Chapter 15 Thirteen cats

Goddess or Demon? ★image House cats come across as hedonistic materialists, sensualists, pleasure-seekers, ruthless hunters, and ruthless-eyed murderers.These are all human descriptions of cats.It doesn't matter whether the first three words have similar definitions or are synonymous with each other, because when these adjectives are applied to cats, they all have new meanings. difference. In Egypt, shortly after the cat entered the livestock kingdom, humans regarded it as a sacred animal.Cats are endowed with mystical qualities, and it's these qualities that shape the lifestyle we think cats fully embrace.It is doubtful whether today's domestic cats still retain those nostalgic tribal memories of the past, adhering to the unique patience of cats, waiting for the day when they will be deified again.

The Egyptian goddess Bast (Bast, [Note]) itself is a cat.When referring to cats, the habit of referring to cats by her is still a fixed usage in many cultures.Interestingly, when derogating women, most people use the word bitch more than cat. 【Note 1】One of the important gods in ancient Egypt, originally the god of the sky, was painted as a demon or a demon head, and was worshiped by all Egypt. The chariot driven by Buster is also drawn by cats.The cat is like a golden thread that runs through Egyptian mythology and religion. It is related to the sun, the moon, and Heros (Horus, [Note 1]), Ra (Ra, [Note 2]) and Osiris (Osiris, [Note 2]). 3]) All three important religious figures are related.There is a city named after Bastet (Bastet is sometimes called Bastet, Basht, Pasht or Bubastis), in There, cats are not only protected, but people will smear spices on their bodies after death for embalming; killing cats is a capital offense.Once a foreign businessman who came to Egypt was stoned to death because he caused the death of a cat.The ceremonies held for Ruofeng Buster are often a series of carnival activities. It is conceivable that these ceremonies must not be separated from noisy activities; .

【Note 1】The goddess in charge of life and harvest in Egyptian mythology. In ancient times, nearly one million Egyptians went to worship her temple every year.Its appearance is usually holding a forked bell in one hand, a shield in the other, and a basket on its arm. When it appears in the image of a cat's head, it is often called Pasht (Pasht). 【Note 2】The sun god of ancient Egypt is usually represented by the sun light wheel.Although he is one of the oldest gods in Egypt, his spread throughout the country was slow.Because the whole country worships the sun, many local gods are related to Rui.

【Note 3】The god of the dead in ancient Egypt, whose main center of worship was Abydos in Upper (Southern) Egypt, and in the theology of Heliopolis in Lower Egypt, He is the earth. Son of God, he ruled the world with his sister and wife, Isis, but was killed by his younger brother Seth who coveted his throne. However, cats are not treated so well in Europe.Demons are often depicted as cats, and cats are also considered spirits that serve witches.In addition to black cats representing bad luck, heresy, sorcery, sexual indulgence between the opposite sex or between the same sex, witchcraft, etc., all kinds of evil deeds have been imposed on cats.The original divinity of the cat is now replaced by the completely opposite demon.It was said that those involved in sexual indulgence were required to kiss the cat's buttocks before joining the group in depravity and fornication.Due to certain factors, Cat became the offal of heaven, and it still struggles to this day, trying to break out of this image-declining role.It may never regain its goddess role, but it is still loved by thousands as a companion animal.Still, we discovered something that was clearly unavoidable.Once animals are domesticated and integrated into their own culture, human beings will have very conflicting feelings about the role that this animal should play.Perhaps the common reason for this reaction is that human beings have a certain ambivalence between their own nature and the role they should play.

★The Origin of Cats The classification of feral cats can be said to be in a state of confusion, but the one we need to consider is often feral cats, which unfortunately are no longer feral cats.There is currently a wild cat belonging to the genus Felis. They are small in size, about five to ten pounds (about two to four. five kilograms), and are found throughout Europe, Africa and Asia.They have many different common and scientific names.In theory, our domestic cats may have evolved from them; we believe that domestic cats can breed with all these wild cats.Domestic cats behave almost identically to feral cats, and currently a disproportionately high percentage of our domestic cats are tabbies, which look uncannily like feral cats.

