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  Cat

Main Entry: cat
Pronunciation: ('kat)
Function: noun
1a : a carnivorous mammal (Felis catus) long domesticated and kept as a pet or for catching rats and mice
2a : any of a family (Felidae) of mammals including the domestic cat, lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, panther, cougar, wildcat, lynx, and cheetah
1b -(domestic~): feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and being unable to roar; domestic cats;
2b -(big~): any of several large cats typically able to roar and living in the wild

   Rascal

Main Entry: Rascal
Pronunciation: (ras' k?l)
Function: noun
1 : One that is playfully mischievous.
2 : An unscrupulous, dishonest person; a scoundrel.
3 : An orange tabby cat so adventurous, an entire series of books have been written about him.

Cats are mysterious, majestic, and mischevious, often all at the same time. They say you are either a 'cat-person' or a 'dog-person', though some of us are both. On a personal level cats and dogs are equally attached to their human counterparts, but in the animal kingdom, cats are higher up on the ladder than we are. Or at least their ancestors were, but the modern domesticated feline (house-cat) likes to make you believe that this is still the way things are. Many people who have had cats will agree, that although a cat becomes part of the family, you never really "own" the cat - the cat OWNS YOU!

And to rub it in on occasion, they will do things like meow at the door until you let it out, and couple minutes later they meow to get back in. Once back in they will likely go see if the food situation has improved yet (some more moewing) then will investigate what it is that's diverting your attention from them. Usually any such distraction is an invitation to mischief. And before long you find yourself again playing doorman for the cat, which we will continue to do so long as the cat wants in or out.

A dog however will patiently await his restrained and controlled outing, happily obeying our guidance as if the dog without your help would get lost whenever he went out to relieve himself. A dog will also develop a kind of emotional dependence of you, and will be devistated if you abandon him, even if it's just to go to work. He will however, wait for you for as long as he thinks you will return and some dogs have even been documented finding their owners who had moved hundreds of miles away by following their acute sense of smell. A dogs' loyalty to their human companions is remarkable, hence the expression "man's best friend"

Cats on the other hand, are like gypsies. Free-spirited and vastly curious, unless they are domesticated early in life (and sometimes even despite having been), cats will always have the desire to take off, indubitably to go out and pursue their instinctual hunting impulses. Naturally, what once would have been livestock or any large animal unable to defend itself, has now dwindled to a mouse or a bug or a small bird. Still, each hunt must be rewarded with a gruesome trophy which will often be left in conspicuous places for you to admire upon discovery. But the modern cat has found that it needs only to bestow his charm upon us humans, and in turn, we will hunt and gather all the food for them. Cats are quite clever that way. Curiously, that rounds off the other three common cat traits: charming, clever, and curious.

Nonetheless, cats are some of the most magnificent creatures and make exceptional pets. They have so much unique personality, everyone who has ever owned a cat will have some funny or quirky story about their cat's character or disposition. Even if many are not as loyal as a dog, if you are lucky enough to have befriended a cat, you have made a friend for life, and the impression they make on your spirit will stay with you forever.

written by Ziggy

Rascal, the main character in the Why Some Cats Are Rascals books is a real cat and most of the other cats in the books are also real and live with the author, Boszenna Nowiki, in a large wooden home in Vancouver, B.C. They continually reaffirm the sentiment that a home without a cat is just a house.

If you are a cat lover, Boszenna would be happy to read your "cat stories". With your permission, the best stories could land in one of the future books of Rascal series. Please write your story to her. You will find the appropriate contact at the last page of the book, or use the contact links at the bottom of this page.

In addition to the idioms beginning with cat, also see alley cat; bell the cat; curiosity killed the cat; fat cat; grin like a Cheshire cat; let the cat out of the bag; like a cat on a hot brick; look like something the cat dragged in; look like the cat that ate the canary; more than one way to skin a cat; not enough room to swing a cat; play cat and mouse; rain cats and dogs.

Here are some interesting feline facts and myths: