The Wonder of Cats

by Peter Scottsdale

  In the 1600s, the first Dutch and English settlers introduced cats to North America.

  In the Salem witch trials, the accused were charged with “shape-changing” abilities where they became cat-like creatures.

  Cats were used as rodent control but not part of early U.S. settler’s families.

  Prior to the early settlers of North America no indigenous domesticated cats existed in the new land. These cats, new to North America, evolved and were selectively bred into today’s version of the American Shorthair. These American Shorthairs were allowed to evolve with little human interference, especially during the early years. They developed into versatile, hardy stocks that are friendly and intelligent.

  It is believed Sir Isaac Newton invented the cat door so his cat could come and go without disturbing the physicist.

  In 18th century Europe, cats became prized possessions and began to be placed into literature and art.

  Even in enlightened Europe, cats were still used to train and bait dogs used in sport pits or dog fighting.

  Queen Victoria kept Blue Persians making them popular in Great Britain.

  The blotched tabby, favored by the British rich and royal, led to it becoming more popular among the masses, and it spread to British colonies, like America, Canada, and Australia.

  In the 1700s, the Japanese in Tokyo consecrated a temple to the cat.

  In 1868 England, the Money Order Office got one shilling a week from the Post Office to feed three cats in what became the Cat System. The Cat System spread throughout English Post Offices for these rodent killers and was still in effect in some offices until the 1960s.

  The Royal Navy kept cats on ships until 1975 when it was feared those cats might bring rabies into England.

  In Whitehall, a series of black cats, always called Peter, have stalked the place since 1883.

  In Victorian Great Britain, author and cat illustrator Harrison Weir organized the first cat shows. He was also the first president of the National Cat Club (U.K.). The first major U.K. cat show was held at Crystal Palace, London on July 13, 1871 and featured mainly British Shorthairs and Persians.

  The first cat show in the U.S. was at Madison Square Garden on May 8, 1895.

  The first American photographer that specialized in cat photos was Charles Bullard who started his work on or about 1887.

  In 19th century Europe, especially Great Britain, cats were kept for breeding and showing.

  In 1904, the American Cat Association (ACA) began registering cat breeds and is the oldest cat registration body in North America.

  Over the years, many cat associations were founded, including the first, The National Cat Club in Britain, and others were formed elsewhere.

  In 1906, the Cat Fancier’s Association (CFA) was formed by former members of the ACA and is now the largest cat association in the world.

  In 1960, the Canadian Cat Association was founded.

  President Rutherford B. Hayes was the first to own a Siamese cat in the U.S. It was a gift.

  Winston Churchill had a famous cat that kept him company and the rodent population down in the underground war office in WWII.

  Traditionally, a cat has been kept at 10 Downing Street.

  In 1936, cat racing occurred around a 220-yard circuit where over 50 cats would race after an electric mouse.

  The PATSY, an award for Picture Animal Top Star, was given to many cats, including Morris for his starting role in cat food commercials.

  In 1947, Fuller’s Earth, an absorbent clay, was first used as kitty litter, soon replacing ash in cat boxes the world over.

  Syn Cat was the feline actor that played the Siamese in the 1965 Disney feature “That Darn Cat.”

  In La Paz, Bolivia (1972), 2,000 cats were put into service to control jungle rodents that were spreading disease.

  In the 1990s, the Neiman Marcus catalogue featured the California Spangled Cat, an unaccepted breed, designed to look like a spotted wild cat.

  Cat Lovers in History

  President Lincoln was a great cat lover and would play with his puss whenever he felt down and overwhelmed by Presidential duties. Sam sez, “Freed the slaves and loved cats! My kind of human.”

  Abraham Lincoln’s son, Tad, had a cat, which lived at the White House, called Tabby.

  A black cat, owned by King Charles I of England, was kept guarded and safe around the clock, as Charles believed the cat brought him good luck. King Charles I was arrested the day after the cat died.

