own opinion of human beings. She don’t say much, but you can tell enough to make you anxious not to hear the whole of it. JEROME K. JEROME
The problem with cats is that they get the exact same look on their face whether they see a moth or an axe-murderer. PAULA POUNDSTONE
Nobody can give a withering stare quite as crushing as a disdainful cat. 87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
ANONYMOUS
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A L O O F
A Domestic Cat (1790)
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T HOMAS B EWICK (1753–1828)
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Restful A cat pours his body on the floor like water. It is restful just to see him. WILLIAM LYON PHELPS
A drowsy winter evening is never quite drowsy enough without a sleeping cat. ANONYMOUS
Sometimes he curls up on my pillow during the night and I don’t know he’s there until I yawn and my mouth closes on a whisker. ASTRID ALAUDA
You cannot look at a sleeping cat and feel tense. 87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
JANE PAULEY
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Sleeping Cat (c.1850) P RIVATE C OLLECTION
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Wily Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk. HENRY DAVID THOREAU
Keep an eye on the cat and another on the frying pan. PROVERB
Most of us rather like our cats to have a streak of wickedness. I should not feel quite easy in the company of any cat that walked about the house with a saintly expression. BEVERLEY NICHOLS
If cats could talk, they wouldn’t. 87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
NAN PORTER
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W I LY
Cat with Fish
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K ALIGHAT S CHOOL , I NDIA
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Curious Even if you have just destroyed a Ming vase, purr. Usually all will be forgiven. LENNY RUBENSTEIN
It is impossible for a lover of cats to banish these alert, gentle, and discriminating little friends, who give us just enough of their regard and complaisance to make us hunger for more. AGNES REPPLIER
Curiosity killed the cat, Satisfaction brought it back!
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ENGLISH PROVERB
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Girl with a Cat (1882) P IERRE AUGUSTE R ENOIR (1841–1919)
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Playful
Playing with the Kitten (1876) J OSEPH C LARK (1834–1926)
I have noticed that what cats most appreciate in a human being is not the ability to produce food, which they take for granted, but his or her entertainment value. ANONYMOUS
Of all the toys available, none is better designed than the owner himself. A large multipurpose plaything, its parts can be made to move in almost any direction. STEPHEN BAKER
Time spent with cats is never wasted. SIDONIE-GABRIELLE COLETTE
When I play with my cat, who knows if I am not a pastime to her more than she is to me? 87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
MICHEL
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MONTAIGNE
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Self-assured The domestic cat seems to have greater confidence in itself than in anyone else. LAWRENCE N. JOHNSON
Cats were put into the world to disprove the dogma that all things were created to serve man. PAUL GRAY
You own a dog but you feed a cat. JENNY
DE VRIES
Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want. JOSEPH WOOD KRUTCH
Don’t Forget Us (19th century) I LLUSTRATION
FROM
V ICTORIAN
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CHILDREN ’ S BOOK
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S E L F
A S S U R E D
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Companionable Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons. ROBERTSON DAVIES
If by chance I seated myself to write, she very slyly, very tenderly, seeking protection and caresses, would softly take her place on my knee and follow the comings and goings of my pen – sometimes effacing, with an unintentional stroke of her paw, lines of whose tenor she disapproved. PIERRE LOTI
Cats are dangerous companions for writers because cat watching is a near-perfect method of writing avoidance.
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DAN GREENBURG
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Pierre Loti (1891) H ENRI ROUSSEAU (1844–1910) 83
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Affectionate Purring would seem to be, in her case, an automatic safety valve device for dealing with happiness overflow. MONICA EDWARDS
If there were to be a universal sound depicting peace, I would surely vote for the purr. BARBARA L. DIAMOND
If we treated everyone we meet with the same affection we bestow upon our favourite cat, they, too, would purr. MARTIN BUXBAUM
A cat will lie the whole evening on your knee, purring and happy in your society.
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THEOPHILE GAUTIER
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A F F E C T I O N AT E
Mademoiselle Julie Manet with Cat (1887)
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P IERRE AUGUSTE R ENOIR (1841–1919)
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Prolific One cat just leads to another. ERNEST HEMINGWAY
Kittens can happen to anyone. PAUL GALLICO
It’s really the cat’s house – we just pay the mortgage. ANONYMOUS
Most beds sleep up to six cats. Ten cats without the owner.
