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In faraway Wales

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We are fortunate to possess copies of laws mandated in the tenth century by Howel the Good, the ruler of Wales. Howel’s law code stated that a newborn kitten was worth one penny, and an adult cat (able to kill mice) was worth four pennies. If a cat was killed, the owner was recompensed four pennies. Just to let you know the relative value: a mature sheep or goat was also worth four pennies, while a goose or hen was worth only one penny. If a couple divorced and had only one cat between them, the husband got the cat, but if they had two cats, the wife got one, too.

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Cats versus ferrets

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rodents and rabbits by burrowing into their prey’s hiding places. People in the ancient world often used them as rodent exterminators, but ferrets lost favor as cats became more popular—and for the obvious reason that people have never completely trusted ferrets. Families, especially those with small children, feared that ferrets would turn vicious and bite someone (which happened at times, and still does now). Ferrets are still around, but it was inevitable that they would be eclipsed by cats.

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Cat in the afterlife

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It’s always touching to look at the grave of a child, and certainly this is true of a very ancient grave-stone found in France. Dating from around A.D. 100 (when France was the Roman province of Gaul), the gravestone has a statue of a young boy named Laetus holding a cat in his arms.

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The Roman goddess Liberty

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Americans were not the first people to have a Statue of Liberty. To the ancient Romans, Liberty was worshipped as a goddess. Appropriately, the goddess’s pet was the most freedom-loving animal, the cat. The goddess Liberty was often depicted holding a cup in one hand and a broken scepter in the other, with a cat lying at her feet.

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