by L A Vocelle
Figure 9.14. Nigger in hammock, before 1920
Figure 9.15. Blackborow with Mrs. Chippy, before 1920
Figure 9.16. Mrs. Chippy Postage Stamp
The ill-fated expedition ended when the Endurance became trapped in ice and was eventually crushed. It was Shackleton’s decision to shoot all the dogs and the lone cat Mrs. Chippy on October 29th, 1915 before they started out on their 350 mile trek over the ice to the nearest land in order to bring back help for the remaining men. Shackleton recorded in his diary, “This afternoon Sallie’s three youngest pups, Sue’s Sirius, and Mrs. Chippy, the carpenter’s cat, have to be shot. We could not undertake the maintenance of weaklings under the new conditions” (Shackleton, 1919). Macklin, Crean, and the carpenter were particularly upset. The ship’s crew doted over Mrs. Chippy in his last hours giving him hugs and feeding him his favorite food, sardines, perhaps laced with a sleeping drug. McNeish never forgave Shackleton for killing his cat, and the two were on such bad terms that Shackleton refused to recommend him for the Polar Medal that the rest of the crew received. In 1925, McNeish went to live in Wellington, New Zealand, where he died in destitution in 1930. Even though buried with full military honors in Karori cemetery, he was interred in an unmarked grave until 1959 when a headstone was finally erected. In 2004, a life sized bronze replica of Mrs. Chippy was created and now sits atop of McNeish’s grave in honor of his never ending love of his cat. McNeish’s grandson, Tom McNeish, 76, from Norwich, said: “If it wasn't for him they would all have perished. His skills got them to safety. But all you hear about the expedition is Shackleton. I think he would be over the moon about the statue. The cat was more important to him than the Polar Medal” (Chapman, 2004). In 1998, an Island near South Georgia was named after McNeish, and in February 2011, Mrs. Chippy was featured on a postage stamp issued by South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (figure 9.16).
CATS IN WAR
Throughout both World War I and World War II the cat exhibited its bravery in extreme situations. Serving on battleships and in the trenches, cats proved their heroism in dire circumstances by doing what they were best at: being mousers, mascots, and affectionate companions. During WWI, the British employed more than 500,000 cats to clear the often treacherous trenches of mice and rats. Cats also alerted troops to drifting poisonous gas clouds, saving thousands of lives. Both cats and dogs were even accused of spying for the Germans. When they were observed crossing back and forth across British trenches by the 36th brigade of the 12th Division in July 1915, officers believed that they might have been delivering German messages across the lines (Copping, 2014) (figure 9.17).
Figure 9.17. A French soldier with his kittens on the Western Front, Argonne, 1916
During WWII, cats protected valuable food stores from vermin and were considered so important that they each received an extra powdered milk ration for their service. The United States even sent thousands of American cats to France in its “Cats for Europe” campaign.
Most pictures of cats during WWII show them as affectionate companions or mascots. Images of Felix the Cat, already so important to American history, were used, as mentioned earlier, as battalion and regimental emblems in WWI and WWII, and fighter pilots often drew pictures of cats on the sides of their planes. Felix type emblems were also worn as company insignia.
Pooli, short for Princess Papule, born on July 4th, 1944 in the Navy Yard at Pearl Harbor, became the ship’s mascot on the USS Fremont (APA-44). Pooli earned three service ribbons and four battle stars for her courage in the face of battle during WWII and the Korean War (figure 9.18).
Figure 9.18. WWII hero Pooli, July 4, 1959, © Los Angeles Times Staff Photographer, Reprinted with Permission
The black and white cat Oscar, or as he later became known, Unsinkable Sam, was ship’s mascot on the German battleship, Bismarck. Out of a crew of 2,200, only a 118 and Oscar survived the sinking on May 27th, 1941. Rescued by the HMS Cossack, Oscar again survived another sinking on October 24th when the Cossack was torpedoed and 159 of her crew were killed. Rescued again, the lucky feline was taken to Gibraltar where he became the ship’s cat on the HMS Ark Royal that was ironically instrumental in sinking the Bismarck, but like the Cossack was torpedoed and sunk. Clinging to a floating plank, Sam along with the survivors were found. Rescuers described Sam as “angry but quite unharmed” (Jameson, 2004, p. 372). After being rescued yet again, Oscar was then transferred to a job on land hunting mice at the office buildings of the Governor General of Gibraltar. Eventually Unsinkable Sam returned to the UK where he remained for the rest of his life at a “Home for Sailors” in Belfast where he died in 1955.