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STEPHEN BAKER
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P R O L I F I C
Mothercare (1898)
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H ENRIETTE RONNER -K NIP (1821–1909)
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Elegant Like a graceful vase, a cat, even when motionless, seems to flow. GEORGE F.WILL
The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat. JULES REYNARD
Cats can work out mathematically the exact place to sit that will cause the most inconvenience. PAM BROWN
There’s no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat.
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WESLEY BATES
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Two Decorative Cats (1904) L UDWIG H OHLWEIN (1874–1949)
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Clever Although all cat games have their rules and rituals, these vary with the individual player.The cat, of course, never breaks a rule. If it does not follow precedent, that simply means it has created a new rule and it is up to you to learn it quickly if you want the game to continue. SIDNEY DENHAM
Cats are notoriously sore losers. Coming in second best, especially to someone as poorly coordinated as a human being, grates their sensibility. STEPHEN BAKER
It’s very hard to be polite if you’re a cat. ANONYMOUS
Cats have an infallible understanding of total concentration – and get between you and it. ARTHUR BRIDGES
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The Game of Chess (19th century) P RIVATE C OLLECTION
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Serene There has never been a cat Who couldn’t calm me down By walking slowly Past my chair. ROD MCKUEN
I love cats because I love my home and after a while they become its visible soul. JEAN COCTEAU
I believe cats to be spirits come to earth. A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through. JULES VERNE
There is something about the presence of a cat ... that seems to take the bite out of being alone.
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LOUIS J. CAMUTI
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Studies of Cats (1895)
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H ENRIETTE RONNER -K NIP (1821–1909)
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Two White Persian Cats With a Ladybird (1900)
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A RTHUR H EYER (1872–1931)
Cats from Literature and Letters This part of the book offers only a glimpse of the range of writing about cats; and so many writers turn out to be cat owners that it is not possible to mention them all. One clue to their compatibility is that the feline attributes of unhurried contemplation and the ability to stay focused will benefit the writer too. In addition, writing is a solitary job, and the blank sheet of paper is not nearly so daunting if one’s own
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Hodge or Foss is already curled up on it.
C AT S
F R O M
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A N D
L E T T E R S
Take a Cat T h e M a n c i p l e ’s Ta l e by G E O F F R E Y C H A U C E R (1386–1400) from
Take a cat, and nourish him well with milk And tender meat, make him a couch of silk, But let him see a mouse creep out the wall, And he’ll abandon milk and meat and all, And every dainty morsel in the house, Such appetite has he to eat a mouse.
Cat and Mouse ( 1996 )
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F RANCES M IDDENDORF
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TA K E A
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A Very Fine Cat Indeed T h e L i f e o f S a m u e l Jo h n s o n by J A M E S B O S W E L L (1740–95) from
(1791)
I never shall forget the INDULGENCE with which he treated
HODGE, his cat: for whom he himself used to
go out and buy OYSTERS, lest the servants having that trouble should take a dislike to the poor creature. I recollect him one day scrambling up Dr Johnson’s breast, apparently with much satisfaction, while my friend smiling and half-whistling, rubbed down his back, and pulled him by the tail; and when I observed he was a fine cat, saying, ‘Why yes, Sir, but I have had cats whom I liked better than this’; and then as if perceiving Hodge to be out of countenance, adding, ‘but he is a very fine cat, a very
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fine cat indeed’.
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Minnie (1876) R.P. T HRALL
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Florence Nightingale and Her Cats Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) owned sixty cats during her lifetime.They were all Persians and she often named them after famous men of the day, such as Disraeli, Gladstone and Bismarck. Cats figure large in Nightingale’s correspondence and inky paw marks sometimes track across her notepaper.
