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Bastet the Egyptian Cat Goddess

Cat of the Month ~ December 2013

Among the animals that the ancient Egyptians respected and venerated was the cat, and they named their Cat Godess ‘Bastet’.

In legend the godess Bastet was said to be a sacred and gentle animal, with a long tail (often curled around one leg) and with rather long erect ears.

The cult center for Bastet was at Bubastis (modern Zagazig) in the eastern part of the Nile Delta. The cat was also the patron deity of other sites in Egypt including Saqqara and Alexandria. Great temples and underground mausoleums for cats have been excavated at each of these sites.


Bastet

The Godess Bastet
This fourteen centimetre high statue of Bastet shows the goddess in characteristic Egyptian style.
She sits with her forelegs upright, and her hind legs neatly folded under her. The ears are
erect, and the eyes are big. The muzzle has some detail and the body appears to be strong.
Photograph: The Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt

Over 2000 years ago the cat-goddess was worshipped to such an extent that the bodies of dead cats were Mummified just like those of their human keepers.
The Cats were placed in coffins and pious worshippers had bronze and stone figures made so that these could be offered in dedication to the God.

Bastet was also the goddess of feasts, wine drinking, dancing, and music (so, Merry Christmas Folks!). She was assimilated with the goddesses Tefnut (now Norman is a tough Nut for sure, Ed.) and Sekhmet, and was considered to be the daughter of the sun god Re (or Ra). In this aspect, she was depicted with the head of a lioness.

When the Romans came to Egypt, they too became cat lovers, and took both live cats and cat statues to Europe. This surely means that the moggies sitting next to us today are related to these majestic and worshipped cats of the Ancients….certainly in legend and very likely in the flesh too.

Bastet Cat Goddess

A stone carving of Bastet found in Alexandria in 2010
This stone sculpture was one of many found among the temple’s ruins in the Kom el-Dekkah
area of the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria in 2010. Archaeologists say the
Ptolemaic temple dating back more than 2,000 years may have been dedicated
to the ancient Cat Goddess.
Photograph: The Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt
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Napoleon

Cat of the Month ~ October 2013

Napoleon Cat
Napoleon
Photograph: Tica.org

The International Cat Association (TICA) classifies the Napoleon Cat as a domestic hybrid breed, “A breed developed from a deliberate cross between two existing domestic breeds, incorporating characteristics of both parental breeds into the new breed.”

The two breeds (or Groups) from which the Napoleon is derived are the Munchkin breed and the Persian breed type. Napoleons can be both long-haired or short-haired.

The breed was created by Joseph B. Smith, a Basset Hound breeder (a stubby breed of dog)and AKC judge, inspired by the Wall Street Journal’s front page feature of the Munchkin on June 12, 1995. In 1996, Joe (of the Blueline cattery) started breeding Persians with Munchkins. He wanted to create a breed that would have wide appeal, whether the cat had the signature short legs or the longer legs of the non-standard version.

Joe decided to call his breed the Napoleon after the short-statured Napoleon Bonaparte. The Persians used were the so-called doll faced Persians which had a longer nose than the modern Persian and a very open sweet expression. He chose the Persian breed group as an outcross to the Munchkin for reasons of both beauty and bone structure.

From the Munchkin group, the Napoleon has inherited its distinctively short legs. The short legs of the Munchkin occurred as a spontaneous mutation in the general cat population and have been in common existence for many years. The short legs do not hinder the cat in any way; they run, jump, and play just like any cat. From its Persian group (including Persians, Exotic Shorthairs and Himalayans) the Napoleon has inherited its lovely round face, eyes, and dense coat. Also from the Persian group, the Napoleon has also acquired its substantial boning. This boning is necessary to provide a good support system for its uniquely short legs. It must be emphasised however that the Napoleon is not merely a short-legged Persian nor a hairy Munchkin. It is a unique combination of these two groups, making it easily distinguishable from any other breed of cat.

