The Cat Lover's Compendium: Quotes, Facts, and Other Adorable Purr-ls of Wisdom
240
The Cat Lover's Compendium: Quotes, Facts, and Other Adorable Purr-ls of Wisdom
240eBook
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781629148984 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Skyhorse |
| Publication date: | 11/04/2014 |
| Sold by: | SIMON & SCHUSTER |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 240 |
| Sales rank: | 700,038 |
| File size: | 7 MB |
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Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Our Furry Friends
Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.
Colette
How to Befriend a Feline
• Let the cat come to you — if you force your way into its personal space, the cat will feel threatened.
• Avoid making eye contact, keep your distance and adopt a pose to make yourself appear small, for example by crouching down side-on.
• Look out for friendly body language — tail up and curled in greeting and paw raised.
• When the cat feels safe enough to approach, stay crouching down and hold out your hand, still without looking directly at him.
• Let him sniff you for a while. If he is relaxed, test the water with a brief, gentle stroke under the chin — not the top of the head, as cats may find this threatening.
• Build up contact slowly over time — let the cat take the initiative. When stroking, at first stick to safe areas such as the back and sides, avoiding sensitive parts like the head, tummy and legs.
• When you've got to know a cat well, try stroking the base of its tail — most cats love this and will arch their backs to show their pleasure. Scent glands are positioned in this area, and stroking will cause the cat's scent to be released onto you, further strengthening your bond.
• Never pick a cat up until you have gained its trust. When you do, use your arm to support its legs so that it feels secure, and don't hold on too tightly as this will make the cat feel claustrophobic.
• Cats feel insecure when there is tension in the air, or if they hear raised voices, so it's important to maintain a calm environment to make the cat feel at ease.
• Remember that every cat is unique. Some enjoy the company of humans; others do not. Some may be friendly for brief periods, but spend the rest of their day doing other things alone. To build a harmonious relationship, discover what your cat prefers and respect its wishes.
It is no easy matter to win a cat's love, for cats are philosophical, sedate, quiet animals, fond of their own way, liking cleanliness and order, and not apt to bestow their affection hastily. They are quite willing to be friends, if you prove worthy of their friendship, but they decline to be slaves. They are affectionate, but they exercise free will, and will not do for you what they consider to be unreasonable.
Once, however, they have bestowed their friendship, their trust is absolute, and their affection most faithful. They become one's companions in hours of solitude, sadness, and labour. A cat will stay on your knees a whole evening, purring away, happy in your company and careless of that of its own species. In vain do mewings sound on the roofs, inviting it to one of the cat parties where red herring brine takes the place of tea; it is not to be tempted and spends the evening with you. If you put it down, it is back in a jiffy with a kind of cooing that sounds like a gentle reproach. Sometimes, sitting up in front of you, it looks at you so softly, so tenderly, so caressingly, and in so human a way that it is almost terrifying, for it is impossible to believe that there is no mind back of those eyes.
Théophile Gautier,My Private Menagerie
Cats at firesides live luxuriously and are the picture of comfort.
Leigh Hunt
* * *
His friendship is not easily won but it is something worth having.
Michael Joseph
* * *
If there was any petting to be done ... he chose to do it. Often he would sit looking at me, and then, moved by a delicate affection, come and pull at my coat and sleeve until he could touch my face with his nose, and then go away contented.
Charles Dudley Warner
Stately, kindly, lordly friend,
* Algernon Charles Swinburne, from 'To a Cat'
The cat does not offer services. The cat offers itself.
William S. Burroughs
* * *
The key to a successful new relationship between a cat and human is patience.
Susan Easterly
Don't let anyone tell you loving a cat is silly. Love, in any form, is a precious commodity.
Barbara L. Diamond
* * *
Rescued a little kitten that was perched in the sill of the round window at the sink over the gasjet and dared not jump down. I heard her mew a piteous long time till I could bear it no longer; but I make a note of it because of her gratitude after I had taken her down, which made her follow me about and at each turn of the stairs as I went down leading her to the kitchen ran back a few steps up and try to get up to lick me through the banisters from the flight above.
* From the diary of Gerard Manley Hopkins
CHAPTER 2From Tabbies to Tortoiseshells
Yes, there they were, big cats, very big cats, middling-sized cats, and small cats, cats of all colours and markings ...
Harrison Weir
It's Show Time!
