Domestic cat care. Ludmila Antonova

INTRODUCTION
These charming animals are spread all over the world, about which so many legends, fairy tales and proverbs are composed. Many different signs are associated with the cat, which attribute to it the ability to bring good luck or misfortune, predict the weather and many decisive events in life, and also have a healing effect on certain diseases.

What is the reason for such popularity of cats and the atmosphere of mystery that surrounds them for a long time?

Once upon a time, people first paid attention to cats because they easily and quickly dealt with rodents that exterminated grain supplies. However, it was common for ancient people to deify that on which their lives depended to a large extent. Therefore, it is not surprising that many peoples began to equate the cat with a deity, or at least attributed supernatural, otherworldly abilities to it. This was partly facilitated by many character traits of cats, their behavior and even appearance. For example, magical properties were attributed to the eyes of a cat, and one of the minerals, which is still considered a strong amulet, was called the “cat's eye”.

The desire of some Catholic theologians to force peoples to forget their former beliefs and old gods, as well as the fight against witches, had a deplorable effect on the fate of the cat. However, centuries later, people again remembered the affectionate animal, which, better than any mousetrap, rids the owner's house of rodents. In addition to long-standing breeds, many new ones have been bred. True, due to the fixation of some quality (for example, an unusual color), the natural hunting qualities of animals sometimes decrease. The cat is increasingly becoming just a decorative animal, a little furry friend who often becomes very attached to his owner.

Cats are very clean animals, they have a good memory and ingenuity. However, teaching a cat something is possible only if the animal finds this skill useful for itself.

The character of each cat has a bright personality. Of course, many features are associated with the characteristics of the breed to which the animal belongs, and this must be taken into account when choosing a future pet. For example, if it is not possible to provide your cat with a vast territory for walks, if it is assumed that the animal will live in the confined space of a city apartment, you should not opt ​​for breeds such as the Abyssinian, Manx or British cats, which feel better in a small house with a garden. It is better to have a European Shorthair, Thai cat or Egyptian Mau.

It is also necessary to take into account how well the animal adapts to the characteristics of a particular climate. You should not keep a heat-loving cat in a poorly heated room located in an area with a harsh climate.

If there are other animals in the house, small children or elderly people, you should also take into account the behavior of a particular breed of cat in order to choose one that can easily get along with them.

This book tells how to care for a cat, what should be the nutrition of different age groups of animals, as well as information about the most common breeds of cats, methods for treating many diseases of these animals, and some other important information.

1 FROM THE HISTORY OF THE DOMESTIC CAT
The cat is one of the oldest animals domesticated by man at the dawn of civilization. A small fluffy animal has a common ancestor with such large predators from the cat family as a lion, which has long been called the king of animals in many legends and fairy tales, as well as a tiger, leopard, leopard, lynx, etc. But, despite the relationship with such formidable and dangerous animals, most domestic cats have an affectionate disposition, for which they are loved around the globe.

The history of the cat is full of secrets, as well as dizzying ups and downs. But, as you know, a cat can easily climb high up and then just as easily go down, or it can fall from a height without breaking. This property of feline nature is also demonstrated by the long history of the coexistence of a person and a mysterious animal, about which folk wisdom says that it walks by itself.

What the legends tell

No one knows exactly when and by whom the cat was first domesticated. This probably happened when people began to move from a nomadic lifestyle to a settled one. Hunting and gathering, which used to be a source of food for the tribal community, was replaced by agricultural labor. However, it is important not only to grow and harvest grain, it is necessary also save it so that in winter the family does not lack food. Meanwhile, rats and mice, whose concern was always the same - to save their lives, made devastating raids on the pantries of ancient farmers, and there was no escape from them. The traps and spells of the shamans did not save the harvest from being devoured by rodents.

And then people paid attention to small animals that scurried around their barns. They did not steal grain, although they also came for booty. Their victims were the same rats and mice that brought people so much loss and anxiety.

People did not drive away fluffy animals with small ears and a long tail, on the contrary, hoping that they would stay near their homes and exterminate rodents, they first began to feed and then tame them. The animals, in spite of the independent disposition that soon emerged, easily got used to people and willingly remained in their homes, after which the mice either left on their own or were destroyed by small hunters. This is how the cat was tamed.

In the temples of Egypt

Archaeologists have found many Egyptian images of a cat: bas-reliefs, figurines and even drawings in tombs. The Egyptian goddess of love and fertility Bast in the famous temple in the city of Bubastis was presented in the form of a woman with a cat's head. The goddess with green eyes of a cat was revered as the patroness of love comforts, magic and healing.

She also patronized the souls of the dead, as she symbolized two eternal principles - the Sun and the Moon, light and darkness, day and night, life and death.

Hundreds of cats lived in the temple of the goddess, who were given almost the same honors as the son of the gods - the pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt. Only the most noble people could keep these animals at home. If the cat died, the owner shaved off his eyebrows as a sign of mourning and did not leave his house for several days - they grieved for dead loved ones in the same way. Skillful embalmers turned the bodies of cats into mummies that have survived to this day.

But how did the cat, a cute and useful animal, become almost a deity among the wise Egyptians, who knew such secrets of the universe, which we can only guess from the hieroglyphic inscriptions and monumental structures left by them?

In 1500 BC. e. the gods were especially merciful to the people of Kemet - "Black Earth", as the Egyptians called their homeland. The life-giving Nile flooded at the appointed time and returned to its shores. The harvest was unprecedented even for the most fertile regions of the country. But the great pharaoh was worried that the grain in his barns was being eaten by hordes of mice and rats. The cats assigned to the royal granaries did not have time to catch the numerous rodents, and the pharaoh ordered his subjects to bring all their cats to his granaries.

However, the people were not very willing to fulfill the will of the son of the gods, and then the pharaoh, together with the priests, came up with a new trick: to declare the cat a sacred animal, through which the gods themselves convey their will to mortals. From now on, those who could not boast of their generosity did not have the right to keep a cat at home, but had only to honor it in the temple as a higher being. At all times, people easily created new gods for themselves, and the object of worship usually became what a person depended on in a given period.

From that moment on, the life of a cat in Egypt began to be valued much higher than that of a human. Anyone who accidentally stepped on the tail of a cat was subjected to severe and cruel punishment, and the death penalty was due for the murder of a sacred animal.

Idolatry cost the Egyptians dearly: in 595 BC. e. The king of the Persians, unable to break the resistance of the inhabitants of the border town of Pelusia, resorted to a trick: he ordered his soldiers to attach cats to their shields. The Egyptians, fearing to harm the divine animals, laid down their arms, and the city was taken.

Cats in the West and in the East

In ancient times, in the West, instead of cats, weasels lived in houses, which exterminated mice. The fact is that the Egyptian priests did not allow trading in sacred animals and taking them out of the pharaoh's possessions. However, the dexterous Phoenicians, who were famous not only as unsurpassed sailors, but also as inventors who influenced all further human history (for example, they invented money), managed to steal valuable animals, not embarrassed by the fact that, by the standards of the Egyptians, commit sacrilege.

As you know, cats are highly prolific, so