Even though Unsinkable Sam never earned an award for his bravery, several cats earned awards and medals for their distinguished service during wartime. Created in 1943, the Dickin Medal, also known as the Animals Victory Cross, is awarded to animals for “conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty” while serving in Britian’s military or civil service. The only cat to have gotten this award to date is Simon, the mascot of the British frigate HMSA Amethyst during the Yangtze Incident in 1949. Simon was badly wounded by a blast from a Communist shell, but stayed at his post to kill rats throughout the ship’s 101 day ordeal. Simon survived even though 23 of the crew and the captain were killed. He lived to return to Britain, only to eventually die of his wounds a month later. Simon’s Dickin Medal was auctioned for more than $42,000 in 1993.
Faith, the church cat, was awarded a Silver medal for her bravery during the London Blitz. In 1936, Faith came to live at St. Augustine’s church, and as perhaps part of her gratefulness she regularly attended Sunday services and many parishioners came to adore her. Not long after her residency in the church, Faith gave birth to a tiny black and white kitten which looked like a panda bear, and so the kitten was named Panda. A picture of Faith hangs in the church today and underneath it on the Chapel wall are these words:
“FAITH”
Our dear little church cat of St. Augustine and St. Faith.
The bravest cat in the world.
On Monday, September 9th, 1940, she endured horrors and perils
beyond the power of words to tell.
Shielding her kitten in a sort of recess in the house (a spot
she selected three days before the tragedy occurred), she
sat the whole frightful night of bombing and fire, guarding her
little kitten.
The roofs and masonry exploded. The whole house blazed. Four
floors fell through in front of her. Fire and water and ruin
all round her.
Yet she stayed calm and steadfast and waited for help.
We rescued her in the early morning while the place was still
burning, and
By the mercy of Almighty God, she and
her kitten were not only saved, but unhurt.
God be praised and thanked for His goodness
and mercy to our dear little pet.
CATS AS INSPIRATION
Finally, the cat would serve as an inspiration for the life-long work of the noted scientist Nikola Tesla (1856-1943). In Tesla’s memoir, A Story of Youth Told by Age (1939), dedicated to Miss Pola Fotitch, he describes his relationship with his cat Macak, “the finest of all cats in the world. I wish I could give you an adequate idea of the affection that existed between us. We lived for one another. Wherever I went, Macak followed, because of our mutual love and the desire to protect me.” Tesla ends his story stating that it was Macak who awakened his lifetime interest in electricity.
“In the dusk of the evening, as I stroked Macak’s back, I saw a miracle that made me speechless with amazement. Macak’s back was a sheet of light and my hand produced a shower of sparks loud enough to be heard all over the house. My father was a very learned man; he had an answer for every question. But this phenomenon was new even to him. ‘Well,’ he finally remarked, ‘this is nothing but electricity, the same thing you see through the trees in a storm.’ My mother seemed
charmed. ‘Stop playing with this cat,’ she said. ‘He might start a fire.’ But I was thinking abstractedly. Is nature a gigantic cat? If so, who strokes its back? It can only be God, I concluded. …..I cannot exaggerate the effect of this marvelous night on my childish imagination. Day after day I have asked myself ‘what is electricity?’ and found no answer. Eighty years have gone by since that time and I still ask the same question, unable to answer it.”
The 20th century cat had ventured into every aspect of man’s life, and its importance had expanded not through its ability to be tamed and controlled, but instead, by its insistence on respect for its independence and love of freedom. In good times and in bad, the cat has been at man’s side, perhaps even more so than the dog. Abiding, unobtrusive, quiet yet pervasive, the cat continues to endure as both an important cultural icon and a loving companion.
