Okay, this might seem a bit obvious. Cats have chased mice from time immemorial, right? So it would follow that the phrase ‘cat and mouse’ was as old as, well, our humans (and everycat knows humans are, like, elebenty zillion years old and stuff).
Three cats, one mouse. Unfair odds?
But we found it interesting that its first known use only dates back to 1675, as an English-language idiom.
That form of the phrase can only be traced back that far in published literature, according to Merriam-Webster and Omnilexica.
What we found even more interesting is its definition. There’s its traditional meaning, of course:
‘the act of toying with or tormenting something before destroying it’ (Merriam-Webster)
‘to engage in a gamelike relationship in which evasion and pursuit are used: They played cat and mouse for a while before she consented to go out with him.’ (Dictionary Reference)
But then we found out that Cat and Mouse is a children’s game dating back to 1910-1915. And it may sound familiar!
The game begins with the group of children standing in a circle with hands on each others’ shoulders. Two are selected out – one as the cat, one as the mouse.
The mouse tells the cat, “you can’t catch me!” and the game is afoot. The mouse runs in and out of the circle and the cat must mimic it exactly or he loses.
If the cat manages to catch the mouse, he becomes the mouse and gets to choose a new cat.
A variant of this in Costa Rica has the circle as active participants, helping the mouse out by trying to block the cat by raising and lowering their joined arms.
Sounds a bit like an elaborate game of tag, doesn’t it?
Allie loves her mani/pedi ablutions. Faraday could care less. Maxwell is fascinated by running water, but only from an engineer's perspective: how does it come out of that spicket?
No, Allie is unique in our home. How about yours?
You may not ever come across you cat when she drinks. Experts speculate this is because cats are descended from desert dwellers who are typically fairly stealthy about water consumption - as a way to protect their water source from competitors.
But then there are always exceptions to the rule. Perhaps Allie is just a bit fastidious and wants those pink toenails to be clean at all times. Or maybe it's because she prefers fresh, running water. We did notice that she has done less of this once we introduced a water fountain into the home.
Did you know your cat's water consumption is an excellent way to gauge his or her wellness?
If you notice your cat has suddenly started to drink more, then it's time for a quick trip to the vet to get things checked out. Increased water consumption could be an indicator of diabetes or kidney disease.
In the case of diabetes, the excess glucose that is flushed from the body tends to take a lot of water with it, so the cat will be using the litterbox more often. To compensate for this, a cat will often develop a powerful thirst.
In the case of kidney disease, what's happening is that the kidneys are gradually losing their ability to concentrate the urine. So in this case, too, you'll find kitty using the litterbox a lot, and then hitting the water bowl to replenish.
Hydration is encouraged in all living beings, and it could just be that your cat is a "social drinker" and enjoys lapping the wet stuff in your company. But when in doubt, please have your vet check it out.
