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| Sunday, 12 October 2003 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Cats - the 'fallen angels' of medieval times by Aryadasa Ratnasinghe
No animal would have suffered such abominable cruelty at the hands of man as did the domestic cat in medieval Europe. The cat, unfortunately for its mind, reached Europe at the same time as did Christianity, and it became identified with Satan or Devil," says Edward Hyams. The cat is a carnivorous animal belonging to the family Felidae and to the genus Felis. The domestic cat (Felis cactus) has different breeds, viz: Persian, Abyssinian, Siamese and the Manx. The Persian cat has a silky coat and a bushy tail. The Abyssinian cat is a breed popular in America, with short hair, orange-red nose and a reddish-brown coat, the hair having several dark bands. The Siamese cat has short hair, lean body with a triangular face and blue eyes. Its coat is pale in colour with dark spots on the face, legs and tail. The Manx is native to the Isle of Man (an island in the Irish sea). It has short hair with a thick coat, but has no tail. Domestic cats prefer to eat fish than meat, but feed on rats and extended to other lower animals, including birds. The big brothers of the cat family are the robust lion (Panthera leo) native to Africa and North-West India. It is usually brown in colour and the male has a mane of long dark hair, proudly possessed than those of the animal kingdom. It inhabits grasslands and open woodland, and lives in groups, because it dislike to live in isolation. Lion is the symbolism of courage sans fear. As lord of the jungle, it has no enemies and is respected by all the beasts of the jungle. It sometimes even attacks elephants when enraged. Extinct The ferocious tiger (Panthera tigris), is native to South and South-East Asia. Its coat is reddish brown with dark vertical stripes. It is a good swimmer. Tigers mainly feed on large animals, and there are several sub-species (Bengal, Indo-Chinese, Chinese and Sumatran). The biggest brother is the Siberian tiger. The possible extinct species are the Caspian (native to Russia) and Bali (native to Indonesia). The rossetted leopard (Panthera pordus) is found in jungles, extending from Siberia to Africa. It loves solitary life. The coat is reddish or yellowish brown with rings of dark blotches. The black species is known as the Indian leopard and mostly found in dense forests of the tropical region. The lynx (Felis lynx) is a nocturnal member of the cat family, native to the Northern Hemisphere. It has a brown coat with dark spots, short tail, with tufted ears and cheeks with long whiskers. Its other brother is the Spanish lynx (Felix pardina). The bobcat (Felis rufus) is also nocturnal in habit and is native to North America. It is about 3ft. in length with tail. Colour brown with dark spots and has a very short tail. The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a big can found in southern US and North Argentina. The coat has rings of dark blotches surrounding dark spots and some are almost black in colour. Jaguarundi (Felis jaguarondi) is found in southern US and Paraguay. It has very short legs, long body and grey or reddish brown in colour. Cougar (Felis concolor) lives in the dense forests from Canada to South America. It has a reddish-brown coat, lives in solitary places, always ready to hunt for food. It is also known as mountain lion or panther. The wild cat (Felis silvestris) is found in northern Europe, Africa and India. It is bigger than the domesticated cat, with a short and stout tail. The cheetah (Acinonnyx jubatus) is native to Africa and India. It is the fastest of land animals, with a speed of 110 k.m.p.h. (70 m.p.h), and capable of running long distances with equal speed. It is the only cat that cannot retract its claws completely. Pale in colour with solid dark spots, lean with long legs and tail of equal length. The cat is considered the "fallen angel" and the "enemy of man", and it became customary to mortify the devil by maltreating the cats, and mostly the black ones. Therefore, before the saner civilisation, cats were either killed, or buried alive, or thrown alive into bonfires, or roasted alive after tying them unto long poles. Even in Sri Lanka, the domestic black cat is woven into the fabric of mythology. People fear to confront them while walking along the road, or when they run across the road unexpectedly. When a vehicle runs over a cat, the driver becomes scared to proceed on the journey, without keeping a lime fruit to the tyre, to save from any mishap on the road. Domestic Among all domestic animals, the cats are the most pampered. They are neither clever nor intelligent as dogs are, and, therefore, they cannot be properly disciplined, or made to obey the command of man, nor does one expect them to so behave. Cats are never kept in chains, unlike dogs, and never bathed as they clean themselves. On the other hand, cats do not extend much service to man, except to catch rats in homes and even that they do generally give up when they become old, mainly due to laziness. The Celtic British refined the method of impaling cats on spits (broaches for roasting meat) and holding them over fire. The intention was to exorcise the devil. Even after incorporating a statutory provision to the Welsh Legal Code, to protect cats from hideous abuse, only the brave men dared risk suspicion of heresy by trying to save a cat from torture. They are very sharp and it is very difficult to catch them, when they enter into houses stealthily to eat whatever they can find that they relish.
When cats followed rats to Europe with the Teutons, they were made to protect the larders of the houses, and the barns of the farmers, from those voracious rodents. But, the people became more concerned about the cats than the rats, because of their nocturnal behaviour and their enigmatic eyes, their betoken cry with a discordant sound (caterwauling), their sinister look, and their ambiguous and suspicious character, made people to think they gave warning of an impending calamity. Accordingly, the cat was eventually considered more harmful than useful, its caresses more dreaded than desired, and its bite serious, if not fatal. Since cats are vulnerable to hydrophobia (rabies), similar to dogs, their bite is often suspected to contain the lethal virus. There is the belief that cat's fur causes disorders of the respiratory system, and even catarrh, mostly among children who pamper the animal as a pat. The fur causes 'cat-allergy' which is familiar among children. There are many sayings concerning cats. 'Cat-and-dog' life, i.e. constantly quarrelling. 'Cat-nap', i.e., a short sleep in a chair. 'Cat-gut' i.e., cord used for surgical ligatures. 'Cats-paw' one who is made the tool of another. 'Cat-walk' i.e., a narrow walk of attraction. 'Cats-eye', i.e., a variety of chrysoberyl. 'Cat has nine lives', i.e., a secured life. 'Cat silver', i.e., a kind of silvery mica, and there are many such sayings connected with the cat. Cat responds to the root of the herbal plant 'kuppamaniya' (Acalypha indica), because the scent of the roots make every cat to go tipsy and ecstatic and soon becomes dazed. The bite of a cat, sometimes, may become toxic. In native treatment, 'ittakuru' (porcupine spines) and 'kuppameniya' leaves, fried together in a pan, and the charred residue, grounded with ghee, is said to be very efficacious to remove the toxicity of the bite. A cat is called 'pussy' or by its corrupt usage 'poosa' or 'poos'. It seems to have been derived from the name 'Pasht' (a Greek goddess. The Dutch called the cat 'puss' which we, perhaps, have copied. |
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