Cat History , Cat Myths, Advantages of keeping cats

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According to news published in newspaper, in August 2000, a cat named Jessie saved her owner Margaret Hayward's life by jumping up and down on her owner's bed in order to wake her when home caught fire. A cat named Scarlett of New York ran into a burning house five times in order to save her kittens. Some cats can protect their owner from thieves. A cat of UK actually alerted his owners to a real burglar by running up and down stairs hissing and growling. A cat saved her kittens from a burning building. For any information about adventures of some extraordinary cats like bravery and homing instinct visit website www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/excats/cats.html or website www.pbs.org/nature/excats. Cats are thought to protect humans from bad evils. Farmers and shopkeepers keep cats to protect food grains from rats as well as to prevent diseases like Plague which are spread by rats. Butchers, bakers, grocers, bookstore owners as well as restaurant owners and stationary store owners domesticate cats in order to keep their premises free of rats and mice. Due to lack of cats, two thirds of European human population died of Plague in past. Cats have been credited with the ability to predict earthquakes. Cats can hear ultrasonic waves. Cats become intensely agitated before major earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and severe electrical storms. In many cases, cats have been observed desperately trying to escape from inside buildings prior to an earthquake. Cats and kittens are very photogenic and can be easily be used to advertise any product like greeting cards, milk products, candy boxes, calendars, toys and food. Cat's sense of hearing is one of highest in animal kingdom. Cat's sense of hearing is greater than human beings. The anatomy of cat is very similar to human beings. The Egyptian word for cat is Mau. Cats were even worshipped as feline goddess Bast or feline goddess Bastet or feline goddess Pasht in ancient Egypt for more than two thousand years. The Feline goddess Bastet had body of a woman and head of a cat. The goddess Bastet was associated with fertility, motherhood, grace and beauty. It was believed that goddess Bastet controlled fertility of man and beast, cured illness and watched over souls of dead. The largest temple of goddess Bastet was built in ancient city of Bubastis about 4500 years ago. Aelurus, an Egyptian cat god, represented moon. In ancient Egypt, if a house caught fire, rule went like this, save pet cats first and humans second. In ancient Egypt, a person killing a cat was punishable by death. In ancient Egypt, after death of cats, they were mummified and decorated, some with rock crystal. The dead bodies of cats were then wrapped in rich bandages of various colours. The mummified rats and saucers of milk were kept near cats. The faces of cats were covered by masks on which nose, eyes, ears and whiskers were evident. The mummified cats were then placed in boxes made of wood or bronze. These boxes were then placed in cat tombs or pyramids. In ancient Egypt, cat mummies outnumbered human mummies. In an ancient capital city of Egypt, more than 300000 cat mummies were found in 1890. The Egyptians believed that their gods took on appearance of cats in order to pass down orders and omens. If a pet cat in ancient Egypt died, then all family members used to shave their eyebrows as a sign of sorrow. If a pet cat in ancient Egypt died, then entire family went into elaborate mourning with chanting and pounding of chests as an outward sign of grief. The Egyptians believed that divinities assumed semblance of a cat, and so high prists decreed divine orders and omens of future according to its behaviour. The Egyptians considered that that cat's unblinking gaze gave it powers to seek out truth and to see into afterlife. The ancient Egyptians used cats not only as hunters of mice but also as catchers of fish as well. The Egyptian Sun god Ra was believed to assume form of a tomcat each night for his battle with serpent of darkness. According to Roman Mythology, Diana roman goddess of hunting angered giants by taking a cat form. In India cats were mentioned in Sanskrit writings around 100 B.C.. The Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, of about 500 B.C., both contain stories about cats. The Indians at time of Ramayana and Mahabharata worshipped a feline goddess of maternity called Sasti and for decades Hindus were obliged to take responsibility for feeding at least one cat. In India cats often played an important part in religious or occult ceremonies. Cats have ability to predict earthquakes. Cats have barometric sensitivity or sixth sense. Cats can forewarn us of coming storm, coming rainfall and change in atmosphere. There is a popular notion that states when a cat licks its paw or puts it in its ear, it is a sign of rain or a change in atmosphere. Many legends, folklore, myths and superstitions are associated with cats. Cats appear in mythology of ancient Greece and Rome. Cats are commonly mentioned in fairy tales, folklore and legends of many countries. Some people thought that witches could change themselves into cats. Today, people in ,many societies believe that cats bring good fortune. Many people find cats mysterious because they move swiftly and silently and because their eyes seem to glow in dark. Some people believe that a black cat crossing path of a person means bad luck. Some people think that cats possess magical powers while some people think cats as extraterrestrial creatures. Some people think that cats have ability to predict future. All cats are believed to have nine lives. In parts of UK , a cat washing its face with water is said to foretell rain. In UK and Scotland, a black cat crossing path of a person means good luck. In America, white cats are thought to bring good luck. The Russian Blue breed of cats is considered lucky in Russia. Black cats in particular have long been regarded as having occult powers and as being familiars of witches. White cats are thought to bring good luck in USA. The famous cats in cartoon include Tom, Garfield, Felix, Krazy kat, Top cat, Sylvester, Courageous cat, Pink Panther, Cheshire cat and Azrael.

I am owner and webmaster of website http://www.catswelfare.org.I am working in the SPCA Mumbai,India for the past seven years.I am also a cat dentist.

List of refrences and resources related to cats

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by Lydia Darbyshire. 17.Practical Handbook - The Complete Guide To Cat Care by Paddy Cutts. 18.Illustrated Encyclopedia Cat Breeds of World by Paddy Cutts. 19.Caring For Cats by Andrew Morris. 20.Mark Evans Animal Care - The Complete Guide To Kitten Care by Mitchell Beazley. 21.DK Multimedia Eyewitness virtual reality Cat CD - ROM. 22.Various websites related to cats and pets. The most important websites related to cats are-- http://encarta.msn.com http://www.catsinternational.org http://www.aniwa.com http://www.ivillage.com http://www.monpa.com http://www.petplace.com http://www.moggies.co.uk http://www.pbs.org/nature/excats http://animal.discovery.com/guides/cats/cats.html http://www.nhm.org/cats

I am owner and webmaster of website http://www.catswelfare.org.I am working in SPCA Mumbai for the past seven years.I am also a cat dentist.