About Cats

I love cats, especially Siamese cats.
And although there are the Big Cats and the Little Cats, this page is entirely dedicated to domestic cats (the little cats).

Muk Heritage is a Lynx Point Siamese. But, why is his name "Muk"???
Well, the shelter told us that his mother gave birth on their porch and he was found surrounded in placenta, amniotic fluid, and umbilical cord. Basically he was found in a pile of muk. We decided not to change his name, but added "Heritage".

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Felis
Species: F. catus

Cats have been associated with humans (as domestic animals) for at least 9,500 years. (NWE). This is attested to by the fact that the skeleton of a cat with a collar was found in a 9500 year old grave site next to a human skeleton. Cats have been prized pets for their ability to keep the rodent population down, and for their companionship. (NWE). And, cats have been a part of every culture of EurAsia. (There were no domestic cats on either American continent prior to the Europeans coming here. However, Native Americans may have had pet bobcats. (Source: LiveScience).

Religion	Thoughts
Judaeo- Christiandom	Cats are not mentioned in the Bible. Probably because the Hebrews originated from Mesopotamia and there are really no mention of cats in that culture either. However, lions were mentioned in Mesopotamian literature and sculpture. Some big cats are mentioned in the Bible... Lion - 176 times. Leopard - 9 times. Source: King James Version of the Bible. In the past, many Christians (in the U.S.) shunned cats because of their association with witches, especially black cats. Interestingly, in the U.K. black cats were okay. It was the white ones that were scary.
Islam	There is nothing against cats in Islam. In fact, it is common knowledge that the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) had a cat named Muezza. One day, the prophet got up and found his cat sleeping on the sleeve of his robe. Instead of disturbing the cat, he cut off the sleeve. Amongst Muslims, cats are considered to be excellent pets because of their excellent hygiene and calm personalities. Source: Wikipedia.
Hinduism	All living beings are sacred in Hinduism In some sects of Hinduism, the cat is revered as the vehicle of Mara Shasti Devi (a goddess and consort of Lord Muruga). Mara Shasti protects children, especially from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Source: HinduPad.


Scandinavia	The Orient	Egypt	Ottoman Empire
Freya (the goddess of feminine fertiliy, war, and magic) had a chariot pulled by two cats given to her by Thor. Cats were actually quite revered (even black ones) in ancient Scandinavia (and Britton). White ones were sometimes associated with ghosts. But, in general, farmers loved them to keep the rodent population down. City-dwellers loved them to keep the rat population down. And, every sailing ship had to have one on board. Learn more on my pirate page about sailor lore, as to why they had to have a cat onboard. Sources: Wikipedia. Wiki Commons.	The Maneki-neko pictured above is not from China, but actually from Japan. The cat is considered good luck in all of the Orient, and the Japanese decided to make a statue of a cat which is not waving. Actually, it is beckoning. In fact, Maneki-neko means "Beckoning Cat". It is beckoning customers to "come in". Nowadays, it is used in businesses all over the Orient. Source: National Geographic. In Chinese culture... Li Shou was the Chinese cat goddess (who was an actual cat). She was queen of all the cats. The gods put the cats in charge of planet Earth, and Li Shou was in charge of all the cats. Every time the gods came to check on how things were going, the cats were just lazying about or chasing mice. Several times the gods chastised Li Shou for not taking her job of taking care of the Earth seriously. Finally, Li Shou just said, "Why don't you just put the humans in charge? They seem more interested in that. We just want to relax and eat and chase mice." So, the gods put humans in charge. Source: Daily Art Magazine.	Bastet was the cat goddess of ancient Egypt. She was not only the goddess of all cats (big and little), but she was the goddess of women's secrets, and the goddess of hearth and home. She was also the guardian against evil spirits and disease. Source: World History Encyclopedia Egyptians loved their cats dearly. If the family cat died, they would have it mummified. Source: New World Encyclopedia.	The painting above is by "History Lover". I love it. It shows a tough Ottoman with a cat. And, the amazing detail is truly mesmerizing (except the hands). Overall I was truly mesmerized by this painting. Another reason why I like it is because it shows that tough guys can be cat lovers as well. Cats have been revered in Turkey since the Ottoman Empire. In fact, cats roam freely all over Istanbul to this day. People feed them and pet them, and love them. Source: Conscious Cat.
GOOD LUCK? Cats were good luck (except white ones; because ghosts are white and there is some association with ghosts for some reason).	GOOD LUCK? Cats were considered good luck.	GOOD LUCK? Well, if you consider that they keep evil spirits away, I'd say that they were good luck.	GOOD LUCK? Oh, yes! Definitely. They kept the rodent population down, and they made great pets.
ILLEGAL TO KILL? A medieval king of Whales made it illegal to kill or harm a cat.	ILLEGAL TO KILL? I can find nowhere that it was ever illegal to kill a cat in China. In fact, until recently, the Chinese ate cat meat as well as dog meat.	ILLEGAL TO KILL? Killing cats was forbidden. In fact, the penalty for killing a cat was death.	ILLEGAL TO KILL? The Ottomans were primarily Muslim, and since the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) banned the killing or harming of cats, the Ottomans probably did the same.
9 LIVES? Yes. Cats have nine lives.	9 LIVES? Yes.	9 LIVES? Probably. Nobody know for sure, but probably, yes.	9 LIVES? No. Six lives.
If a black cat crosses your path, you'll have bad luck. (This is chiefly a U.S. superstition).	If a stray black cat comes into your house, very bad luck ensues; generally it means that the owner of the house will suffer poverty.	I don't think color mattered. They just loved cats so much.	I don't think color mattered. They just loved cats so much.

