Cats: The Uncomfortable Truth.
Cats fascinate me, big and small; I love Felis catus, the house cat. In the 1970s, I spent five years of my life with Arsouille, my Siamese cat. I still vividly remember his feline and not so feline antics. I was born in a dog family which, later, became a cat family. My first baby sitter was named Qamra and I spent my infant years with her son Xao. Apparently, my busy mother often transferred her maternal duties to Qamra who was the family’s stay-at-home white poodle. My first baby steps were taken in a playpen in the company of Qamra’s puppies. She did not seem to mind having “um estranho no ninho”, a stranger in the nest; family records indicate that she coolly looked after her unusual brood. Obviously, I have no recollection of this unconventional chapter of my childhood. By chance, I have photos to prove it.
Father had
hounds but they were not allowed in the house. When both parents became older, they switched
to cats. My poodle playmates did not
influence my pet preference, from an early age I showed a marked preference for
cats. They are associated with the
feminine vs dogs, the man’s best friend!
Cats seem to have been connected with powerful women like French
novelist Colette, always photographed with a cat on her lap. But the true icon of my youth was Catherine the
Great, the Empress of Russia (and another stranger in the nest, she was German
born).
Catherine
went down in history for both her outstanding political achievements and her
legendary sexual appetite. The second
being overblown by her political foes and macho historians. In terms of romantic relationships, she was
pretty average, having had (about) twelve lovers during her 44-year reign. A modest number by the male standards of the
period. Her true passion was for pets;
she kept a large number of cats in the Hermitage Palace in Saint Petersburg,
working cats, rat killers as well as pets.
Russian Blue cats were said to be her favorites. After receiving a consequent money gift, Catherine’s
long-time lover Gregory Potemkin offered her an Angora cat as a token of his gratitude.
Queen
Cleopatra was another icon of mine. It was
reported that she had many cats and even a leopard in her court. I had an early interest in Egyptomania. Egyptians regarded cats as magical creatures,
harbinger of good fortune for their owners.
In Egyptian mythology, house cats are represented by the goddess Bastet
which has the head of a cat and a slender female body. Compared to cats’ class act and grace, dogs revel
in sloppiness and clumsiness. Therefore,
preferring cats suited my budding feminism.
Like Catherine, I received my first and unique pet cat, Arsouille as a
gift from a boyfriend (lover has a negative connotation these days). I was working in Rio de Janeiro, and I had a
day maid who spent the major part of her time keeping Arsouille company. Siamese cats are high maintenance cats, they
like attention and treats but they also easily adapt to their owner’s lifestyle. Arsouille enjoyed going to the office and to
the beach. He moved to Bolivia with me,
but when I was transferred to Haiti, I unhappily had to leave him in France in
my brother’s care. In Haiti, cats end up
either in the stew pot or as drum skin.
Colette and assistant
Like her
lovers, Catherine’s angora cat was also dismissed. His fault? Scratching the face of one of the
empress’s lady-in-waiting. Recently, because
she casually pushed her cat aside, my friend J. was badly scratched and bitten,
and by the sweetest of cat. When feeling
threatened, cats may react violently and unpredictably. These wild streaks make cats appealing to me,
it is like sharing one’s home with a wild feline, in lieu of Cleopatra’s
leopard.
Cats were
never fully domesticated. Their hunting skills
made them valuable to humans and at the same time, cats saw humans has a source
of rodents, in other word, food. Felis
silvestris and homo sapiens built a partnership of equals, a
win-win. Contrary to dogs, cats were not submitted to task breeding, they kept
their freedom to roam and their wild instinct. In our so-called civilized societies, cats are
increasingly popular (all these lol-cats on the Internet!). Are they not clean, elegant, soft to the
touch, independent, mischievous enough to be entertaining? An estimated 59 million domestic cats live in
the USA, 15 m in France and 11 m in the UK.
Cats are perfect companions for people spending an increasing amount of
time alone. But too many owners want their
moggies to fit into a domestic mold and expect gratitude in exchange. I suppose this pampering frustrates the cats’
wild nature. They don’t compromise on
independence and demand to be let out of the house. Owners should stand firm unless their cats are
used to a leash like Arsouille who enjoyed going around town in his chic
harness.
At this juncture,
friends and I have been debating. Being
a bona fide cat lover, I made my point: cats should not be let out to roam
freely and kill wildlife. I fully back
the views of my UK and Australian friends where serious efforts are made to
cull loose cats, feral as well as stray.
Statistics indicate the massive
toll cats take on birds and small mammals.
Led by their genes and their eclectic hunting skills, cats kill for the
fun of it with a full tummy. I keep in
mind that stray and feral cats are the byproducts of our humane failure. Bred for the purpose of killing vermin, cats are
discarded and abandoned to their own fate when no longer needed.