These European, African, and Asian wildcats are usually skilled solitary hunters and sometimes feed on carrion.They are tenacious, stubborn, and quite bold.I once watched an African wild cat rush into a group of carrion crocodiles on the bank of a river, snatch pieces of meat alive from the mouth of a crocodile over twelve feet long, and then run into the bushes to enjoy its spoils. Run back again to grab food with the crocodile.It was a truly intimidating and daring display. ★start The African wildcat (Felis silvestris, but sometimes also classified as Felis libyca) is traditionally considered the main ancestor of the domestic cat.Whatever we should call it, this theory is largely true, at least in part as far as the origin of cats is concerned.

The most likely place where humans raised cats should be in Egypt from about 1,000 to 4,200 BC, which can be said to be a fairly recent event.Around the same time, the Egyptians invented the long-term, large-scale storage of grain, known as the storeroom cellar.Such storage was a good idea for the rats in the Nile Valley at the time, which must have infested human settlements.African wildcats, serrated-scaled pit vipers, and cobras also follow their favorite prey.In addition, the mongoose should have been kept as a pet by many people at that time, and the pit vipers and cobras that were its staple food may have suffered heavy casualties as a result.Although some peoples worship snakes, they do not want to live with their idols; local people do not like wild animals that live nearby.Several times I saw people screaming and fleeing in all directions, only to turn around and throw stones at a cobra that had fallen between them.In addition to the advantage of eating mice, cats have more functions of being hugged and accompanying people than cobras; therefore, of course, cats are much cuter than the sensitive and dangerous saw-toothed scale vipers.

Undoubtedly, humans brought kittens back from their dens, adapted them to human society, and became human toys.Certain cats that grew aggressive were released or disposed of, while those with milder temperaments and demeanor were retained and bred.From these kittens, human beings find and retain the original species of desirable traits and genetic selection, and domestic cats are bred under such circumstances. Humans have used cats as companion animals and mousers for centuries, and in various eras they have also been used as a trade commodity for their gorgeous fur and appearance.Cats have always been prone to strays, feralization, and successful breeding in the wild.We can say with almost certainty that other members of the Felis genus may have interbred with domestic cats and produced new breeds.It is not easy to tell which new or different genes the true wild type brings to domestic cats; however, as domestic cats go back and forth between captive and feral states, it is likely that other breeds will gradually be sold as well. The gene carried into the domestic cat lineage.Regardless, that doesn't change the fact that the African wildcat is the most likely primary ancestor of our feline companions today.

★The value of cats Insignificant mammalian livestock have no real economic value except for sale by humans.Obscure pets such as hamsters, gerbils, and other small rodents are obvious examples; but of all mammalian domestic animals, cats are the least economically valuable. Indeed, cats are hardworking and conscientious mousers.While they're not as good as dogs like mongooses or even Jack Rousseau terriers, they're pretty good at controlling vermin.However, no matter how well behaved they are, when compared to goats, sheep, pigs, cows, buffaloes, or horses, cats are pretty worthless; even dogs outperform them because dogs can herd and herd herds and Assisting major economic industries.So why are cats still loved by so many people?In the United States alone, there are currently about 55 million to 60 million cats that have become family pets.In a word, the real value of a cat is: a companion.Cats are great companion animals that relieve stress.If you leave aside the use of selling kittens, pet food, toys, and cat litters (the annual turnover in the United States is about hundreds of millions of dollars), cats actually have a very important economic function. Although it cannot be estimated, it may reduce the cost of medicine and cost of psychotherapy, and reduces wasted office time.The medical effects provided by domestic cats cannot be measured by money; its importance can only be assessed by speculation and traditional views. Even if it cannot be clearly calculated, the importance of cats cannot be ignored.Having owned nine cats myself, I can attest first-hand to the value of cats as companion animals, a role they have played, in whole or in part, since the days of dynastic Egypt.

