7 Comments
User's avatar
Julian de Medeiros's avatar

Correction: the painting is from the mid nineteenth century, not the mid 1900s.

Correction 2: the sentence in the 4th paragraph should read: “in this sense it is not just a pretty painting..” (the original email was missing the word “just”)

Expand full comment
Terra Tori's avatar

Thank you for this ~ I am saddened by the thought that cats were caught up and tied to ‘witches’ (women) and then cast into occult by the church and state because of the lack of understanding (or willingness to understand) one another

My cat has taught me so much, and not just about my home as a house for my body (shelter), but also my home as a house for my soul (body)

Expand full comment
James's avatar

That's such a prejudiced understanding of the church. Even pope Benedict XVI was very fond of cats.

Expand full comment
Terra Tori's avatar

Thank you for opening my eyes I never knew that one church guy liked cats!! I guess the church likes cats and i should not say they do not!

Expand full comment
Evermore Pet Food, Inc.'s avatar

There’s something deeply reassuring about cats turning up in moments of stillness and statecraft. From chatteries to kitchen counters, they’ve always known how to claim space without asking.

Expand full comment
Stephen Douglas Scotti's avatar

I love cats. I have had quite a few over the years, but not 14. Sadly, one of them ran away and never returned, and I left my favorite one in the USA on short notice because I felt like it was no longer safe for me to remain in the USA. The one that ran away is probably no longer alive, but Simon might be. This is a video of Simon fetching a ball. He also helped me write a book. I have a photo of that somewhere.

https://youtu.be/2y1pgWJkoi8?si=gQPY5BJZ5TaJw7-C

I even have a registered cattery named Palantiri (LOTR)

In Italy, feral cats are respected and revered. See: https://casa-belvedere.org/cats-in-italy-beloved-and-protected/

Cats in Italian proverbs:

I gatti hanno sette spiriti … Cats have seven spirits. In the United States, cats are said to have nine lives.

Quando il gatto non c’e, il topo balla … When the cat is missing, the mouse dances.

Di notte tutti i gatti sono neri … By night, all the cats are black. A suggestive saying about how people all look the same when it’s dark under the covers.

Tanto va la gatta al lardo chi ci lascia lo zampino … So often goes the cat to the lard that she loses her paw. Essentially, what goes around, comes around.

Non c’e’ trippa per gatti … There’s no tripe for the cats. It’s a statement when things are not going your way.

Expand full comment
Christina Louise Christiansen's avatar

So true 😍🥰❤️🐾🐾

Expand full comment