In Egypt: Under no conditions, under threat of death could anyone kill a cat. People were exceuted for even killing a cat accidentally. And when a cat died, the whole family, and probably their closest friends, went into mourning, the measure of their personal loss signalled by their shaving off their eyebrows.
Roger CarasCats can be cooperative when something feels good, which, to a cat, is the way everything is supposed to feel as much of the time as possible.
Roger CarasAnyone who has owned many cats in long succession can define his or her life as a series of furry episodes.
Roger CarasIt's our mortality that terrifies us, because what we're really seeking is immortality - that is, after all, a fool's errand.
Roger CarasCats make one of the most satisfying sounds in the world: they purr. [...] Almost all cats make us feel good about ourselves because they let us know they feel good about us, about themselves, and about our relationship with them. A purring cat is a form of high praise, like a gold star on a test paper. It is a reinforcement of soemthing we would all like to believe about ourselves -- that we are nice.
Roger Caras