FIGHTING LIKE CAT AND MOG

Cats and dogs are renowned for their supposed enmity even today, although many households have cats and dogs living harmoniously together. The problem is that cats and dogs do not always understand each other's body language or behaviour. In addition, cats are seen as a woman's pet while dogs are a man's hunting companion. "To fight like cat and dog" alludes to the ongoing enmity between the two species, and by extension to men and women arguing. It probably derives from pitting cats against dogs for sport, something still done illegally as a way of readying dogs for dog-fights. A 19th Century saying is "the cat and dog may kiss, but none are better friends" and also means to fight like cat and dog, albeit in a roundabout, sarcastic way. "To lead a cat and dog life" means to be always snapping and quarrelling. Alternatively, "to live under the cat's foot" means to be hen-pecked or ruled by one's wife. A mouse under a cat's paw is at the cat's mercy.

In its long association with humans, cats have sadly borne the brunt of a number of cruel sports. The sport of tip-cat, where a cat was put in a tree or up a pole and marksmen tried to guess which way it would jump so that they could shoot it, gave us "see which way the cat jumps". Meanwhile, "hang me in a bottle like a cat" relates to suspending cats or kittens in a leather sack or earthenware pot and then beating it with a stick. Small animals are still tormented in this way at some Spanish fiestas, when the pot breaks the deafened and disoriented animals may be bashed and killed. Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765) mentions a variant of this barbaric pastime: "It is still a diversion in Scotland to hang up a cat in a small cask or firkin half filled with soot; and then a parcel of clowns on horseback try to beat out the ends of it, in order to show their dexterity in escaping before the contents fall upon them."

While on the subject of bloodsports, there is the provberbial "Kilkenny Cat" or "to fight like Kilkenny cats" ("There once were two cats from Kilkenny, Each thought there was one cat too many, They fought and they fit, And they scratched and they bit, Till excepting their nails, And the tips of their tails, Instead of two cats, There weren't any") which suggests a vicious fighter, or someone who fights like a cornered rat. During the rebellion of Ireland, Kilkenny was garrisoned by a troop of Hessian soldiers, who amused themselves in barracks by the cruel sport of tying two cats together by their tails and throwing them across a clothes-line to fight, betting on the outcome. The officers heard of the cruel practice and apparently resolved to put a stop to it, but he had to catch the soldiers in the act. As the officer approached, a vigilant soldier saw him and cut off the cats' tails with a sword. The cats escaped, leaving only their tails behind. When the officer asked what was the meaning of the two bleeding tails, he was told that two cats had been fighting and had devoured each other except for their the tails.

In Ireland the saying "fight like Kilkenny cats" is sometimes heard in place of "fight like cat and dog". An alternative to the Hessian soldier explanation is that it is rooted in the fighting between two Irish towns and describes a war of attrition where, despite bitter fighting, neither party gains from the conflict. During the 17^th Century, the municipalities of Kilkenny and Irishtown contested their boundaries and rights so hotly that that they mutually impoverished each other, leaving little else than "two tails" behind. Political cartoonists at the time may have depicted the opponents as a pair of cats. Today it is still used to describe a bitter, all-out conflict where no-one can win.

A catfight is a dirty fight with claws out, usually between women since women are more likely to scratch and kick while men are more likely to punch. As well as catfights, nasty women are said to be "catty" and unruly women are "hellcats" and while some women may be as a lithe or graceful as a cat, others resemble "something the cat brought in" - comparing them to the badly mauled, half-eaten offerings a hunting cat might leave on your doorstep. A Scandinavian comparison of women and cats runs "if the farm cat's skittish, the farmer's wife is shrewish" (Der katten er skvetten er det sinna kjerring) and no doubt the farmer himself is also somewhat skittish due to his wife's tongue and temper! However, cats (and humans) don't spend their whole time fighting and "No matter how much the cats fight there always seem to be plenty of kittens" (Abraham Lincoln).

Cats can be fierce, wildcats especially, hence the Clan MacDonald motto is "Touch not a cat without a glove" meaning not to pick a fight with a MacDonald as they have claws and know how to use them!. The crest of clan cattan (or chattan) is a "cat-a-mountain salient guardant proper", with "two cats proper" for supporters. The real meaning was to handle the clan respectfully; this usage of "but" means "without" i.e. "touch not a cat without gloves" or perhaps to handle with kid gloves. A cat-a-mountain was a wildcat and catamount is still an alternative term for a cougar."A baited cat grows fierce as a lion" and "play with cats and expect to be scratched" are both suggestive of someone who is playing with fire. Another allusion to feline ferocity and bravery gives the ancient saying: "One day as a tiger is worth a thousand years as a sheep" meaning it is better to distinguish oneself through a brave act (and risk death) than to live meekly and in obscurity you whole life.

A 15th Century saying exhorts one to "beware of cats that lick from the front and claw from behind" which suggests the possibility of double-crossing or back-stabbing or simply someone who is two-face. In another reference to hidden danger, the 18th Century gives us "cats hide their claws". A person, perhaps a bully or someone who has pushed another person to their limit, who is surprised when someone stands up to them, might exclaim "the cat's got claws!"