  Mussolini, the Italian dictator, loved cats as well. When his beloved Persian died, he had it stuffed to keep it with the family.

  Brigitte Bardot, a cat lover extraordinaire, keeps about sixty fixed felines in her home and sleeps with them at night. Additionally, she founded an organization called the Bardot Foundation of Saint-Trapez to care for many animals, including lots of cats.

  Another great cat lover was Ernest Hemingway, who had over 30 cats that would walk on his desk as he wrote his stories, including For Whom The Bell Tolls. He gave his cats some unusual names, like Skunk, Crazy Christian, Friendless Brother, Ecstasy, Thruster, and Dillinger. When he died, his home was turned into a museum where descendants of his many felines still thrive, even today. So many, in fact, that some are sold to the public to keep the population on the property down.

  A great historical cat was Edgar Allan Poe’s cat, Catterina. When Virginia Poe, Edgar’s wife, was sick and funds for blankets and coal were scarce, Catterina would cuddle with Virginia, sharing body heat with the ill woman until she recovered, leading to the Poe family tenderly loving their fabulous feline. Ironically, Poe wrote of a cat mutilation in his short story “The Black Cat,” yet he loved Catterina. Poe took Catterina wherever he went.

  John Lennon named his cat Elvis.

  Chelsea, President Clinton’s daughter, named her cat Socks who became the First Cat of the Clinton Whitehouse. Socks was popular, spawning several books about him, a newsletter about his life, gifts, toys, a website, and even his own zip code.

  Elizabeth Taylor’s cat was called Jeepers Creepers.

  Theodore Roosevelt had a cat with six toes on each foot named Slippers, who is said to have been a guest at many White House dinners.

  Albert Schweitzer loved his cat Sizi, so much that he wrote with his right hand so as not to disturb the sleeping feline who slept in the crook of his left arm.

  Cat Haters in History

  President Dwight Eisenhower hated cats and forbid them from the White House, having standing orders to shoot any cat if it roamed onto the grounds.

  Henry II and Charles XI of France were so adverse to cats that they nearly fainted when a cat came near, so did Julius Caesar.

  Napoleon Bonaparte was also a cat hater and exhibited ailurophobic behavior – the irrational fear of cats – so much so when he believed a cat was hiding behind his bedroom window curtain, he suffered trembling and profuse sweating as he swung his cutlass about the room. Sam sez, “Probably because they were taller than him.”

  Tragic Cat Facts

  Collars strangle many cats after getting it caught on things like branches.

  After birth, a mother cat can turn on one or more of her kittens and eat them. A sickly kitten or too many young to raise may result in the cannibalism. Sometimes this results from the mother failing to find a secure rest area to birth and raise her babies.

  The Chartreux cats used to be bred partly for the high price of its unique fur of a solid bluish gray coat that is dense with a woolly resilient undercoat.

  Euthanasia is one of the leading causes of death among cats; most are killed because they have no home. Sam sez, “Adopt a homeless cat from your local animal shelter today!”

  In refusing to sterilize their cats in Southern European and Mediterranean countries, many young felines are killed after birth, tossed into the street after weaning, or euthanized at animal welfare organizations.

  Sometimes the hunter becomes the hunted as foxes, coyotes, and other carnivores hunt cats.r />
  In the U.S., euthanized unwanted cats number over ten million.

  In Britain, Burmese cats sometimes pass on a lethal head defect to their kittens that usually die. Breeders continue to breed Burmese with the defect because affected kittens die before selling age.

  The Department of Agriculture in the U.S. estimates the five million cats and dogs are abandoned each year across the country. Sam sez, “If you can’t care for your pet, find him/her a nice new home. Please.”

  Thank You

  Thank you for buying and reading this book and for trusting me to inform and entertain you. I hope you’ll consider writing a blurb about “The Wonder Of Cats” on Amazon in the book listing’s review section. It would be a huge honor if you did. And very much appreciated!

