“His day-dream was suddenly shattered into a thousand fragments like a lance against plate-armour. He saw the flash of a jewelled shoe-buckle as the toe of the royal shoe caught him in the ribs. He heard the royal voice raised in petulant indignation. He felt himself flying through the air and landing on the hard […]
The Paradise of Cats, written by Emile Zola, 1864
“Well! Amidst all these comforts, I had but one wish, but one dream, to slip out by the half-open window, and run away on to the tiles. Caresses appeared to me insipid, the softness of my bed disgusted me, I was so fat that I felt sick, and from morn till eve I experienced the […]
Mr. Cat, and The Black Velvet Bow
“If you ever meet Lillian Gish, and she is wearing a black velvet bow, ask her if Mr. Cat gave it to her.” Mr. Cat by George Freedley Mr. Cat came to live with George in 1943 as a four-month-old kitten from a New York City pet shop. This podcast cannot do justice to how […]
The First Ship’s Cat
There were many reasons to have cats on ships. Rodents were one reason, but did you know cats were believed to have magical powers able to protect a ship at sea. Legend and myth are filled with stories about ship cats, and every ship had a few. It is believed that during the 15th-18th centuries […]