The French are the European champions at abandoning pets, cats in particular; they routinely discard them before going on their summer holidays. Between 100 000 and 200 000 pets are abandoned every year and 40% are euthanized in good health. In comparison, the UK number is only 16 000. Many impulse-bought kittens are abandoned instead of being neutered when 6-to 8-month-old. The French are so used to get free healthcare provided by their welfare state that they cannot imagine paying to treat their cats. The car park in Calvisson hosts a large stray cat colony, volunteers feed them. I often buy cat food for them. Small birds have all disappeared, only pigeons, crows and magpies caw and croak in the trees. In Rio, scruffy stray cats are living on the grounds of the Jockey Club, they subsist on a diet of rats, cockroaches and hard cat food pellets provided by volunteers.
A long
debate indeed, do we need all these cats? Will their increased interaction with
people deepen their domestication like that of dogs? Are cats happy
indoors? Plenty of unanswered
questions. Anyway, one way or another,
cats are the perennial victims of our selfishness.
From France:" You were right, I am surprised..not going to add another " bloggerpassword" to my long list of user names and passwords..Potemkin was famous for something entirely different...Too much of the man's best friend! Throughout. I don t buy the ying/ yang distinction you try to make. No wonder the "estranho no ninho" got hooked on cats!"
ReplyDeleteYour knowledge is just so immense Beatrice, you are able to write such detailed blogs on any matter. I look forward to your next chapter - maybe concerning retirement age in France!!!
ReplyDeletePeter, a bit too much praise! Bev gave me some writing points!
DeleteFrom Paris:" Please send the cats!" Free food available.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I did not know so many cats were abandoned in France. Here aside from the Jockey, there are also many strays in the Parque do Flamengo.
ReplyDeleteFrom BA:" Just read your blog. You are very versatile on your topics which make your blogs always a good read. Being a dog person, I discovered through your article a lot of interesting facts about cats. I also have always had a great admiration for Cleopatra and for Ancient Egyptian culture and therefore could not resist adopting an Egyptian cat during my stay there."
ReplyDeleteFrom NYC:" An interesting article, although I hate cats. Maybe hate is too strong a word. I dislike cats. I do not know about a feral cat problem, but I know that there are stray cats around. And people are always trying to rescue them as well as dogs."
ReplyDeleteWonderful blog, especially for a cat lover like me. Cats kept me company from my early childhood. I even trained one to "write" when I entered primary school. Since then I rescued many cats, one occasion 4 newborn kittens in a garbage bin: Cleopatra, Julio Cesar, Marco Antonio and Octavio. The first three did not survive
ReplyDeletebut Octavio left me after 15 years. My latest rescue is Rodolfo who was abandoned when his owner died. Unbelievable: a beautiful Russian Blue or Chartreuse who was probably expensive...
Cats' only problem is that they multiply so quickly. They are useful (although the birds will not share my opinion) but I think neutering is a better solution than culling.
From the south of France:" Je viens de lire ton blog et comme tu le sais je suis une inconditionnelle cat lover! En ce moment nous en avons 5……et une grande maison et un grand jardin….j’aime les chats mais j’aime aussi les oiseaux!! j’ai toujours fait en sorte de rendre difficile la cohabitation…..en hiver je n’ai jamais suspendu une boule de graisse…pour nourrir les oiseaux de même que je me suis toujours interdit de secouer la nappe pleine de miettes de pain apres le repas… Mais le chat est un chasseur donc quelquefois j’ai trouvé devant la porte un cadavre ….mais j ai aussi réussi à sauver des oiseaux de leurs griffes et devoir supporter leur mécontentement ! C’est ce que j’aime avec les chats….quand ils ne sont pas contents ils le montrent clairement ….ils ne montrent pas la même soumission que les chiens vis à vis de leur maitre!
ReplyDeleteLe chat fait ce qu'il veut quand il veut et tant pis si le maître, maîtresse n est pas content! j aime cette forme d'indépendance et je sais aussi que le chat aime sa maison mais aussi ses maitre!!ils sont nombreux les artistes peintres ou écrivains qui ont eu besoin de leur chat à leur côté nombreux aussi les personnalités politiques….Nelson fidèle ami de Churchill en est un bon exemple aussi Sam l’insubmerssible qui a suvecu à 3 naufrages pendant la dernière guerre…d’abord bateau allemand coulé par les anglais sauvé par les anglais dont il est devenu la mascotte !!il y a eu 2 autres naufrages…naufrages et finalement a fini tranquillement sa vie dans un bureau
J’ai toujours adoré cette histoire…et d’ailleurs tu connais Sam notre chat adorable si il en est.
Je pourrais parler pendant des heures de mes chats!
Je te confirme que dans mon jardin, il y a des pies, des pigeons des tourterelles et même une poule faisanne! mais les chats ne s’ y risquent pas!!c’est trop gros…. Ils font semblant de dormir!"
