De kat werd gevreesd, mishandeld, amper geduld, maar blijft baas. (Dutch, Middle (ca.1050-1350))

Before the household cat (Felis silvestris catus) attained its present status as the most frequently kept companion animal species, it was only allowed into our houses and buildings because its well-known ability to protect food stocks against rodents. An example is given of seventeenth-century cats on the payroll of a municipal pawn brokers building. An incident on a former cemetery in 1895 illustrates how cats at that time still could terrify people without being associated with sorcery, as often happened in previous times. In the next century, they were often cruelly treated by youngsters as well as by adults. During the twentieth-century wars, especially in 1917, cats served as food and were nicknamed roof rabbits. All examples and descriptions given in this article were collected in the city of Ghent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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