White Persian Cat (1877)
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H ARRISON W ILLIAM W EIR (1824–1906)
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ohl Dearest Madame M at a home for Mr Muff e m d en m m co re u Could yo . And he o troublesome to keep to ite qu is e H ? ce on quite w (And I have had lo fel or po y, pp ha un is very Bills, & , and printing Hand en em lic po of h uc m o to stolen ying them, for lost or offering rewards, & pa ). Tom Cats in London good e – thoro’bred, very He is very handsom very 10 months old – I am natured, about 9 or m. sorry to part with hi (16 JULY 1870)
Dearest M adame M ohl The Tom Kitten w ith a ‘pre said you tty face’, would lik which yo e u when you scrupulou w ere here h sly set ap a s been art for yo u. He has n ow, I thin k, the lon saw: is m gest hair ost affectio I ever n a t e & very cle is Biz … a n … his I should name think he admired w o u ld be grea even in P tly aris: If he stolen or stops here lost … he will b e (20 JA
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NUARY
1877)
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Foss This drawing, Edward Lear Aged 73-and-a-half and His Cat Foss Aged 16, was produced by Lear in 1885. It shows his celebrated pet cat, who joined the household in 1872. FOSS WAS A LARGE, ROUND TABBY with a shortened tail, cut down to a stump by an ignorant servant to prevent the animal from straying. Foss was definitely no beauty, but he became well-known through numerous CARTOONS drawn by his master.The only attempt to photograph him ended in failure when he sprang
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from Lear’s arms as the camera shutter came down.
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F O S S
Edward Lear Aged 73-and-a-half and his Cat Foss Aged 16 (1885) E DWARD L EAR (1812–88)
Consequently, ‘the Foss we know belongs more to the world of nonsense stories and songs than he does to the real world.’ Lear was a gifted bird, animal and landscape artist who led a nomadic existence, always in search of new and exotic material for his work. He travelled – among other places – to Sicily, Egypt, Malta and Corfu, and finally settled with Foss at San Remo, Italy. Because he loved the cat so much, he instructed the architects of his new house in San Remo to design it as an exact replica of his previous one, to make the move to the new place as easy as possible for Foss. FOSS DIED IN NOVEMBER OF 1887, and was laid to rest under a large stone in Lear’s Italian garden. Lear himself died only
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two months later, in January 1888.
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L E T T E R S
In the Duchess’s Kitchen A l i c e ’s A d v e n t u r e s i n Wo n d e r l a n d by L E W I S C A R RO L L (1832–98) from
(1865)
he only things in the kitchen that did not sneeze, were the
T
COOK, and a LARGE CAT which was sitting on the
hearth and grinning from ear to ear.
‘Please would you tell me,’ said Alice, a little timidly, for she was not quite sure whether it was good manners for her to speak first, ‘why
your cat grins like that?’ ‘It’s a Cheshire cat,’ said the Duchess, ‘and that’s why. Pig!’ She said the last word with such sudden violence that Alice quite jumped; but she saw in another moment that it was addressed to the baby, and not to her, so she took courage, and went on again:
‘I didn’t know that Cheshire cats always grinned; in fact, I didn’t know that cats could grin.’ ‘They all can,’ said the Duchess; ‘and most of ’em do.’ ‘I don’t know of any that do,’ Alice said very politely, feeling quite pleased to have got into a conversation.
‘You don’t know much,’ said the Duchess; ‘and that’s a fact.’
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An Excited Cat (1916) L OUIS WAIN (1860–1939)
104
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I N
T H E
D U C H E S S
105
’
S
K I T C H E N
C AT S
F R O M
L I T E R AT U R E
A N D
L E T T E R S
Dinah and Her Children Through the Looking-glass by L E W I S C A R RO L L (1832–98) from
(1871)
ne thing was certain, that the
O
WHITE KITTEN
had nothing to do with it: – it was the black kitten’s
fault entirely. For the white kitten had been having its face washed by the old cat for the last quarter of an hour (and bearing it pretty well, considering); so you see that it couldn’t have had any hand in the mischief. The way Dinah washed her children’s faces was this: first
she held the poor thing down by its ear with one paw, and then with the other paw she rubbed its face all over, the wrong way, beginning at the nose: and just now, she was hard at work on the white kitten, which was lying quite still and trying to purr – no doubt feeling that it was all meant for its good. But the
BLACK KITTEN had been finished with
earlier in the afternoon, and so… had been having a grand game of romps with the ball of worsted Alice had been trying to wind up… and there it was, spread over the hearth-rug, all knots and tangles, with the kitten running after its own
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tail in the middle.
