- "History of Cats"
| Earliest evidence of Cat-Human relationship A gravesite in Cyprus was discovered in 1983, dating back to 7500 BC. In the site, the archaelogists discovered a human skeleton; and just 18 inches beside the human skeleton was the skeleton of a cat (about 8 months old at the time of burial) positioned the same way and direction as the human skeleton. This discovery made it evident that cat and human relationship had been in existence for thousands of years. Cats and the Egyptians The Egyptians were very fond of cats. The cats were an important asset to them because they preyed on pests like rats, poisonous snakes and other pests that ate from their crops and destroyed property. Cats were so treasured up to the extent that the Egyptians worshipped them and gave them jewellery. They even imposed a death penalty for cat-killers. The Renaissance Cats were hated during the time of the Renaissance. When celebrating festivals, the people would burn them alive and throw them off buildings. |
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| Religion In Islam, the Prophet Muhammad was known to love cats and had a favourite cat name Muezza. The most famous story about Muezza recounts how the call to prayer was given, and as Muhammad went to put on one of his robes, he found his cat sleeping on one of the sleeves. Instead of disturbing the cat's sleep, he cut off the sleeve and let him sleep. In 1484, Pope Innocent ordered the burning of all cats. Because of this, the amount of rats increased and millions of rats carrying fleas infected with bubonic plague spread the Black Death across Europe. The Europeans then understood the importance of cats in their society, and decided to stop the termination of cats. Cats in the current world Presently, cats are the most favoured pets in the world. Statistics show that they are the top household pet in most parts of the world, second being dogs. |