CHAPTER TEN
EPILOGUE
THE CAT TODAY
Today the cat is a goddess risen. The bond between cats and man, begun over two thousand years ago, has steadily grown stronger throughout time producing the greatest number of cat lovers in history. Cat appreciation days such as Hug Your Cat Day, Black Cat Appreciation Day, and National Cat Day are celebrated with much fanfare. Cats in the media amuse us with their cute cat antics and irreverent behavior and have given rise to social media cat stars such as Grumpy Cat and Lil Bub who have become America’s sweethearts, ubiquitously appearing on the news, in magazines and in advertisements. Social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest are overflowing with photos of every sort of cat and provide a platform for thousands of cat owners who devotedly post daily accounts of their cats’ activities. Sushi cats, cats in space, existential cats, and cats dressed in cute costumes have formed a feline invasion into our hearts and psyches because they simply make us feel good. Even though these activities attempt to anthropomorphize the cat, they can never diminish its innate untamable nature, as there will always be a part of every cat that remains aloof, regal and forever godly. Its haughty independence demands respect, for it cherishes and values freedom, individualism, and exudes a healthy dose of disdain, attributes that arouse love and adoration as well as fear and loathing.
With this increased interest in cats, stories of cat heroes have been reported and gone viral in social media circles. Cats saving their owners from certain death surprise and bewilder, as this behavior from seemingly detached felines is totally unexpected. Several centuries ago, such behavior might have been thought the product of witchcraft. Because of the cat’s aloof moodiness, we assume that cats do not love us at least as much as dogs because they do not fawn over us in slobbering loyalty. But this is not so. The cat, even though snobbish and inscrutable, is a loving and devoted pet, but only if its human is deemed worthy of its affections. Due to increased communications and more people owning cats, cats have been recognized as loyal pets that will in some circumstances go above and beyond to protect those that they love. The most recent evidence of such devotion was captured on a surveillance camera and went viral on You Tube. Tara the cat saved a Bakersfield family’s little boy, Jeremy Triantafilo, aged 4, from a potentially fatal dog attack by running at the dog and scaring it away. Such aggressive behavior in a cat was miraculous and confirmed cat lovers’ beliefs that cats could in fact be altruistic, loyal and protective. Cat heroes have alerted their owners to imminent danger such as fire and gas leaks. This was the case with the kitten Schnautzie who in October 2007 persistently tried to wake her owners up to warn them of a hazardous gas leak which could have led to their house exploding. In another incident, Josh Ornberg and Letitia Kovalovsky—who was seven months pregnant with twins— were saved by their 13 year old tabby, Baby, from a fire in 2010. The cat warned Letitia by jumping up and down in her lap. These are but a few of the many examples of cats helping their owners.
Perhaps because of this booming popularity of cats, a new concept in coffee houses, the cat café, was first started in Taiwan in 1998 and quickly caught on in Japan with the first café opening there in 2004. These cafes have now begun to spread across the world offering serious competition to mainstream coffee and tea houses in the world’s largest cities. Lonely “catless” ailurophiles in particular would definitely choose a cat café over a Starbucks or Costa. Caressing and playing with sleek amiable felines over a cup of java while contributing to their welfare, rescue and adoption, through purchases in the café, meet a deep need to make a difference in a cat’s life.
A booming cat product business exists both online and in brick and mortar stores. Entrepreneurs that love cats (and those who do not), produce a myriad of products all with cat pictures or cat themes that support a 58.51 billion dollar a year business within the U.S. market alone according to the American Pet Products Association. Americans certainly love their cats.
It is hard to believe that just a few centuries ago the cat was being equated with witchcraft, burned at the stake, and believed to be a demonic beast with fearful powers. Even though the cat is still identified with the ancient pagan ritual of Halloween, and black cats are discriminated against, overall the cat is much better off than it has ever been in history. The cat’s reflective mysterious eyes that Plato commented on centuries ago still make us wonder if there is in fact something other-worldly about this untamable beast. Perhaps the ancient Egyptians’ laws against the killing and export of cats showed a wisdom that the world had lost for many centuries. However, today those that dare to try and abuse our much-loved felines find themselves prosecuted and put in jail.