106
D I N A H
A N D
H E R
C H I L D R E N
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The Proud Mother C HARLES VAN (1859–1923)
107
DEN
E YCKEN
C AT S
F R O M
L I T E R AT U R E
A N D
L E T T E R S
When Montmorency Meets a Cat T h r e e M e n i n a B o a t (1889) by J E RO M E K . J E RO M E (1859–1927) from
The only subject on which Montmorency and I have any serious difference of opinion is cats. I
LIKE CATS; MONTMORENCY DOES NOT. When I meet a cat, I say, ‘Poor Pussy!’ and stoop down and tickle the side of its head; and the cat sticks up its tail in a rigid, cast-iron manner, arches its back, and wipes its nose up against my trousers; and all is gentleness and peace. When Montmorency meets a cat, the whole street knows about it; and there is enough bad language wasted in ten seconds to last an ordinarily
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respectable man all his life, with care.
Dog Scaring Cat (1870) U NNAMED A RTIST IN AUNT L OUISA ’ S B IRTHDAY G IFT 108
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Legends A miscellany of customs, legends and true-life tales that celebrate the cat as hero, icon and possessor of marvellous powers. Cat-ownership is generally a private affair but, now and again, one particular cat strides into the spotlight and attracts the attention of a wider public. And so fresh legends are made and our admiration continues. With their qualities of cleanliness, discretion, affection, patience, dignity, and courage, how many of us, I ask you, would be capable of being cats? FERNAND MERY
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Late 19th-century poster for the Cirque d’Été in Paris
L E G E N D S
The Japanese Bobtail ‘Cat in Window Looking Out at Rice Fields near Asakusa’ from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1857) ANDO HIROSHIGE
IROSHIGE’S woodcut
H
have their tails trimmed short to
features one of the distinctive
prevent a similar disaster. And that
bobtail cats of Japan.The curves or
is how the first
kinks in the tail, responsible for the
came about.
BOBTAILS
For many years in Japan, only the
pompom effect, are unique to each individual cat; just like human finger
nobility were permitted to keep
prints, no two tails are ever alike.
bobtails.Then a plague of rats and mice in the 17th century caused them
There is a Japanese legend that
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
(1797–1858)
describes the origins of the bobtail (in
to be liberated.They spread to the
reality, the breed has been found in
general population, where people
many regions of the Far East). One
came to regard the Mi-Ke
night, the tail of a sleeping cat was set
(pronounced Mee-Kay and meaning
alight by a spark from a nearby
‘three-coloured fur’) as the bearers of
hearth.The terrified cat tore through
good fortune.Their popularity was
the streets of the Imperial City, setting
helped by the fact that long-tailed
every house on fire with its blazing
cats were suspected of being
tail.When he surveyed the charred
able to change into human
ruins of his city the next morning, the
form and cast spells upon
Emperor decreed that cats should
their owners.
112
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T H E J A PA N E S E
113
B O B TA I L
L E G E N D S
Trixie in the Tower of London n February 1601, Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex and one-time
I
favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, was executed on Tower Green
for leading a rebellion against her. His supporter, HENRY
WRIOTHESLEY, Earl of Southampton, was extremely lucky to escape the same fate for his part in the plot. Instead, he was
IMPRISONED in the Tower of London for two years,
during which time he was comforted by the company of his beloved black and white cat,Trixie. People say that the loyal animal found her own way across London, scaling walls and roofs until she found the chimney to Henry’s cell and dropped down inside it. She no doubt helped to keep his cell free of vermin and may even have caught a few pigeons for him. On his release after Elizabeth’s death,Wriothesley, who was also a prominent patron of William Shakespeare, commissioned this unusual
PORTRAIT
of himself and Trixie, from the painter
John de Critz the Elder.
