| OCR Text |
Show EGYPTIANS FOND OF CATS Animal Was Not Only a Domestic Pet, but Was Honored When It Died. The Egyptians are the first people among whom we find notices of the c:tt. It figures largely upon the monuments mon-uments as a domestic pet, nnd was honored when dead. Comical stories lire told by Herodotus of the anxiety to save the cats when a house caught fire, and the grief when one died. The cat seems to have served as a retriever i In fowling expeditions, and even In fishing. It seems strange that no mention men-tion of the cat occurs In the Bible or In any Assyrian record. Even In India it wns but recently known as a domestic animal.' Its Sanscrit nnme is umrjura. from a root meaning to clean, from the creature's habit of licking herself at her toilet. Her mousing mous-ing habits were well known to the Itonmns. and even to the Etruscans, as shown hy antique penis and even wall pnlntlngs. The mouse killer domesticated domesti-cated among the Greeks, called gale, described hy Aristotle and humorously humor-ously referred to hy Aristophanes in "Peace, " has been shown by l'rofessor liolli'ston to have been our whlte-bre.-isted marten. Besides the cat. the Egyptians domesticated the Ichneumon, Ichneu-mon, popularly known as Pharaoh's rat. which Is still to be seen In the aouatii at U'alrg. |
