Extra ear pouch?
That extra cutaneous marginal pouch
on a cat’s ear is called “Henry’s Pocket”
and although it’s generally thought to have
no known use, some say it enhances high
frequency sound detection in order to more
successfully locate the cat’s primary prey,
mice and other rodents, which produce
ultrasound (high frequency sounds).
cemetery after an elaborate ceremony. More than 300,000 cat
mummies were found in one cemetery in Beni-Hassan, Egypt.
It is not entirely clear why from the year 1,400 onward, that
the relationship between cats and humans seemed to sour.
The Christian Church, both Catholic and Protestant, appears
to have played a major role in this. A superstition arose that
Satan often appeared on earth as a black cat. Cats were then
associated with witches, who were thought to be Satans’ earthly
agents, and subsequently both were persecuted. Lent meant
a season for the slaughter and sacrifice of cats. Hundreds of
thousands of cats were burned to death, with the Church not
only condoning the slaughter, but encouraging it.
As the cat population dwindled, the rat population grew,
culminating in the Black Death, bubonic plague, that was
carried by the black rat along the trade routes from China to
Europe. This fatal disease, transmitted to people via the rat
flea, quickly spread throughout Europe. The cat’s value was
rediscovered and its popularity returned.
The period of persecution for both witches and cats lasted
until the 18th century, when superstition gave way to reason,
and cats were among the beneficiaries. The cat’s popularity
in high society was echoed in more humble homes. They
began to appear in paintings of the French, German and
Dutch home interiors, closely involved in the family home
life. Legend says that Sir Isaac Newton designed the first cat
flap door, which enabled household cats to come and go as
they pleased.
The cat has shown itself to be a survivor through time.
Its predatory behaviour has been its saving grace. This
behaviour can be seen to this day, even though they have
been domesticated. I believe they are t HX\