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‘People say that the loyal animal found her own way across London, scaling walls and roofs until she found the chimney to Henry’s cell’ 114
T R I X I E
I N
T H E
T O W E R
Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton (1603)
87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
J OHN DE C RITZ (c.1552–1642)
THE
E LDER
115
O F
L O N D O N
L E G E N D S
The Ship’s Cat ats have given rise to more
rarely left on an abandoned ship but
superstitions than any other
are generally rescued with the sailors.
animal, so it is no surprise that the
Sailors would watch the cat closely,
C
led to a whole store of beliefs
PREDICT the WEATHER or the outcome of a
surrounding the ship’s cat. Seamen
voyage. A cat washing its face, or
would avoid using the word ‘cat’
sneezing, foretold rain; licking its fur
while at sea, but to have one on board
against the grain, meant a hailstorm. A
was thought lucky, especially a black
restless cat with a twitching tail meant
one with no white hairs.
a storm was brewing; and actually
unpredictable lives of seafarers have
hoping to
GOOD LUCK attended a
throwing a cat overboard would raise
sailor if the cat ran aboard ahead of
According to tradition, it was certain doom if a cat got into the rigging. Killing a cat resulted in the wind.
him. If it was playful, he would have
a meowing cat pointed to future dangers.
an easy voyage, but
nine years of bad luck (because of the
Although the main reason for keeping
cat’s nine lives), and anybody
a cat on board was to catch vermin,
drowning one risked meeting the
her wellbeing always seemed
same fate himself – in a tempest.
inextricably linked to that of both
Meanwhile, at home, sailors’
ship and crew; even now, cats are
wives kept cats to ensure their husbands’ safe return.
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American sailor holding a cat, the ship’s mascot, aboard the destroyer USS Macdonough III (1935)
116
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L E G E N D S
Faith, the Blitz Cat Father Henry Ross, rector of St Augustine and St Faith, Watling Street, in the City of London, typed and posted this tribute inside the surviving church tower, where he continued to hold services. Faith was the first cat to be awarded a medal for bravery.
‘FAITH’ Our dear little church cat of St Augustine and St Faith. The bravest cat in the world. On Monday, September 9th, 1940, she endured horrors and perils beyond the power of words to tell. Shielding her kitten in a sort of recess in the house (a spot she selected three days before the tragedy occurred), she sat the whole frightful night of bombing and fire, guarding her little kitten. The roofs and masonry exploded. The whole house blazed. Four floors fell through in front of her. Fire and water and ruin all round her. Yet she stayed calm and steadfast and waited for help. We rescued her in the early morning while the place was still burning, and by the mercy of Almighty God, she and her kitten were not only saved, but unhurt. God be praised and
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thanked for His goodness and mercy to our dear little pet.
118
FA I T H
,
T H E
B L I T Z
C AT
&
T H E
E N G L I S H
WAT C H C AT
The English Watchcat In 1922, at a house in Leytonstone, East London, the family cat turned
WATCHDOG when two burglars attempted a break-in during the early hours of the morning.This clever pet tabby threw himself at the front door and sounded a rat-a-tat-tat with the knocker at the letterbox.
THE BURGLARS WERE SCARED OFF empty-handed, and the cat found himself promoted to a place of honour among the 87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
family pets. 119
L E G E N D S
Dogs Remember Faces, Cats Places O L D E N G L I S H S AY I N G
ats have an extraordinary knack of finding their way
C
back to a previous home without any visual clues. Some
HOMESICK PETS have travelled literally hundreds of miles and taken as long as a year to make the journey back to where they used to live. Scientific tests have proved that cats have a high degree of sensitivity to the earth’s magnetic field; when experimenters attached strong magnets to cats, they disrupted their homing ability in a way that neither drugs nor any other sensory blocks could do; and it is also thought that they use the angle of the sun as a guide. This picture, drawn by the author himself, illustrates one of Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories for Little Children (1902), entitled ‘The Cat that Walked by Himself ’. Kipling’s own caption reads: ‘WALKING BY HIS WILD LONE THROUGH THE WET WILD WOODS & WAVING HIS WILD TAIL’.