The cat had become a popular domestic companion by the early nineteenth century, and by the late Victorian era people began breeding cats for show. Cat shows, where pedigree felines were admired and given awards for their distinctive qualities and beauty, took off in earnest and were patronised by nobility and even, on occasion, Queen Victoria herself. Harrison Weir, the founding president of the National Cat Club, staged the very first major cat show, held at Crystal Palace in London on 13 July 1871. On the subject he wrote: 'It is many years ago that, when thinking of the large number of cats kept in London alone, I conceived the idea that it would be well to hold "Cat Shows," so that the different breeds, colours, markings, etc., might be more carefully attended to, and the domestic cat, sitting in front of the fire, would then possess a beauty and an attractiveness to its owner unobserved and unknown because uncultivated heretofore.'
Ancestral Tails
• How did the Manx cat lose its tail? Some say that when the Irish invaded the Isle of Man they stole kittens' tails and wore them in their helmets as plumes. Others claim that the Manx was the last animal to board the Ark — it was out hunting mice and didn't come right away when Noah called. The cat leapt aboard just in time but his tail got stuck in the closing door and was cut off.
• In the twelfth century, watered silk was manufactured in the quarter of Baghdad known as 'Attabiy.' The word 'tabby' is thought to originate from this name, because the cat's stripes resemble the moiré pattern of the fabric.
• For a long time Burmese cats were said to cry when their companions died and to be the only felines that could shed tears. However, cats in general do have tear ducts.
• The Egyptian Mau cats that are bred in Great Britain carry marks on their brows that resemble the sacred scarab beetle of Ancient Egypt. Breeders aim to produce cats that resemble as closely as possible those depicted in ancient Egyptian wall paintings.
• A monk was charged with watching over a golden goblet from which Buddha was supposed to have sipped. One day he got tipsy and wandered off, leaving two Siamese temple cats on duty. While one cat set off to find the monk, the other mounted guard, staring so long at the precious goblet that its eyes went crossed. Eventually the little cat could stay awake no longer, and so she curled her tail around the goblet tightly as she slept. When she awoke there was a permanent kink in her tail, and her eyes remained crossed forever.
Papa's Polydactyls
Nobel-prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway was a famous lover of polydactyl cats, which have more than the usual number of toes on their paws due to a genetic mutation. He was given a six-toed cat by a ship's captain, and eventually had quite a collection of them. Because of his love for these animals, they are often known informally as 'Hemingway cats.' When he died in 1961, his former home in Key West, Florida, became a museum and permanent home for his treasured felines.
The Persian Cat is a variety with hair very long, and very silky, perhaps more so than the Cat of Angora; it is however differently coloured, being of a fine uniform grey on the upper part, with the texture of the fur as soft as silk, and the lustre glossy; the colour fades off on the lower parts of the sides, and passes into white, or nearly so, on the belly. This is, probably, one of the most beautiful varieties, and it is said to be exceedingly gentle in its manners.
* Charles Henry Ross,The Book of Cats
The Angora cat is most prized. She is fed with the greatest care, and, in all respects, is treated like a respected member of the family; and noticed, of course, by visitors.
Eliza Lee Follen
* * *
When Mother Nature saw fit to remove the tail of the Manx, she left, in place of the tail, more cat.
Mary E. Stewart
COOL CAT
Sergeant Podge
* * *
Norwegian Forest Cat Sergeant Podge had lived with his owner, Liz Bullard, for twelve years. When he disappeared one day from Liz's home in Talbot Woods, Bournemouth, she was worried and began calling her neighbours, asking if any of them had seen him. To Liz's relief, later that day an elderly lady who lived about a mile and a half away rang to say that she had found the missing black cat.
Sergeant Podge was collected from the lady's house and brought home, but a few days later he had gone again. Liz rang the old lady, only to discover that Sergeant Podge was sitting outside her house once again. Since then it became routine for Liz to drop her son off at school, then pick up Sergeant Podge from the same spot on the pavement outside the old lady's house between eight o'clock and quarter past, every morning. When Liz pulled up in her car, she would simply open the door and Sergeant Podge would hop in for the ride home. Of course, being a creature of habit the cat would make his trip every day — no chance of a lie-in for Liz on school holidays and weekends.
It was never discovered precisely why the cat adopted this pattern, though Liz suspected that he might be on the lookout for treats as a woman who used to live nearby had a habit of feeding him sardines. Sergeant Podge became somewhat of a celebrity after tales of his exploits were reported in the national press.
Norwegian Forest Cats have two coats — a thick, woolly undercoat to keep them warm and a waterproof overcoat to keep them dry, making them perfectly adapted for the great outdoors. Though the name of the breed suggests wild origins, it has in fact been a domesticated breed for many centuries. Norwegian Forest Cats enjoy human company and make great pets but, as Sergeant Podge proved, they also love the freedom of exploring the outside world.