★Borneo that honors cats Kuching, an extraordinary modern city, is the state capital of Sarawak, Malaysia, located at the northwestern tip of Borneo.In Malay, Kuching means cat, and it is generally believed that the city of Kuching is named after the domestic cat.The name may come from Cochin in Hindi, or Cochin China in Vietnamese, which was misused by the people after the integration of the British Empire, which had left many traces in Borneo.In any case, the cat-as-the-city hypothesis is probably correct. To the north of Kuching is the stunning new City Hall on a hill overlooking the city.The shape of this city hall is like a temple, which is really magnificent.Most of the first floor of the city hall is the Kuching Cat Museum, which praises the important position of cats in world culture and human emotions.Thousands of cat figurines from every culture we can think of, and in everything from crystal to porcelain to bone and stone, are displayed with the latest museum technology and accurately bilingual in English and Malay Wrote a picture commentary.It was a most unusual tribute, and it happened in an unlikely place.However, just think about it for a while and you will understand.Malays love their cats, so why isn't there a museum like this in Borneo?What better place than here?

★wild cat Cats' legendary autonomy has an unfortunate downside: They can survive, even if briefly, in the wild.Typically, feral cats have a short lifespan.Dogs, foxes, owls, disease, vehicles, and humans with guns and bows all hunt cats that come across them by accident.However, cats are ready to mate at about seven to eight months of age, so they don't have to live long enough to create more misfortunes.Even though individual cats live only two years, the reproductive potential of a pair of fully fertile cats and their offspring is astounding.Under the condition that all parents and offspring survive (this is impossible), the number of kittens born in seven years will reach about 150,000. Every animal domesticated by humans produces rewilded, partially or fully returned individuals to the wild state.Feral donkeys and horses are considered vermin in many places; feral dogs spread disease and attack domestic animals; stress; feral bees can become dangerous killer bees; but cats have highly developed skills.Like mongooses brought into the wild to be released, rewilded cats hunt native wildlife.Because cats have excellent climbing skills, bird nests on trees are facing the crisis of being predated by cats and becoming extinct regardless of their location.The total impact of a feral cat on reptiles, small mammals, and birds is hard to estimate, but certainly substantial.Especially when wild animals are already in difficult situations, the stress brought by cats is even more unbearable for these animals.Feral cats are relatives of the domestic cats we love at home, but the damage they do to the environment is unforgivable.Like most other animals that have rewilded, cats today suffer from poorer survival skills because of our unnatural breeding of their ancestors. The fate of the cat is both ironic and tragic.In the United States alone, millions of cats have been mass-killed (euthanasia is often just another euphemism for slaughter, along with terms like putting it to sleep or setting it free) for lack of shelter.The cruelty of humans allowing a cat to fend for itself in a semi-feral state, allowing them to wreak havoc on wild animals, and then destroying it while it was trying to survive, is a horrific way of identifying ourselves.Once an animal is domesticated, it becomes the eternal responsibility of human beings, which also includes our control over its reproduction; taking cats as an example, the so-called responsibility is to use two methods of ovariectomy and castration to control reproduction, and never abandon they. Cats have taken their place in the hearts of humans, but at the same time they have encountered a polarized fate of both pleasure and suffering.In any case, it is man's all-time favorite, but also the most tortured domestic animal. ★Body type Because cats have only recently been domesticated by humans (dogs have been cared for by humans at least three times as long as cats), we have not yet truly grasped its genetic potential.Except for the occasional species that is particularly obese or deformed, all domestic cats are roughly the same weight, with a difference of only about two to three pounds (about 0.9 to 1.3 kilograms).However, even in the same canine family, dogs of the mastiff breed are more than a hundred times heavier than some small toy dogs.Among equids, there are also very small miniature horses, and giant drag horses weighing about a ton.If such mutations were also present in domestic cats, we would have to carefully reassess the role cats play in our lives.An oversized tabby cat the size of a leopard or jaguar is far more nerve-wracking than a chipmunk or chaffinch; The only reason for the coexistence of carnivores.Except for purebred lovers, cat size variation is something we don't have to deal with right now, but it's probably something we'll have to think about for the future.