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‘Scientific tests have proved that cats have a high degree of sensitivity to the earth’s magnetic field’ 120
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D O G S
R E M E M B E R
FA C E S
121
,
C AT S
P L A C E S
L E G E N D S
The Cat of Kazan The Cat of Kazan comes from an 18th-century Russian
LUBOK or FOLK PRINT,
which satirizes Tsar Peter the Great and his huge moustache.These bright, simple woodcuts were coloured by hand and sold everywhere in bazaars and markets; their style is a mixture of traditional European woodcut and Russian icon painting.They became a popular way of expressing people’s feelings about daily events, customs, and ideals – as well as decorating their walls – from the mid-17th century until the start of the 20th.
The Cat of Kazan ( 18th century)
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P RIVATE C OLLECTION
122
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P O E M S I N P R A I S E
123
O F C AT S
L E G E N D S
How the Manx Lost her Tail NOAH was hammering the last nails into the Ark as huge black rain clouds gathered overhead. He knew there was no time to lose and began calling the animals together so that he and his three sons could herd them all aboard. Now, there was one cat –
AN EXCELLENT
MOUSER – who was out hunting. She heard Noah’s call well enough but she was determined not to go into the Ark without something for her supper. When Noah had counted the other creatures safely inside, he knew that one was still missing. So he stood in the doorway of the Ark and, as the first drops of rain splashed onto the deck, he shouted: ‘Who’s out is out and who’s in is in!’ He was just closing the door when the cat came running up
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and squeezed past his ankles in the nick of time. But as Noah
124
H O W
T H E
slammed the door, IT
M A N X
L O S T
H E R
TA I L
CUT OFF HER TAIL, and so the
cat got in without it. And that is why Manx cats have no tails to this day. Manx Kitten (2007) 87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
B EAU H OOKER
125
L E G E N D S
Halloween Greetings alloween did not become a holiday in America
H
until the 19th century, where a long-established
PURITAN tradition had meant that even Christmas was not much celebrated before the 1800s. It was the potato famine of the 1840s and the migration of the Irish that brought Halloween and its customs to America.The commercialization of Halloween in the United States probably began with Halloween
POSTCARDS like this one, which l
people sent and received between 1905 and 1915. The black cat became associated with Halloween because of a common belief that the spirits of the dead could return in the shape of an animal – and black cats were certainly one of the most ominous.Witches had also adopted black cats as ‘familiars’ and so they too became part of the Halloween imagery.
‘The black cat became associated with Halloween because of a common belief that the spirits of the dead could return in the shape of an animal’ Hallowe’en Greetings (1910) 87B0604C-02C7-429D-95F2-52D72A21CF6F
F RANCES B RUNDAGE (1854–1937)
126
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H A L L O W E E N
G R E E T I N G S
127
A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S
A N D
P I C T U R E
C R E D I T S
Picture Credits
Bridgeman: 2, 33, 37, 38, 45, 73, 83, 91, 102, 110 Corbis: 7, 8, 13, 15, 22, 31, 35, 57, 59, 65, 67, 77, 79, 81, 87, 93, 97, 107, 113, 115, 116, 119 Mary Evans: 11, 17, 21, 28, 42–43, 46, 49, 69, 71, 89, 105, 109, 118, 121 Picture Desk (Art Archive): 16, 19, 25, 26, 41, 75, 85, 99, 123, 127 Shutterstock: 4, 51, 61 Photograph on p 125 reproduced with the kind permission of Beau Hooker
Acknowledgements
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The traditional tales on pp 12, 54 and 124 were retold by Charlotte Gerlings
128
The smallest feline is a masterpiece LEONARDO DA VINCI This book is a tribute to cats everywhere and a gift to their owners who love them unconditionally. For centuries, the domestic cat has been a source of curiosity, mystery and wonder for cat lovers all over the world. In fact, it is this enigmatic quality that irresistibly attracts us to these captivating, elusive creatures. In The Cat Lover’s Treasury, Charlotte Gerlings reaches back in time to compile this stunning collection of quotations, poems, proverbs and legends, inspired by the antics of our feline friends. It is strangely comforting to find that some of the most influential figures in history regarded the domestic cat as being as loveable and mystifying as we do today.
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Beautifully illustrated, this charming and witty book will delight and enchant cat lovers of all ages, and will make you fall in love with your purring pet all over again.
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