Caturday felid trifecta: A Victorian book of cats, foster mom for abandoned baby tiger, famous artists and their cats

A greeting from Larry the Cat, the British’s Government’s Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office:

Happy #Caturday pic.twitter.com/4rhVZ0rRM7

— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) August 26, 2017

 

The Atlas Obscura gives details about a little-known Victorian book of cats with nice illustrations:

In the 1800s, people were just as crazed about cats as we are today. But instead of memes, Instagram posts, and viral videos, the Victorians had satirical comics and chronicles.

English cartoonist, and evident cat fanatic, Charles Henry Ross wrote an epic encyclopedic book detailing the intricacies and culture of cats. In The Book of Cats. A Chit-Chat Chronicle of Feline Facts and Fancies, Legendary, Lyrical, Medical, Mirthful and Miscellaneous, Ross makes an argument in support of the animal. Published in 1868, Ross read over 300 books, browsed newspapers, drew 20 illustrations, and gathered a mass of anecdotes about the fondness and repulsion towards cats.

Cats weren’t much beloved then; rather, they feared cats and harbored a host of misconceptions: their claws were venomous, they could suck the breath out of babies, killing them.  Ross tried to rehabilitate the reputation of moggies, and the article gives a lot of description. I’ll put up just a few pictures:

“Need I tell the reader who has thought it worth his while to learn anything of the Cat’s nature,” he writes, “that there are countless instances on record where Cats have shown the most devoted and enduring attachment to those who have kindly treated them.”

Beyond erratic fears, others believed cats had supernatural powers and psychic abilities. The Chinese reportedly used to peer into cats’ eyes to determine the time, while the playfulness of cats is said to indicate an approaching storm, Ross writes.

“I have noticed this often myself, and have seen them rush about in a half wild state just before windy weather.” People postulated that cats felt an irritation under the skin when it was about to rain, showing discomfort and unease.

He also details a method to feel shocks from a black cat, which were said to be highly charged with electricity. To produce the effect, he instructs the reader to place one hand on a black cat’s throat, while running the other down its back. One should then be able to feel the electric shocks on the hand on the cat’s throat.

Ross went to great lengths to clear up the cat’s reputation. Little is known about how many copies circulated of The Book of Cats or how receptive people of the 1800s were to Ross’s argument. While many of these superstitions and legends seem outlandish today, it reflects Victorians’ fascination with one of our most beloved domestic animals—in addition to their mystery.

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Zooborns reports the transferring of an Amur tiger cub (Panthera tigris altaica), rejected by its mother in the Philadelphia Zoo, was transferred to the Oklahoma City Zoo, where a mother Sumatran tiger (Pantheris tigris sumatrae: same species, different subspecies) had just given birth. The story at the site is long, but here’s a video summarizing the tale, with, of course, pictures of these adorable babies:

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Finally, the I Require Art site has a nice post called “Famous Artists and their Cats”, with lots of cool photos. How many of these artists can you identify?

 

I’ve noticed that artists and writers tend to favor Siamese cats.

h/t: jj, Hather, Arno, Charleen