Morning journal and courier., 1889-12-10
THE HOUSE CAT.
The Career of the Animal From the
 First Known Point.

The Career of the Animal From the
 First Known Point. From the St. Louis Post Dispatch.l
 Common house cats seem to have first taken up their abode in human habitations so long ago as to be almost beyond the cal- culation of naturalists. Its first known do mestication was in Egypt about ths begin ming of the new empire, four thousand years ago; beyond that period we have no knowl- edge. Tsbby occupied at that ancient day the same comfortable relations to the house. hold as at present. The Egyptians brought the cat to more useful state of domestica- ton than any other people, and the utilita- rians were more numerous throughout the past than at present. Pussy in Egypt occu- pied diversity of positions, ranging from the novel height of deity to the more hum- ble occupation of retriever for the poor Nile hunters. Psychologists have given us a rare collection of cat mummies, much resembling some curious bottles in shape, together with odd wooden cat coffins with painted faces; they have deciphered inscriptions on monu ments and tombs, and brought to light many interesting paintings appertaining to and supposed to be fair representations of cats during the days of the Pharaohs. Thus we uuU tu6u1 WuI6ulpcA All tA0 ACup1 OL AOlAO- polls, sacred to the sun, because the size of the pupils of the cats eye is regulated by that orb, becoming a vertical line at midday.
 Cats were the companions of kings, for on the tomb of King Hanna is a statue repre~ senting him with his favorite cat, Bouhaki, at his feet. But the most interesting records of the past that relate to our four footed friends are those which inform us that kitty went into the water and retrieved wild game for it's master, or pointed 1t on land as a set- ter or pointer dog of to-day would do. In the ancient city of Bubastis stood a temple voted to this animal. The cats made their headquarters in the temple, however. Here they were carefully fed and attended, and so great was the veneration in which they were held by the Egyptians, that to kill one was punishable by death. When the cats died their bodies were embalmed and carried with great pomp and ceremony outside the town to repose in the sepulchers. In the eastern lands the domestic cat re- ceived as great attention as elsewhere, for in 1260 A. D., Fl Daher Beybars, at his death, established cats orchard called Gheyh-el- Quottah, near Cairo, for the support of homeless and needy cats. This orchard has changed hands often since then and has fall en into great dilapidation, but to this day. at an hour between noon and sunset, the Xadi has distributed here quantity of butchers refuse in sad disproportion to the large num- ber of cats that fight over it. It is said to be very interesting sight to behold hun dreds of cats of all kinds and ages hastening to the orchard, jumping from house to house across the narrow streets, sliding down walls or gliding in the court from all directions. Similar customs exist in Italy and Switzer- land. At Florence there is place, situated near the Church of St. Lorenzo, which 1 serves as a refuge for cats. Here homeless cats are fed and kindly treated. and any one ! ,; hoxro bia ohCio kha | collection. At Geneva cats abound in great
 numbers. They are respected by the peo- pie, who at certain hour each day feed 1 them from their doorsteps.
 l In Greece and Rome cats were ill used.
 They were despised and not admitted into 1 the domestic circle.
 ] In traditions and nursery rhymes pussy
 holds an exalted position. From the French, German, Norwegian and English sources a
 large collection of curious tales have come down, such as sPuss in Boots," ''Master Pe- I ter and His Cat," "Whittington and His
 Cat" "Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, Where Have You Been?" and many more. Such stories ] are the first impressed on the infant mind, ! and they cling to the memory, and to their | influence may be attributed that fondness for 1 cats so often manifested by older people. l Besides being prominent in the nursery, kits ty has become involved in many supersti- tions, some of which have proved both for tunate and most unfortunate. It is g very
 common superstition that cats are fond of
 sucking the breath of infants while the
 child sleeps. There is certainly no greater
 fallacy than this.
 To Tabbie's great misfortune, ignorant
 people in the middle ages, as we'll as at pres-
 ent, associated her with the devil, partly be-
 cause of her nocturnal habits and partly be.
 cause of her large fixed eyes that glow so
 strangely in the dark. For this reason it
 was an aged custom in France on the festi-
 val of St. John to burn in some public place
 twenty-four cats, as they were regarded as
 emblems of the devil. You have often
 heard it said that cat has nine lives; this
 old saying is great bugoear to our domes-
 tic pets, for it gives the small boy an excuse !. to knock one or two of them out of her. Tho tradition originated in Gray's fable,
 ssThe Old Woman and Her Cats" wherein
 the cat upbraids the witch as follows:
 This infamy to serve hag,
 Il Cats thought imps, her broom a nag; And boys against our lives combine, Because 'tis said you cats have nine. Of course every one knows 1t Is bad luck } to kill cat, while should . stray cat come