From France:" Je suis d’accord avec vous ! En ce moment, je suis en chasse d’une souris que l’un de mes chats a rapporté du jardin pour jouer avant de s’en détourner pour aller se reposer.
ReplyDeleteDepuis le canapé, ils m’entendent démonter la cuisine mais rassurez-vous, pas une moustache ne bouge ! #vivreavecunchat !"
From NYC:" The comment from you Parisian friend is perfect! In NYC, rodents share the city with us."
ReplyDeleteFrom France:" J’ai lu ton blog sur les chats, j’ai été bluffé ; c’est remarquablement écrit et de loin l’un de tes plus beaux textes si ce n’est le plus beau ; car écrit en dehors de toute contrainte géographique, politique ou historique ; totalement libre tu n’avais plus qu’à te laisser aller au gré de tes pensées imaginaires. C’est un vrai roman plein de poésie.
ReplyDeleteJ’avais entendu parler d’Arsouille mais je ne savais s’il existait ou si finalement ce n’était qu’une de tes inventions comme tu sais en imaginer voire construire. Il est vrai qu’à Rio je n’avais eu l’occasion d’apercevoir, on ne peut plus subrepticement, cet « animal » nommé Arsouille, ne sachant pas s’il faisait partie des meubles ou s’il s’était échappé de je ne sais quel lieu pour trouver refuge dans ton antre."
C’est un très beau texte très attendrissant.
From France:" J'ai beaucoup apprécié la lecture de votre écrit sur les chats. On y perçoit une grande admiration et sympathie pour ces petits félins énigmatiques . Et vous avez raison de mentionner que les grands et grandes de ce monde ont toujours eu des compagnons à quatre pattes. Souvent des chats d'ailleurs. Leur autonomie , leur indépendance et indifférence ont probablement toujours fasciné ainsi que leur appétence pour les souris....
ReplyDeleteN'ayant côtoyé ni chiens ni chats durant mon enfance, je garde une certaine distance voire une certaine crainte vis à vis de ces créatures pourvues de dents et de griffes....
Leurs pupilles verticales ne me mettent pas spécialement à l'aise. Ce sont des animaux intelligents et perspicaces qui savent très bien s'adapter à leur environnement. Leur capacité à élire domicile à l'endroit le plus moelleux et le plus chaud me fascine.
Et ce sont de vrais carnivores contrairement au chien."
From Spain:"Ah, cats !! A lovely theme indeed. Are they victims of our selfishness as you say, or are we victims of theirs ? “ Cats never got over their snootiness caused by the fact that in ancient Egypt they were worshipped as gods “ writes P.G. Wodehouse. He, as any good Englishman, knew a lot about cats. Did you read The Story of Webster ? A delightful piece of writing.
ReplyDeleteIn my family we had, and Ximena still has, plenty of cats. When I was a very young kid, I was fond of our beautiful big black cat, Giarabub. He was named by my stepmother after the site of the battle engagement between Italian and Commonwealth forces in Libya. There were hard times in Italy during WW2 and one day he disappeared, most probably eaten as a stew by some hungry neighbor. So, a victim of war was the first cat in my life. When we were living in Caracas, Laura came back from school a bit flushed with a small tabby cat. A girl from the British School had approached her holding the cat and asked if she liked it, she said yes and the girl said “it’s yours !” and ran away leaving the cat in her arms. We called her Penny and our neighbors had Pupi, a beautiful blue gray Angora cat who immediately noticed Penny’s arrival. I found him in my studio looking for her and he tried to escape squeezing through the window panels while I patted amicably his backside. Well, this was the beginning of the love story between Pupi and Penny, our plebeian tabby cat. She gave birth to four beautiful fluffy cats - in my studio of course - which I gave away to my friends, keeping just one, Babi. His adventures were many. He soon became the ruler of the street, replacing his father’s role as king of the neighborhood, while father Pupi died totally neglected by his owner. The last time I saw him, his splendid coat was covered by plastered plaques of dirt.
Once, Babi fell into a barrel full of thick used car oil used by nearby builders to paint their concrete wooden formwork. Somehow he managed to climb out and came home dripping oil all over the living room. I had to buy a gallon of kerosene and wash him entirely with it.
Another time he had a nasty infection in one of his front legs. To cure it I had to wrap him tightly with a wet towel leaving out just the wounded leg and his head. While he was grumbling, I made an incision with a Gillette and a jet of pus from the abscess blew on my face. After a thorough disinfection of the wound he limped a bit for a while but healed very quickly.
But things became difficult when one of his sons, fluffy tailed exactly like him but homeless, entered our house by night. A furious battle ensued and in the morning we found the living room full of hair and no trace of the fighters. Babi’s life as king of the street started to become difficult. His fighter son, a carbon copy of himself, apparently had stepped up his harassment. Then Babi suddenly disappeared abandoning the battlefield. We never saw him again and left us grieving him.
Well, I have some other cat stories but I’ll stop bothering you right now ! "