Friday Cat Blogging

Martin and Audrey, June 2007.

And since I have an odd, unproductive interest in old books about cats, here’s an interesting piece of commentary from Helen M. Winslow’s Concerning Cats (1900):

Although cats have no place in the Bible, neither can their enemies who sing the praise of the dog, find much advantage there: for that most excellent animal is referred to in anything but a complimentary fashion — “For without are dogs and sorcerers.” The great prophet of Allah, however, knew a good cat when he saw it. “Muezza” even contributed her small share to the development of the Mahometan system: for did she not sit curled up in her master’s sleeve, and by her soft purring soothe and deepen his meditations? And did she not keep him dreaming so long that she finally became exhausted herself, and fell asleep in his flowing sleeve; whereupon did not Mahomet, rather than disturb her, and feeling that he must be about his Allah’s business, cut off his sleeve rather than disturb the much loved Muezza?

I had wondered why Friday Cat Blogging held such little apparent interest for high-traffic wingnut bloggers. Now I at least have a working hypothesis.