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That Grumpy Cat

Grumpy Cat (aka. Tardar Sauce) was born on April 4, 2012 in Phoenix Arizona. She is a domestic shorthair breed of feline. According to her owner Tabatha Bundesen, her mother was a regular Domestic Shorthair Calico and her dad was a grey-striped housecat.

grumpy cat

Tardar Sauce aka. Grumpy Cat
Photograph: GrumpyCats.com

Tardar is undersized and has hind legs that “are a bit different”. She has endearing panda patches around her sky blue eyes, offset by a permanently down at the mouth expression on her jowls. It is said by Mrs Bundesen that this grumpy-looking face is due to feline dwarfism and an under bite. Undoubtedly these unique features have been the reason for Tardars popularity…

…and what a rise to fame it has been, Tardar has a bestselling book, several movies and has already made it on to the cover of The Wall Street Journal and the New York magazine. Grumpy Cat merchandising is big business …. Today the “Grumpy Cat Inc. Corporation of Ohio has an estimated value of well over a Million Dollars…

Tardar has a brother called Pokey who keeps her company around the house. Ironically, Tardar Sauce is calm and “actually really nice” whereas Pokey is the one with a grumpy personality.

Pokey “the grumpy one” with Grumpy Cat
Photograph: GrumpyCats.com

According to the Bundesens, Tardar Sauce is a normal cat “Ninety-nine percent of the time”… “Photo sessions are only once a week, and handling by strangers is limited”….” She’s very well taken care of, and we love her.”