Travelling with the cat through history, we have witnessed its height as the goddess Bast and learned of its persecution as an animal reviled. So close to us, but yet so detached, cats give pause to thought, creativity. Rarely deferential or obsequious, cats maintain their regal presences and encourage artists, writers and even statesmen and politicians to aspire to more. At last the cat has reclaimed its rightful place as a goddess to be worshipped and adored. Today the cat is undeniably a goddess reborn.
TIMELINE OF THE CAT IN HISTORY
LIST OF THEBAN TOMBS WITH CATS
LIST OF CAT CEMETERIES
IN EGYPT
Abusir Al Malik
Abydos
Akhmim Al Hawawish
Armant
Asyut
Badari
Beni Hasan (Speos Artemidos)
Dakhla
Dendera
Gebel Abu Feda
Ghoran
Hu
Koptos
Manfalut es Samun Al Maaba
Qaw
Saqqara
Sharuna
Tanis
Bubastis
Thebes
Umm al Burigat Tetynis
Zawiyet Al Aryan Giza
REFERENCES
CHAPTER 1
American Genetic Association, (1917, September). Ancestry of the cat. Journal of Heredity, 8(9), 397-399
Driscoll, C. A., Menotti-Raymond, M., Roca, A.L., Hupe, K., Johnson, W.E., Geffen, E. Macdonald, D.W. (2007, July 27). The Near Eastern origin of cat domestication. Science 317(5837), 519. doi: 10.1126/science.1139518.
Ewer, R. F. (1997). The carnivores. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Hubbell, S. (2002). Shrinking the cat: genetic engineering before we knew about genes. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Linseele, V., Van Neer, W., Hendrickx, S. (2007). Evidence for early cat taming in Egypt. Journal of Archeological Science, 34, 2081-2090.
Mott, M. (2006, January 11). Cats climb new family tree. National Geographic News. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/01/0111_060111_cat_evolution.html
Rincon, P. (2004, April 8). Dig discovery is oldest ‘pet cat’. BBC News. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3611453.stm.
Vigne, J.D., Guilaine, J., Debue, K., Haye, L., & Gerard, P. (2004, April 9). Early Taming of the Cat in Cyprus. Science, 304, (5668), 259. doi:10.1126/science.1095335.
Wade, N. (2007, June 29). Study traces cat’s ancestry to Middle East. New York Times Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/science/29cat.html?_r=2&ex=1187236800&en=2b5 53cb12899e818&ei=5070.
Yurco, F.J. (1990, January/February).The cat and ancient Egypt. Field Museum of Natural History, 61, (1). 46-54.
CHAPTER 2
Bard, K. A. & Shubert, S. B. (1999). Encyclopedia of the archeology
of ancient Egypt. New York, NY: Routledge.
Belzoni, G. (1890). Narrative of the operations and recent discoveries with in the pyramids, temples, tombs and excavations in Egypt and Nubia. London, England: John Murray.
Breasted, J. H. (1906). Ancient records of Egypt historical documents (Vol. 1-4). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Breasted, J. H. (1908). A history of the ancient Egyptians. New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s and Sons.
Breasted, J. H. (1909). A history of Egypt from the earliest times to the Persian conquest. New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s and Sons.
Budge, W. E.A. (1895). The papyrus of Ani, the Egyptian book of the dead. London, England: The British Museum Press.
Budge, W. E.A. (1929). The Rosetta stone in the British museum. Mineola, NY: Dover Publication.
Clarysse, W. (1998). Egyptian religion: The last thousand years: Part 1. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters Publishers.
Dodson, A. (2009). Rituals related to animal cults. In J. Dieleman & W. Wnedrich (Eds.) UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA: Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. Retrieved from http://escholarship.org/uc/item/6wk541n0.
