A Most Convenient Relationship: The Rise of the Cat as a Valued Companion Animal

Abstract

Of aU the animals domesticated by humans the cat is one of the most unique. By nature a nocturnal animalmost other domesticates are diurnal-and socially solitary, cats appear to have been domesticated more for some metaphysical reason than for any practical advantage. But the feline's ability to catch and kill rodents made them a valuable assetlO medieval farmers whose distinction between adequate food supplies and famine was often related to how much grain the rats and mice ate. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, though, a new attitude engulfed the relationship between the human and the domestic. feline. The cat was no longer viewed strictly as a working animal but now was considered in some circles as a treasured companion. This attitude, reflected in epitaphs to these creatures from the period, suggest that cat may have been more beneficial as a support system than as a mousecalCher. While there is strong evidence that the cat was a favorite companion of the eighteenth-century intellectual elite, there is also good evidence that this creature was, along with the hunting dog, beginning to be accepted in a nonworking capacity by the middle class businessmen of the period. Finally, there is no question but that the late eighteenth century proved highly beneficial to the well-being of this animal. The cat was probably first domesticated! in ancient Egypt. While some scholars believe the cat was domesticated as early as the old kingdom, circa 31002300 B.C., there are no written or artistic records of this animal being a constant companion of humans before 2000 B.C. By the 16th century B.C. there are numerous artistic represenw.tions of the cat engaging in a close relationship with humans.2 By the fifth century B.C. when at least two Egyptian Gods: Bast and Sekmet, were portrayed as cats, this animal's popularity was at an all time high. Hundreds of these creatures were mummified and placed in special coffins for the journey into the afterlife. There were strong reactions if these animals were killed; one classical scholar noted it was a capital crime to kill acat and at least once, during the reign of a Ptolemaic king, a Roman that accidentally killed a cat was himself almost killed by an Egyptian mob.3 It was in large part because of the interaction that Egypt had with Greece and Rome that this animal became popular in these lands. On the Greek mainland cats were kept from the archaic period onwards, though they were scarce and kept mainly as pets rather than as working animals. During the Roman Imperial period the cat was looked upon with affection in certain areas of society. As an example there is a depiction, that was