Name	Date	Description
Nedjem	15th century B.C.	Nedjem ("Sweetie") was the first cat in written history to have a name. She was the cat of Puimre, the second priest of Amun, during the reign of Queen Hapshepsut. Source: Wikipedia.
Ta-Miu	14th century B.C.	Ta-Miu was the personal pet of Crown Prince Thutmose, the eldest son of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. Source: Litter Robot.
Muezza	7th century A.D.	Personal cat of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). See "Religion" section (above) for more information.
Chief Mouser	16th century A.D. up to modern times	It has been a tradition to have a cat (a mouser) at the Prime Minister's residence since the 16th century. Notable cats: Peter III: the cat that served the position for the longest period of time (16 years -- under 5 different prime ministers). Larry: the first to have been officially been given the title of "Chief Mouser" (2011); and still currently holds the position. (That's 12 years of service). Source: Wikipedia.
Macak	1856	Macak was Nicola Tesla's childhood cat. He said that it was because of the cat that he started his fascination with electricity. One day, he stroked the back of the cat and a bunch of static electricity lit up the cat's back. This started his life-long investigation into the wonders of electricity.
Tabby and Dixie	1861-1865	These were President Abraham Lincoln's cats. His wife said that his cats were his only hobby. (Source: Litter Robot).
Oscar	1941	As I have mentioned several times on this website, sailors like to have cats onboard for "good luck" reasons. Oscar is special though, because he survived 3 shipwrecks.
Felicette	1963	Felicette was the first cat (and only cat) to survive a trip into space. She was sent there by the French.
Creme-Puff	1967-2005	The oldest cat on record was Creme-Puff of Austin, Texas. She was 38 years old when she died in 2005. (Guinness World Records acknowledged this).
Mayor Stubbs	1997-2017	In the small Alaskan town of Talkeetna, a cat named Stubbs, was elected Mayor in 1997 by write-in ballot option, because nobody liked the human candidates for the job. Stubbs served as honorary Mayor for 20 years until his death in 2017. Source: Wikipedia. And source for all famous cats above: Litter Robot.
Morris	1969-1978	Morris (the cat) aired on 58 television commercials for 9Lives cat food, with funny voice-overs. He was called, "The world's most finicky cat" because he would only eat 9Lives cat food. Source: Wikipedia.
Tombili	?-2016	Tombili was a beloved street cat in Istanbul, Turkey; who got his own statue after his death. Source: Wikipedia.
Nala	2020-Current time	Nala (the cat) is officially the most followed cat on social media. Currently, she has 4.5 million followers on Instagram. She holds the Guinness World Record. Source: Purina. Source: Instagram. Source: Guinness.