Thats nice to know!

~~~~ a few facts about grumpy cat are listed below ~~~~

Grumpy Cat merchandising is now in full flow with: Movies, Calendars, T-Shirts, Plush and Fluffy toys, A coffee beverage ‘Grumppuccino’, Mugs, Mats, T-shirts, the endorsement of Friskies Cat food, 1.3 million Likes on facebook and Photo and Weather Apps for the iPhone…. Grumpy says … “all this success ain’t changed me at all… it’s others that treat me differently, thats all :(”

  • Grumpy Cat’s popularity originated from a picture posted to the social news website Reddit by Bundesen’s brother Bryan on September 22, 2012.
  • The Official Grumpy Cat” on Facebook has over 1.3 million Likes.
  • [May 30, 2013]
    Grumpy Cat was featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal.
  • [October 7, 2013]
    Grumpy Cat was featured on the cover of New York Magazine.
  • MSNBC named Grumpy Cat 2012’s most influential cat.
  • Grumpy Cat won first prize at the second annual Internet Cat Video Film Festival.
  • [July 23, 2013] The official Grumpy Cat book was published by Chronicle Books..and made 7th place on the New York Times Best Seller List
  • Grumpy Cat has appeared on Today, Good Morning America,CBS Evening News, Anderson Live,
    VH1’s Big Morning Buzz Live and The Soup.
  • Grumpy Cat appeared on the world famous “Garage Logic” radio broadcast the day of the MN State Fair live Internet Cat Film Festival.
  • Grumpy Cat promoted Grumpy Cat ~ A Grumpy Book at BookExpo America. She attended her book’s launch at Kitson and The Grove’s Barnes & Noble in Los Angeles.
  • [March 2013] Grumpy Cat attended SXSW Interactive, hosted at the Mashable House.Friskies paid travel expenses to Austin in order to film You-Tube show “Will Kitty Play With It?”
  • [April 18, 2013] Grumpy Cat appears in Lil Bub & Friendz, a documentary premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on and won the Tribeca Online Festival Best Feature Film.
  • [May 2013] Grumpy Cat is all set to be cast into a “Garfield-like feature film” adaptation. The prospective producer Todd Garner said “We think we can build a big family comedy around this character.
  • [August 2013] Grumpy Cat met Lil Bub at the second annual Internet Cat Video Film Festival at the Minnesota State Fair.
  • … to be continued …

    • Link to a news report about Tardar Sause

Information from Wikipedia, The Times(UK) and other sources

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Kohana Cat

Cat of the Month ~ September 2013


an adult kohana called maggot

Kohana Cat, so very rare.
Photograph: extracted from Youtube Channel video (by valmara1971). [The photo has been digitally enhanced.]

The history of the Kohana Cat is vague to say the least (or at least I’ve not found much information so far … ). Rumour has it that this intriguing creature is the result of a genetic mutation of cat breeds originating on the island of Hawaii. There are only somewhere in the region of 20 of these felines alive in the world today.

Kohana’s have absolutely no hair on their body apparently. Not having seen one in the flesh I’m just going to have to take that as true. This cat it seems has no hair follicles so hair cannot grow, and what is more this renders the skin texture somewhere between old human skin and damp rubber.

Other distinguishing features are quite a lively temperament, very large ears and long sinuous rat like tail. This cat is still a beauty in my book.
Note: the cat pictured (from a short video)is called maggot and apparently he has a brother called Beetlejuice, the story continues …

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Greek Stray Cats

It started with one…

Cat of the Month ~ August 2013

A beautiful Greek Stray
Photograph: Ed@moggyblog
How about a bite of your fish then mister?
Photograph: Ed@moggyblog

Then a friend arrived…

….cmon you can spare a bit for my pal surely?…
Photograph: Ed

…and soon the whole gang wanted fish supper…

Come and get it lads…free grub!
Photograph: Ed

Its holiday snap time again folks (yawn!)

but… these cats were the friendly bunch we found alongside Ios Port in Greece, right where the ferry from Santorini pulls in. We sat down to tuck into our greek salad and main courses and along strolls the gang leader, casual as you like (well we were on his patch afterall).

He took a few bites of the Feta cheese we threw and then turned his nose up… far too salty we thought (or pehaps he was just fed up of feta, being Greece n’ all). With food in offing (and the air) though another feline friend soon turns up and is also pleading his case. They were after something far more tasty though…and well, with such pretty faces how could we say no.

Word evidently had gotten around and soon the whole bloomin’ gang were lining up in front of us. Anyone but fervent cat lovers might have been tempted to say…”Run for it!”

Bye bye, cute kitty
Photograph: Ed

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Rusty-Spotted Cat

Cat of the Month ~ June 2013

The rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) is the smallest member of the wild cat family. It has been called ‘hummingbird of the cats’, due to its small size and sprightly actions. As far as wild cats go, the smallest rival (the Black-footed cat) measures in at 1.7cms larger than this tiny feline, which is just 48cms from snout to tail. Even the largest example of this small predator has weighed at no more than 1.6 kg (however these cats are extremely rare in the wild – they are seldom seen and it’s been reported that they have only been photographed 7 times in their natural habitat).

Hummingbird of Cats
Photograph: unknown

The rusty-spotted cat is nocturnal and partly arboreal (living as it does for much of its time in trees), spending the day sleeping in dense cover or sheltered places such as in hollow logs or undergrowth. It feeds mainly on rodents and birds, but may also stalk and catch lizards, insects and frogs. Frogs are a particular favourite food after heavy rainfall flushes them out into the open. These felines hunt primarily on the ground, making rapid, darting movements to catch their prey; they apparently venture into the trees primarily to escape larger predators rather than when foraging for food. As with other cats, they mark the boundaries of their territories by scent spraying (with urine).

After mating, the female rusty-spotted cat will prepare for birth by occupying a den in a secluded location. The kittens with grow during a 65-70 day gestation and when born (typically in April) the one or two kittens may weigh as little as 60 to 77 g (2.1 to 2.7 ounces), and are marked with rows of black spots. Such cats will reach a breeding age at around 68 weeks, by which time they will have developed the distinctive adult coat pattern of rusty blotches.

Rusty Spotted Cats are agile and fond of climbing
Photograph: unknown

It has been recorded that rusty-spotted cats have lived for twelve years in captivity, but their lifespan in the wild is unknown. They are known to be nocturnal in their habits (content to rest in shady bowers during the day) – but once again very little is known of their habits. One fact that is known for certain is that in the wild, they are frequently observed in trees. Experts on such matters have confirmed that they are indeed ‘above-average’ climbers.

The appearance of the rusty-spotted feline is sleek and lithe. It is (like many cats) highly focussed when stalking its prey.
The coat is a short, soft fawn-grey with a rufous tinge of varying intensity, patterned with lines of small rusty-brown spots which form solid stripes along the back of the head. The tail, which averages about 50% of head-body length, is faintly marked with dark rings [Pocock] The underside and insides of the limbs are grey to white with large dark spots. Dark streaks have also been observed below their eyes and across their jowls.

Rusty-spotted cats inhabit Southern India and Sri Lanka but they are limited in their habitat, preferring moist and dry deciduous forests (with dense vegetation and rocky outcrops) in Sri Lanka as well as scrub and grassland in India. They are often found around waterways and human settlements.

Portrait of a rusty-spotted cat
Photograph: Terry Whittaker

Today, the main threat to the rusty-spotted cat is that of habitat loss mainly due to deforestation, although trade in furs is an ever present risk in parts of its range. Other threats are the the further loss of habitat because of the spread of cultivation. They are also at risk of hybridisation with domestic cats across its range.

Rusty-spotted cats are listed as Data Deficient by the IUCN. The Indian population is on CITES: Appendix I and the Sri Lankan population is listed on CITES: Appendix II.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusty-spotted_cat

https://www.catsg.org/catsgportal/cat-website/catfolk/rubig01.htm [Pocock]