Walking with lions In this late-Victorian painting by Sir William Blake Richmond, Venus, the Roman goddess of love, walks with a lion and lioness and turns winter into spring as she passes.
CATS IN RELIGION
Peruvian puma This gold artifact depicting a puma had religious significance for the Moche people of Peru, whose society flourished between about 100 and 800CE. Puma gods were common to many early American cultures.
and was marked with an “M” on its forehead—the classic coat pattern seen in tabby cats—when the Madonna stroked it. The Christian Church’s centuries-long, well documented prejudice against cats was probably at least partly driven by a determination to stamp out the remnants of earlier pagan beliefs. Church authorities viewed cats as agents of the Devil, especially when they were kept by people believed to be witches (see pp.26–27), and dealt with them mercilessly—maiming, torturing, hanging, and burning were among the cruelties sanctioned. Persecution of cats reached its height in the Middle Ages and continued, astonishingly, into early modern times.
ISLAMIC BLESSING Historically, out of all their connections with religions, cats have had the greatest acceptance in Muslim cultures, where treating animals with kindness is an
a cat lover and drove a chariot pulled by two enormous gray cats that had been given to her as a gift by Thor, the god of thunder. The ancient Romans were said to be great respecters of cats, the only animals allowed to enter their temples, and sometimes gave them preferential treatment as household gods, symbols of home and safety. In the Americas, pre-Columbian civilizations knew nothing of domestic cats, which had yet to cross the Atlantic, but some of their deities were associated with big cats. Both the Mayans and the Incas worshiped gods who took the form of jaguars. In today’s major religions, cats as sacred icons remain few and far between. One exception is the Hindu goddess Shashthi, worshiped as a protector of children, who is often depicted riding a cat. In some branches of Buddhism, the soul of someone who has attained great spirituality is said on death to enter the body of a cat. There is also an old tradition of cats, especially white ones, being kept by Buddhist monks as temple guardians.
CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION Unlike many other animals, cats are not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, either for good or evil. In a rare positive association between cats and Christianity, the 7th-century St. Gertrude, abbess of a Benedictine order near Brussels, is regarded as the patron saint of cats; she is sometimes portrayed holding a cat—or surrounded by mice. There is some evidence that Gertrude, presumably thanks to her cats, had a reputation for keeping her abbey miraculously free of mice in an age plagued with vermin. Another happy association is the charming legend that a cat with its litter of kittens was present in the stable at the birth of Jesus,
Temple resident Many Buddhist temples swarm with street cats like this one, which has found a home at Wat Phra Yai, near Pattaya in Thailand. Such animals are highly respected by the monks, who provide them with food and shelter.
important part of Islamic teaching. The Prophet Muhammad, whose revelations in the 7th century form the text of the Holy Koran, set an example—there are many reports of the care and respect he gave to his own pets. In an Islamic version of the origins of the tabby forehead marking, the “M” is said to have been left by the Prophet’s touch.
CATS IN RELIGION
Peruvian puma This gold artifact depicting a puma had religious significance for the Moche people of Peru, whose society flourished between about 100 and 800CE. Puma gods were common to many early American cultures.
and was marked with an “M” on its forehead—the classic coat pattern seen in tabby cats—when the Madonna stroked it. The Christian Church’s centuries-long, well documented prejudice against cats was probably at least partly driven by a determination to stamp out the remnants of earlier pagan beliefs. Church authorities viewed cats as agents of the Devil, especially when they were kept by people believed to be witches (see pp.26–27), and dealt with them mercilessly—maiming, torturing, hanging, and burning were among the cruelties sanctioned. Persecution of cats reached its height in the Middle Ages and continued, astonishingly, into early modern times.
ISLAMIC BLESSING Historically, out of all their connections with religions, cats have had the greatest acceptance in Muslim cultures, where treating animals with kindness is an
a cat lover and drove a chariot pulled by two enormous gray cats that had been given to her as a gift by Thor, the god of thunder. The ancient Romans were said to be great respecters of cats, the only animals allowed to enter their temples, and sometimes gave them preferential treatment as household gods, symbols of home and safety. In the Americas, pre-Columbian civilizations knew nothing of domestic cats, which had yet to cross the Atlantic, but some of their deities were associated with big cats. Both the Mayans and the Incas worshiped gods who took the form of jaguars. In today’s major religions, cats as sacred icons remain few and far between. One exception is the Hindu goddess Shashthi, worshiped as a protector of children, who is often depicted riding a cat. In some branches of Buddhism, the soul of someone who has attained great spirituality is said on death to enter the body of a cat. There is also an old tradition of cats, especially white ones, being kept by Buddhist monks as temple guardians.
CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION Unlike many other animals, cats are not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, either for good or evil. In a rare positive association between cats and Christianity, the 7th-century St. Gertrude, abbess of a Benedictine order near Brussels, is regarded as the patron saint of cats; she is sometimes portrayed holding a cat—or surrounded by mice. There is some evidence that Gertrude, presumably thanks to her cats, had a reputation for keeping her abbey miraculously free of mice in an age plagued with vermin. Another happy association is the charming legend that a cat with its litter of kittens was present in the stable at the birth of Jesus,
Temple resident Many Buddhist temples swarm with street cats like this one, which has found a home at Wat Phra Yai, near Pattaya in Thailand. Such animals are highly respected by the monks, who provide them with food and shelter.
important part of Islamic teaching. The Prophet Muhammad, whose revelations in the 7th century form the text of the Holy Koran, set an example—there are many reports of the care and respect he gave to his own pets. In an Islamic version of the origins of the tabby forehead marking, the “M” is said to have been left by the Prophet’s touch.
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