CHAPTER 3What a Beautiful Pussy You Are!
Like a graceful vase, a cat, even when motionless, seems to flow.
George F. Will
Glamour Pusses
Cats don't look perfectly sleek all the time by magic — they spend a significant part of their day grooming themselves from the tip of their nose to the tip of their tail, in order to maintain their cleanliness and appearance. Their rough tongues are perfectly designed to remove loose hairs and dirt, leaving their coats glossy. Owners of long-haired pedigree breeds, however, have to put in a lot of work to help their pampered puss remain tangle free and bushy-tailed. Nowadays, there is the option of taking your cat into a pet grooming centre for a whole range of beauty treatments, from the essentials such as nail clipping and ear cleaning right down to the rather bizarre practice of shaving and fur shaping to give your cat a unique look.
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea In a beautiful pea-green boat,
* Edward Lear, from 'The Owl and the Pussycat'
Two things are aesthetically perfect in the world — the clock and the cat.
Emile-Auguste Chartier
* * *
Which is more beautiful — feline movement or feline stillness?
Elizabeth Hamilton
Who's a Pretty Pussy?
If you own a cat you will no doubt consider it to be the most beautiful in the world — however, here's a list of some interesting breeds that are renowned for their unique looks:
The Scottish Fold: these round-faced cuties have a gene that makes their ears fold down which, like the lop-eared rabbit, has done a lot to endear them to potential owners.
Toyger: as the name suggests, these cats resemble pint-sized tigers, having been bred from shorthaired tabbies to acquire the distinctive amber and black markings of their jungle-roaming cousins.
Chausie: these sleek-looking felines retain a lot of their jungle cat features and behaviour thanks again to selective breeding — they are, however, just as much at home on the arm of a sofa than on the branch of a tree!
Long may you love your pensioner mouse,
* William Wordsworth, 'Loving and Liking'
Everything a cat is and does physically is to me beautiful, lovely, stimulating, soothing, attractive and an enchantment.
Paul Gallico
* * *
A cat is a diagram and pattern of subtle air.
Doris Lessing
In its flawless grace and superior self-sufficiency I have seen a symbol of the perfect beauty and bland impersonality of the universe itself, objectively considered, and in its air of silent mystery there resides for me all the wonder and fascination of the unknown.
H. P. Lovecraft
CHAPTER 4The Patter of Little Paws
No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens.
Abraham Lincoln
A Cuddle a Day
Between the ages of two and seven weeks is the stage in kittens' development when they become socialised and habituated to human contact. So to make sure a kitten grows up to be the perfect friendly, interactive pet, make the most of this optimum time by handling your mini feline for at least 40 minutes daily. Ideally it should have contact with a minimum of four people of different genders and ages, and you should also ensure it encounters a wide range of situations.
The Legend of Pussywillow
An old Polish legend goes that there was once a litter of kittens that was thrown into the river to drown. The sorrowful cries of the mother cat watching helplessly from the bank were heard by willows growing at the river's edge. They dipped their long branches into the waters, and the tiny kittens clung on and were pulled to safety. Ever since, in springtime the pussywillow puts out tiny velvety buds where the kittens had held on for their lives; these are known as catkins.
They say the test of literary power is whether a man can write an inscription. I say 'Can he name a kitten?'
Samuel Butler
Kittens believe that all nature is occupied with their diversion.
Francois-Augustin Paradis de Moncrif
A kitten is so flexible that she is almost double; the hind parts are equivalent to another kitten with which the forepart plays. She does not discover that her tail belongs to her until you tread on it.
Henry David Thoreau
An ordinary kitten will ask more questions than any five-year-old.
Carl Van Vechten
That way look, my infant, lo!
William Wordsworth, 'The Kitten and the Falling Leaves'
Excerpted from "The Cat Lover's Compendium"
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Copyright © 2013 Summersdale Publishers Ltd.
Excerpted by permission of Skyhorse Publishing.
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Table of Contents
Introduction,
Our Furry Friends,
From Tabbies to Tortoiseshells,
What a Beautiful Pussy You Are!,
The Patter of Little Paws,
Who's the Boss?,
The Paw is Mightier Than the Pen,
Moggy Myths and Magic,
Feline and Fancy-free,
Meaningful Meows,
Fur or Against,
The Artist's Mews,
Kitty IQ,
Dinner is Served,
Wonder Cats,
On the Prowl,
A Lesson in Comfort,
Top Cats,
Pitch Purr-fect,
Catnapping,
Farewell, Feline Friends,
Resources,