It's time to discuss the cats
Most of the time, Lucy can be found doing something ridiculous like hanging out like this. She doesn't want cuddles here, she just wants you to know she's gotten kind of chunky. Good for her.
I have this elderly ginger cat named Lucy who I love with my entire heart - but she’s a bit stupid.
When we adopted our cat, my family and I were told that Orange™ cats were just a bit…just a little bit lacking in the brain department. Of course, we didn’t believe the Vet but after having her for 12 years, I can confirm that, without a doubt, all ginger cats on this planet share a single brain cell and boy does my cat never have it.
And so, in honour of my ridiculous cat, let’s talk about cats.
History of cats
Roughly 12,000 years ago, agricultural societies began flourishing in the Middle East’s Fertile Crescent. No longer were we humans simply hunters and gatherers, but we were now harvesters and growers. When humans began farming in excess, there were crop stores being kept in many places - and with grain stores come mice.
Through ancient DNA, it is suggested that many wild cats came into the towns and domesticated themselves by inviting themselves into places where there was surplus crop stores and would eat the mice. Over time, humans began to realise that in exchange for some extra food and a bit of warmth, they had free pest control (and more importantly some cuddles).
The worship of cats
It is very well known that cats were worshipped in Ancient Egypt - they were even classed as sacred beings. The murder of a cat in this time period could quite easily result in the punishment of death. There are graves with over 300,000 mummified cats that have been found by archaeologists, and many of the powerful and rich people had their cats buried with them when they died.
There have also been records of cat worship in Ancient Rome, though it was more secular than the widespread worship in Egypt. Cats in Rome were seen as a symbol of liberty and in the Far East of Europe, they were valued because of the protection they offered to rare manuscripts from rats.
The historical consequences of not valuing cats
In the Middle Ages in Europe, cats became demonised due to their affiliation with witches and the devil. They were chased out of houses and off the streets, some even being killed on sight, all in an effort to ward off evil.
Talk about irony though! Reducing the presence of cats and taking away the natural rat and mice pest control actually helped increase the spread of the Black Plague - a bacteria that was carried primarily by rats.
If that’s not a life lesson for keeping a cat around at all times, I don’t know what is!
Usually my cat will fool you into thinking she's well-behaved by sitting like this, though she's definitely not! She's simply old and incredibly sleepy. Lucy also knows that if she looks just cute enough, we'll absolutely give her as many pats as she wants.
Now back to my cat
Let’s learn five cool facts about my world-class idiot of a cat:
- She loves toast. My cat would straight up commit murder for some crunchy bread (same though)
- She is scared of everything - and I do mean everything.
- She doesn’t really like people that much nor does she like other cats
- I think my girlfriend loves my cat more than she loves me (I also think Lucy loves my girlfriend more than me too)
- There have been two separate incidents where Lucy put a tiny mouse all the way in her mouth while it was alive, walked inside the house and released absolute mayhem unto my mother and I as we had to chase the tiny mouse around.
Despite her fears of pasta (only pasta that’s shorter than approximately 3cm) and her immense love for the Christmas tree box (yes, that box specifically), Lucy is the best cat I could ever ask for.
When we got her, there was no way I could have imagined how much she would mean to me. During lockdown last year, she became my steadfast study companion, saving me from complete and total breakdown. She begrudgingly listened to me explain biological mechanisms, hung out with me while I sat tests and exams and even made an appearance or two in a tutorial!
She comes into my room every morning, waking me up by stepping on me to find the warmest spot possible for her morning nap. Lucy let’s me pick her up even though I know she doesn’t love being picked up and she always purrs when she sees me.
She’s the kind of cat that knows when I’m sad and will do just about anything to make me feel better. She looks out for me even when I’m sleeping - she lovingly saved me from a very loud and scary monster by shoving her paw in it’s mouth (it was actually just me snoring but the intention was pure, I’m sure).
Really Stephanie, what is your point?
I don’t really have a point, I suppose. My point is honestly just to think about something good and positive while we live in a period of uncertainty. My point is that I try to reflect daily and think about the positive, beautiful things I have in my life - with my beautifully foolish elderly ginger cat being one of them. My point is that there are a lot of awful things going on in so many peoples’ lives right now, so the least I can do is share pictures of my pride and joy. My point is also that these beautiful, sacred predators that are known for getting rid of pests and even eventually for associating with witches somehow evolved into my kitty who is afraid of short pasta. Riddle me that, evolutionary biologists.
But most of all, my point is that if you ever think you’ll have a boring day as a proud owner of a ginger cat, you’re absolutely wrong.