You’ve cat to be kitten me right now!

Hello to all you

“cool cats and kittens!” 🐯

What is a ninja in a fur suit with knives hidden inside its gloves? Correct: A cat. 🐯 I have never been a cat person until 1.5 years ago, when we adopted Fifi, our wildly lazy tiger lady. And boom, I’ve become Carole Baskin (but without murdering the husband!). 😅  While many of you follow Fifi’s adventures on Instagram, and are generally familiar with the clowns that these creatures can be, there is much more to learn about those wonderful, mysterious, moody, and yet always purrrrrfect beings. 

Let’s start with the most obvious question: Why do cats act so weird?
Take 5 minutes and watch this very cute, animated TED-video in which Dr. Tony Buffington, a really entertaining cat vet, narrates the science behind some of the stranger behaviours of our feline friends:  

Why always so much cat-itude? 
It is no surprise that cats are used to human slaves. Fifi, for instance, trained Kabir, Bhujaun and me very well to respond quickly to all her demands (pet me, play with me, FEEEED me, let me out, let me in, open the door, close the window, carry me around, worship my looks, answer my meows, praise my presents (usually baby mice, rats or squirrels that are alive and as terrified as I am)). While madam sleeps in our bed literally ON my head at night, I learned to fall asleep with a tail brushing over my face when I move too much. Oh, forgive me, Queen Fifi, for that I’ve disturbed your precious dreams! 🙈 😁

Have cats forgotten the days when they were worshiped?*
The Ancient Egyptians believed that cats have divine powers. As a result, they worshipped multiple cat goddesses, such as Mafdet, Sekmet and Bastet. Bastet made it even to her own cult, in which her followers called her nothing less than the “Eye of Ra” (Ra is the Ancient Egyptian Sun God). The Egyptians trusted Basket to watch all earthly and spiritual realms (yes, excactly like the sphinx), so she would protect their land against evil invasions – just like a cat would guard a house against mice, snakes, scorpions and rats. It went so far that the penalty for killing a cat, even by accident, was death. When was this law abolished? 

Later in history, however, cat-fans became the minority for a while. Especially the Christians had a problem with those fur-midable beings, and tried to change hiss-story quickly by connecting cats to Satan, witches, evil, and any other negative thing that came to their mind. Luckily, those claw-ful lies did not stick around – and cats are as ‘en vogue’ as ever before. 

Is it true: Are cats interdimensional beings? 
The short answer is Yes. 👽 Due to the their believed ability to cross between all spiritual and physical worlds, cats have always been strongly associated with magic, mystery and healing.

Cats also stand for rebirth and resurrection (that’s the thing with the nine lives), and the exploration of the unconscious sides of life that usually lie hidden in the dark. In addition, the purring of a cat has a frequency that falls between 25 and 140 Hz – the same frequency that helps heal broken bones and wounds. No wonder that cat owners have 40% less risk of having a heart attack! 🤸‍♂️

Kedi – A wonderful documentary about seven cats in Istanbul. 

Did you know that around 1,50,000 cats roam around Turkey’s beloved city? 🐈🐈🐈 Me neither! Claiming no owners, the cats of Istanbul live between two worlds, neither wild nor tame, and this wonderfully shot documentary tells their story. Watch the trailer here:

So make yourself a cup of coffee, lean back, and watch the full documentary on YouTube Premium. It is heart-warming, beautifully shot, and - in times of being stuck at home - the purrrrfect way to start your weekend.

Enjoy the next two days, you lovelies! I will be back on Monday.💖

With love from Goa, 
Isabelle 🌿

*never.