FELINE LIFESTYLE

Cat-owners know that cats like domestic harmony and are very sensitive to upsets. A Belgian might exclaim that "the cat is in the clock" meaning that husband and wife are arguing (possibly like cat and dog) and the family cat has sought refuge. In Britain in the 18th Century it might be said that "none but cats may quarrel in my house" in order to stop an argument. What of unmarried cat-owners? Well, "When the cat of the house is black, of lovers a lass will have no lack" or so goes a 19th Century saying, reflecting the fact that black cats are considered lucky in the UK. Oddly enough, in the USA black cats are unlucky and it is white cats which are lucky; white cats have no special significance in the UK. Why should it be lucky if a black cat has crossed your path? It's because that black cat might be a witch in one of her disguises and she hasn't cast an evil spell upon.

Cats rarely do exactly what owners want, hence "like herding cats" refers to a job made difficult by everybody trying to go in different directions and originally applied to software engineers. Another feline saying from the world of work is attributable to "Dilbert" cartoonist Scott Adams - "about as pleasant as combing your hair with a feral cat" indicates a task which is very unpleasant indeed. "Turn cat in a pan" meaning to turn traitor does not refer to supposed feline fickleness, but is from the French "tourner cote en peine", from which we get turncoat.

Feline lifestyle provides more sayings. "A cat's lick" is a half-hearted wash, though cats wash most thoroughly and that quick lick simply attends to an irritating area of fur while "before the cat can lick its ear" refers to something impossible as the cat must wash its ear using a licked paw! An old Dutch superstition is "when the cat washes itself, then surely we'll have a guest". "Catnapping" refers to the cats ability to become fully alert from a daytime doze, or from a cat feigning sleep to deceive its prey into moving so that the cat can continue the chase.

A Dutch saying is "to stare the cat" which is better rendered in English as "stare out" or "stare down" the cat. It means "to be patient and persistent" and anyone who has ever tried to stare down a cat with its unwavering (though not unblinking) gaze will understand exactly what is required. Dutch correspondents tell me that "to stare the cat" sounds incomplete and was probably an abbreviated form of "De kat uit de boom kijken" translating as "Staring a cat down from a tree" which means to be very patient. A similar saying is never try to out-stubborn a cat.

"To be made a cat's paw of" (be used as a pawn) came from a fable where a monkey removes hot chestnuts from a fire using a cat's paw. Someone who lives "under the cats paw" or "under the cat's foot" is dominated by his wife. We also have "can't catch fish without getting your paws wet" meaning can't gain something without making an effort, while someone wanting to stir up trouble might "put the cat among the pigeons". Where there are velvet paws there are concealed claws and someone exclaiming "the cat has claws" is surprised when somebody stops "pussyfooting" around some matter. In England in the 1300s, a man might be said to "stroke a cat" if he approached a trouble or a serious problem quietly and gently - rather than have the problem suddenly scratch or bite him like an upset cat!

From the Netherlands comes more pussyfooting sayings: "He walks around it like a cat around hot porridge" suggesting someone who wants to do something but doesn't know how to handle it! "Looking the cat out of the three" means to just wait calmly and then act - very much like a cat considering whether to do something ... or not.

Cats hate to relinquish a favourite sunning place, even when it gets uncomfortably hot. A fidgety person is like "a cat on hot bricks" or "a cat on a hot tin roof". The phrase "cat on a hot tin roof" was popularised by the playwright Tennessee Williams. In Britain, tin roofs are less common and roofs tend to be made of slate or tile, hence "cat on hot bricks" is more common. Hot cats also give us "like a cat with its tail on fire" and "like a scalded cat" (or "like a scorched cat") which could relate to cats getting too close to the fire, or yet again to the Middle Ages when baskets of cats might be thrown onto fires, or cats might be daubed with pitch, set alight and let loose to run about in panic with their tails literally on fire (there is also "like a cat in a bonfire" meaning not knowing which way to turn). Another saying with a similar sentiment is "like a cat with the wind up its tail" which refers to the skittish behaviour of a cat on a windy day, cats generally dislike gusty weather, especially if the wind does literally catch them "up the tail".

Back to scorched cats there is "the scalded cat fears even cold water" and "a scorched cat fears even a cold stove" which means learning a lesson though not always applying the wisdom correctly and has become over-cautious as a result. In a similar vein regarding lessons learnt and caution, there is "an old cat sports not with her prey" suggesting that wisdom comes with age and experience.

"A cat may look at a king" dates back to the 16th century and indicates an impertinent remark by an inferior or upstart. In 1652, there was a political pamphlet published under this name. Cats are no respecters of status but they are good judges of character and they know who is most likely to be persu,aded, hence the 11th Century "a cat knows whose lips she licks". It's not just the cat who know how to cosy up to someone as a 17th Century saying suggests: "the more you rub a cat on the rump, the higher she raises up her tail". It probably refers to bribery and manipulation - or a spot of back-scratching as we still say today. But at the end of the day, the saying given to us by Kipling tells us that cats are independent: "the cat walks by himself" though second part of the saying is inaccurate because all places are not alike to a cat, since cats always try to return to their home territory.

"Catting around" or "to cat around" means aimlessly seeking amusement, much like a cat seems to wander aimlessly round its territory. The cat is actually far from aimless, it is following cues that we can't see. However, the expression "tomcatting around" is associated with a racy 1700s book called "The Life and Adventures of a Cat". The hero was a cat and the author's name was Tom. Until then, the usual term for a male cat was "ram cat".