  Best wishes always,

  Peter

  Also By This Author

  How Do Cats Do That?

  Discover How Cats Do The Amazing Things They Do

  The Christmas Cat Tails:

  The Complete Trilogy

  The Cat in the Christmas Tree:

  A Magical Tail

  How To Litter Train Your Cat:

  Why Your Kitty Is Going Outside The Box & How To Stop It

  All Available on Amazon

  About the Author

  A cat lover from an early age, Peter Scottsdale wrote his first cat tale, “The Cat and the Dog,” in a grade three creative writing exercise – the story of a cat and a dog lost in the woods, and the police shooting the dog for some reason. Peter drew inspiration for the story from Disney’s The Incredible Journey.

  Inspired by such books as Hardy Boys Mysteries, Marvel Comics and Mythology by Edith Hamilton, Scottsdale wrote several published short stories with his grade nine English teacher.

  Then life happened. Scottsdale stopped writing, only scribbling bits of story every so often. A family came along which turned into single parenthood. He raised his kids and wrote here-and-there.

  Throughout his life, cats have been a welcome and influencing presence. From Tia (a Siamese) to Booties (a Tabby with White) to Rusty (an orange boy with little ears) to Sam the Siamese, Peter has loved all his felines (and still does). He’s loved all his cats so much so he started to write about them. They have inspired and delighted him to create cat stories and to find feline facts for his books.

  Cat lover turned author, Peter Scottsdale published his first book, 365 Fascinating Facts You Didn’t Know About Your Cat, in 2012. He followed that with “The Christmas Cat” and “The Christmas Cat 2.” Recently, he released How Do Cats Do That? and “The Christmas Cat 3” for the 2016 holiday season, all on Amazon.

  An English Major, Scottsdale graduated from Medicine Hat College with an Associate of Arts Diploma in 1995. He continues to research our furry felines and write cat fiction and non-fiction and hopes fellow kitty-cat people will enjoy his work.

  Currently, he resides in Medicine Hat, AB with his two cats: Tanzy (the feisty feline) and Alley (the mischief maker).

  Sources

  Alderton, David. Eyewitness Handbook of Cats. London: Dorling Kindersley, Ltd., 1992.

  Buckland, Alice. An Illustrated Guide to Cats. Cobham, Surrey, UK: Taj Books International, LLP., 2009.

  Engen, Marie. “How Much Do We Spend On Our Pets?” www.boomerandecho.com. 2012.

  Glenday, Craig et al., ed. Guinness World Records 2011. 2010.

  Jones, Tabitha. Cat Facts. New York: Random House Value Publishing, Inc., 2001.

  Malone, John. The 125 Most Asked Questions About Cats (And the Answers). New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1992.

  Nemec, Gale B. Living With Cats. New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1993.

  Neville, Peter. Cat Behaviour Explained. Parragon, 1990.

  Neville, Peter. Claws and Purrs: Understanding the Two Sides of Your Cat. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, Ltd., 1992.

  Neville, Peter. Pet Sex: The Rude Facts of Life for the Family Dog, Cat and Rabbit. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, Ltd., 1993.

  Opie, Iona & Moira Tatem, ed. A Dictionary of Superstitions. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

  Robins, Sandy with Arnold Plotnick, Lorraine Shelton, & Sarah Hartwell. The Original Cat Fancy Cat Bible. Irvine, CA: i-5 Publishing, LLC, 2014

  Schneck, Marcus & Jill Caravan. Cat Facts. London: Quantum Books, Ltd., 1990.

  Spadafori, Gina & Paul D. Pion. Cats for Dummies, 2nd Edition. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2000.

  Stein, Sara. Great Pets! An Extraordinary Guide to More Than 60 Usual and Unusual Family Pets. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 2003.

  Torregrossa, Richard. Fun Facts About Cats: Inspiring Tales, Amazing Facts and Helpful Hints. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc., 1998.