Day: March 27, 2014

There are varying theories about whether cats really love their human caregivers or are merely attached to them as providers of food, water, love, affection, treats, and the like. As someone who never had a pet and acquired one later in life, I feel that cats who receive loving care get to be very attached to their owners and their owners to them. However, just as with human love, the word “love” gets tossed around in ways that are merely conceptual as it relates to cats.

It is my feeling that cats “love” as in love being a doing.  They make good eye contact and they like to be close to their owners – on their lap, at their feet, or by their side. They like to be touched and petted despite their independent nature.  They are happy to see their owners when they come home.  When I’m away overnight, my cat misses me and she’s happy to see me when I come home.  If this isn’t love, I don’t know what love is.

I wondered if there were any well-known people who liked cats and found them to be a source of love and joy in their lives and here’s what I found:

Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British politician (notably, UK prime minister during World War II)Churchill’s marmaladecat Jock slept with his master, shared his dining table, and attended numerous war-time Cabinet meetings. If Jock was late for meals, Churchill would send servants to find him, waiting to eat til the cat was present. Jock was said to have been with his master when he died. Churchill also had a cat, Nelson, named after the famous British admiral.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) Author (works include Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickelby, David Copperfield, A Christmas Carol)Charles’ cat, Willamena, produced a litter of kittens in his study. Dickens was determined not to keep the kittens, but he fell in love with one female kitten who was known as “Master’s Cat”. She kept him company in his study as he wrote, and when she wanted his attention she was known to snuff out his reading candle.

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) Author (works include For Whom the Bell Tolls, Old Man and the Sea)Hemingway shared his Key West Home with more than 30 cats. The story goes that Hemingway made the acquaintance of a sea captain who owned an unusual six-toed tomcat. Upon his departure from Key West, the captain presented the cat to Hemingway. Today many of the numerous cats that inhabit the grounds still possess the unusual six toes.  Hemingway once said, “A cat has absolute emotional honesty; human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.”

Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) ArtistThis French artist loved cats and depicted them in several paintings.

It’s delightful to know that many well-known people enjoyed the companionship and love of cats in their lives.  These animals have been around for a long time:

“In ancient Egypt, in 1600 BC, cats were not only established as domesticated animals, but were even cherished and worshipped as gods and religious idols. Of course there was a commercial reason. Egypt was the grain centre of the universe. The mice knew that and Ratsak hadn’t yet been invented. So cherished were they, that to kill a cat, even accidentally, was an offence punishable by death. If a house-cat died, the owners shaved off their eyebrows as a sign of mourning. Because of their sacred standing, the export of cats from Egypt was forbidden for about a thousand years. Thus, there is no evidence of cats in places other than Egypt until the first century AD.“

For those of us, in this day and age, who are blessed to have cats as companions, we feel “love, loyalty, and gratitude” for having them.

Hope you enjoyed this post!

 

References:  “A Few Famous Cat Lovers” & “The Gods of Egypt.”