Tales of kitty galore: A new book explores cat lore from around the world
In some markets in Chile, a shop is incomplete without a cat; in Amsterdam, there’s a houseboat for only felines; even Agra has kitties revered as djinns.
Where humans go, cats follow — in their own way.
It has been this way for about 10,000 years, since humans first took to agriculture, and turned to felines for help keeping rodents out of their fields.
For American cat rescuer Hannah Shaw, 37, and her husband, animal photographer Andrew Marttila, 39, however, things have gone the other way around.
They just spent five years tracing tiny pug marks around the world, collecting lore and local histories; tracing superstitions, laws and community initiatives; and documenting cat monuments and contemporary cat culture, across 30 countries.
Their book, Cats of the World (Plume / Penguin Random House; October) is organised by country and city. It features a floating animal shelter in Amsterdam, tomb tabbies in Agra, and underground movements to feed strays in Dubai (where it is illegal to do so).
Following cats around wasn’t what they had in mind when they started out, says Shaw, laughing. In fact, they had intended to take a break from felines. Instead, everywhere they went, they made more four-pawed friends, and met their communities of carers.
It was brought home to them, over and over, Shaw says, that compassion is “a universal language”. “Kind people all around the world show compassion to animals, though it might look different depending on where they live.”
That has become the fundamental message of the book. “We hope the message shines through — not just in terms of relationships with cats, but as a reminder that goodness exists everywhere,” Shaw says.
Take a look at some of their favourite tales of kitty culture from the road.
Living like kings; Santiago, Chile
In the sprawling produce market of La Vega Central — one of the largest in South America — it is tradition for every shop to have a resident cat. The feline chooses the store, shopkeepers say.
It’s a tradition that began centuries ago. In a time before pesticides and modern medicine, customers were drawn to shops with a cat, because they believed this meant the store was more sanitary, with the feline likely driving away rodents and pests.
Even today, patrons leave “tips” in a jar meant for cat-related expenses (sterilisation, medical care, food and treats).
The felines are a pampered part of the ecosystem. Some shops bear signs that say: “Do not disturb. She is not here to amuse the customers. She is the boss”.
Sell the store, and the cat becomes part of the deal. That’s not tradition; that’s just cats. They won’t leave to follow the former owner.
“If the vendor moves or closes their business, the next owner of that stall will inherit the feline along with the location,” writes Shaw.
A Cat Boat and a Cat Cabinet; Amsterdam, Netherlands
It all started with a cat lady. Henriette van Weelde (1915-2005) ended up with so many cats in her home, in the 1960s, that even she realised she had to do something about it (and her husband was rather adamant on the point).
Casting about for a solution, she thought: If people can live in houseboats on canals, why not pets? So she bought a little boat, anchored it outside her home, and turned it into De Poezenboot (The Cat Boat). As the number of felines grew, and the number of visitors, a second vessel was added. The first one was eventually retired, and it is the second that now bobs in the Herengracht canal, outside what was once van Weelde’s home.
The Poezenboot is now also the base of a non-profit cat-rescue organisation, and has become quite a tourist hotspot, says Judith Gobets, who started out as a teen volunteer when the boats first opened, and is now manager of the Poezenboot.
Incidentally, Amsterdam is also home to a cat museum, the KattenKabinet.
It was founded in 1990 by lawyer Bob Meijer, in memory of his pet, John Pierpont Morgan (named after the American banker JP Morgan). All the art within is feline-themed.
Some of the exhibits are the personalised portraits, sculptures and faux dollar bills he commissioned for Morgan when he was alive, but alongside are works from an extensive art collection Meijer left behind, including paintings by Picasso, Rembrandt and Toulouse-Lautrec.
City of cats; Kotor, Montenegro
Cats are worshipped in Kotor.
It is believed that they saved lives by eating rats and mice, during the Black Death or bubonic plague pandemic of the 1300s. Centuries on, they are still revered as saviours here.
They wander freely, sitting in shopfronts (where businesses and buyers consider them lucky) and lounging in public spaces.
“In the US, we have a lot to learn from places that treat cats as part of the community, rather than only viewing them as indoor companions,” says Shaw. “We euthanise so many in shelters, if they can’t find an indoor home. Projects like these show there are other ways for cats to live happy, fulfilled lives.”
The tomb tabbies of Kandahari Begum; Agra, India
They turn their noses up at the Taj Mahal and keep moving. The group of tabbies heads, instead, to the tomb of Shah Jahan’s first wife, Kandahari Begum.
She died before Mumtaz Mahal, and was buried on the grounds of the Sandali Masjid in Agra, a two-minute walk away from what would eventually be the world’s most famous monument to love.
While dogs and monkeys haunt the grounds too, it is the felines that are fed and revered. Tabbies are believed to be a manifestation of djinns, the wish-yielding spirits of Islamic myth, with the ability to grant good luck.
It is even said that the group of tabbies found near the Afghan princess’s grave are the same ones that stalked the area when the 17th-century cat-loving queen was still living.
Marooned island cats; Lamu, Kenya
The cats of Lamu, Kenya, likely arrived here centuries ago, in the early decades of maritime trade, when this island held a bustling port. Cats were a regular part of ships’ crews at the time, brought on board to help keep food stores safe from pests. The cats that stepped off their vessels at Lamu, however, became genetically isolated, and have remained distinctly feral. Even today, they are leaner than the average house cat, with longer legs and tiny, bony heads. They fend largely for themselves too, Shaw says, hunting in tide pools by the sea.
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