Famous (Fictitious) Cats in the Arts
(Note: I am in no way trying to provide a comprehensive list; just some of the most famous ones).

Name	Date	Picture (maybe)	Creator / and more info
Aristocats	1970		Title: The Aristocats Movie Author: ScreenPlay by Ken Anderson Original Story Authors: Tom McGowan & Tom Rowe Review: I loved the movie. All the characters except some occasional human appearances are cats. The music was very appropriate and "catchy". I loved all the cat puns.
Cat in the Hat	1957		Title: The Cat in the Hat Author (and illustrator): Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss). Learn all about Dr. Seuss on Leon's Planet. He's not really a Doctor. Learn how he obtained the title of Doctor. Review: I personally love all of Dr. Seuss' work. The Cat in the Hat is no exception. Although his style of artwork is very different than my own (and I'm a cartoonist/artist myself); I love his artwork. As they say, "Variety is the spice of life."
Cheshire Cat	1871		Title: Through the Looking Glass Later: Alice in Wonderland Author: Lewis Carrol Review: The Cheshire Cat has always creeped me out as a child for some reason. As an adult, I can recognize that although the cat speaks in paradoxical witticisms, he speaks the truth. Quotes from the Cheshire Cat: (1) "Every adventure requires a first step." (2) "I am not crazy. My reality is just different from yours." (3) “Only a few find the way, some don’t recognize it when they do – some… don’t ever want to.” (4) "Not all who wander are lost." (5) “If you don’t know where you are going any road can take you there.” Quote Source: Bookroo.
Felix	1919		Creators: Pat Sullivan & Otto Mesmer Felix the Cat was a character during the silent film era. Maybe he wasn't the first animated character, but he was one of the most famous in history.
Garfield	1978	*	No pic needed. Everyone knows Garfield--the lazy cat that talks in its own mind. Garfield was a comic character, but there were some animated films made with Garfield. Creator: Jim Davis
Heathcliff	1973	*	Heathcliff was the exact opposite of Garfield. Also a comic character, he was always fighting (mostly dogs; but sometimes other cats). He was a kind of a cat superhero. Creator: George Gately
Mr. Jinks	1958- 1961		Ran for 3 seasons on Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Creators: William Hanna & Joseph Barbera I used to watch it when I was a kid. I loved all the Hanna-Barbera cartoons! It was full of slapstick comedy.
Puss in Boots	1697		Title: Puss in Boots Author: Charles Perrault Note: The book was originally written in French.
Sylvester	1945		Sylvester was a cat whose main nemesis was Tweety Bird. He was always trying to catch and eat Tweety, and somehow Tweety always got away. Creator: Friz Freleng Owner: Warner Bros. Cartoons
Tom (AKA: Tom Cat)	1985		From the internationally famous "Tom and Jerry" Cartoon. (It was an international sensation because there were no words; therefore no translation was needed). Creators: William Hanna & Joseph Barbera

Idiom	Meaning
catwalk	Clipart from Clipart Library. Vocabulary.com says that it was called a "catwalk" because the models walk like cats on it.
cat burglar	I think that they are called 'cat burglars' because they work at night and cats are nocturnal creatures; And, because they are quiet and sneaky like a cat.
There's more than one way to skin a cat.	NOTE: since I got a cat, I stopped using this idiom. In fact, I don't like it. It means that there is more than one way to accomplish a task. I'd rather use the idiom: "There's more than one way to skin a raccoon."
What's the matter? Cat's got your tongue?	If someone is abnormally silent, one can use that idiomatic expression.
Pun	Meaning
Furever home	When an animal gets adopted, we say, "It has gone to its furever home." (Meaning: forever home). Adopt a rescued animal in Utah. Click on the logo below.
He's purrfect!	Get it? 'Cause cats purr'.