13 



The Cat in Asia. 



About 400 B.C. the cat is referred to in Chinese records as a 

 wild animal, and does not appear to have been tamed in China 

 until after the beginning of the Christian era. It appeared also 

 in Persia and India, but the exact date of its first appearance in 

 domestication there is one of the mysteries of the past, and whether 

 it came there from Egypt and interbred with native types or 

 was domesticated from native species alone cannot be deter- 

 mined. All long-haired cats, however, are believed to have come 

 from the East, and seem to have had a common origin in Pallas' 

 cat {Felis manul). 



The Cat in Europe. 



Some authorities assert that the cat came to Europe from 

 Cyprus, others that it was introduced from Egypt. Diodorus 

 says that hunters carried it away captive from Numidia to de- 

 cadent Greece. Whatever may be the facts, its former glory had 

 departed. In Greece and Rome it was little honored and less 

 worshipped, but was tolerated and valued because of its ability 

 as a mouser. Apparently it was disseminated slowly through 

 Europe. There seems to be no proof of its domestication in 

 Great Britain or France before the ninth century. Although its 

 utility had been recognized early it soon became a beast of ill 

 repute, — a reputation which followed it for centuries. Its cold 

 temperament, nocturnal habits, flaming eyes and horrible night 

 cries resulted in its becoming the victim of superstition. It was 

 classed with devils, witches, sorcerers, owls, bats and the spirits 

 of sin and darkness, and in the dark and middle ages it was the 

 object of terrible persecution and torture. It may have been 

 regarded as evil partly because of its alleged hatred of blue, the 

 color "of the cloak of heaven" and that of the dress of the Virgin 

 Mary. The cat was a striking figure in trials for witchcraft, was 

 regarded as an imp of Satan, was accused of casting spells, and 

 was girt about with mystery and superstitious fear. 

 • In Flanders, cats were hurled from high towers on the second 

 Wednesday of Lent. This custom persisted in Ypres until 1868 

 or later. In Picardy, cats were burned on the first Sunday of 

 Lent. In Metz and other towns, they were sacrificed in bonfires 

 on the evening of St. John. In England, they were hanged, 

 burned by hundreds in mighty fires, roasted alive in brick ovens 

 or at archery contests were tucked into leathern bottles and shot 

 with arrows. In Scotland, they were impaled on spits and roasted 

 alive before slow fires. From time to time on the continent, they 



