9781422274958

many references to catlike fig- ures and gods taking on the form of cats. The lion had been used for those parts of the ceremonies where a living embodiment of the cat was needed. But the “king of beasts” was also a beastly hand- ful for the priests to control and

master. This new, smaller cat that was turning up in ever greater numbers presented a perfect alternative. Very shortly after the African wild cats began frequenting the granaries, some of its numbers were showing up in religious ceremonies. And those numbers were most definitely on the increase. Given its newprotected status and the abun- dance of its prey, the population of semi-tame African wildcats sky- rocketed. Although the religious significance and absolutely pro- tected status stayed with the cats, nowtherewere enoughof themthat some found their ways into house- holds outside the temples. The first generation of the true domestic cat had been developed. The Egyptians held their cats in such high esteem—even to the extent of having them mum- mified and buried with them in their tombs—that the spread of the animals was restrained for many years. The Greeks, active trading partners of the Egyp- tians, noted the mousing abil- ities of the cat, offered much in trade for a few, and eventu- ally resorted to stealing several pairs. In turn, the offspring that those cats produced in profusion eventually were traded with other trading partners of the

The American Wire- hair first surfaced in 1966 in a single male kitten among a litter of American shorthairs in Vernon, New York.

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