Three factors conspired to commence the long general persecution of the cat in the Middle Ages, one of which is the starting point: fear of the cat. Fear breeds hatred which feeds superstition. I am returning to the Medieval era again as I have a theory that many (not all) people of that time of …
To be candid, the superstitions surrounding the black cat are numerous and they either say that they bring bad or good luck in about equal numbers. That’s the power of superstition. Completely irrational but understandable. It is only the human who can harbour these strange beliefs. However, if you believe that black cats bring good …
If you believe that a black cat brings good luck this is why Read More »
The compact infographic below summarises how the humble and innocent cat became so unfairly associated with witchcraft. Once again, I rely on the best man or women on the matter of cat history and behavior: Dr Desmond Morris. Such clean writing and clarity of thought. He says that religious bigots, in this case Christians, portrayed …
How did the cat become associated with witchcraft? Read More »
Although some Chinese living in the south of China appear to have the strongest reputation for eating cat meat, there are other countries particularly in Asia where this habit continues despite objections from some in the West and within China. And my study of cat meat consumption over about 15 years indicates to me that …
Cat meat consumption today based on mediaeval superstitions Read More »
A bit of domestic cat history from England and Europe in general plus an image created with the help of an AI computer and some superb online software and some imagination. In Medieval England (500-1500 AD) domestic cats were in danger of being captured and skinned by professional skinners. Does this remind you of the …
In England in the fifteenth century the social etiquette manual of life insisted that domestic cats should not wander around the dining room and be fed by hand from the dining table or petted. I wonder if that attitude is the reason why a lot of people today – over 1,000 years later – don’t …
Medieval era domestic cats could not be fed or petted by dining owners Read More »
In medieval times a labourer earned 2 pence per day. That’s about £300 in today’s money. An adult cat mouser was worth about 4 pence or two day’s wages. In today’s money: around £600. This is for a standard moggie. The value is not hugely dissimilar to that of purebred cats today at about double …
Medieval domestic cat monetary value (infographic) Read More »
It is interesting to dip into the medieval world (500-1500 AD) and see how they interacted with their domestic cats. We have an image, or I do, of domestic cat persecution because of the papal bull of Pope Gregory IX which denounced them as the devil personified. Many domestic cats were brutally killed for no …
This is about domestic cat history. The title is a Google search term but misleading because it implies that there is a creature called ‘Grimalkin Cat’. There is not. Grimalkin is a 17th century word meaning ‘a cat’, especially an old female cat. The word grimalkin also refers to ‘a jealous of imperious old woman’. …
“The dramatic decrease in value of domestic cats over a 1000 years feeds cat abuse” – Michael Several statutes (laws made by government) specifically mentioned domestic cats showing how valuable they were for their mice catching skills. One Welsh statute of the tenth century stated: “The price of a cat is fourpence. Her qualities are …
The value of domestic cats has dramatically decreased since the 10th century Read More »
The voyeuristic fascination with domestic cats grooming their anal area started a long time ago, well before the Middle Ages but these illustrations from books tell us a bit about the feelings of people towards domestic cats from the 5th to the 15th century in Europe. There is an implied criticism and denigration of the …
Pictures from the Middle Ages of domestic cats licking their anal area Read More »
