Cast a Spell on Me – Old Wives’ Tales: Fact or Fiction? (Part 2 of 2)
If you missed it: Cast a Spell on Me – Is the Cat a God or the Devil? (Part 1 of 2)
What exactly is an Old Wives’ Tale? And why do cats feature so prominently in them? These tales are fables and legends passed on through the generations in an effort to explain the inexplicable or predict fate. So many involve cats because, well, cats are the ultimate in inexplicable behavior and their general unwillingness to do humans’ bidding has resulted in the profoundly divided feelings so many people have for cats.
Old Wives’ Tales were rampant during the 1600s and on, and most were not in the cat’s favor, although the classic American warning to beware a black cat crossing your path was interpreted very differently over in Europe. There it was seen as a sign of good luck and potential financial windfall. Worry about black cats in the United States began during the Puritan times and derived from their association with witches and Satanism, and to this day, black cats frequently are the last to be adopted from shelters and rescue organizations. There is still a pervasive belief that cats, especially black cats, are a source of danger and corruption.
Here are a few classics from the Old Wives’ Tales hall of fame, some of which might actually hold a kernel of truth:
Cats can place curses on pregnant women
This originated from the idea that cats are connected to the devil, and that they have demonic powers that allow them to be very dangerous and evil—particularly to pregnant women and young children—but able to avoid harm themselves. The actual curse on pregnant women involved harm to the unborn baby. This could be through stillbirth, mental impairment or generalized birth defects resulting in life-long problems or even death. Obviously, a curse is a bit far-fetched. What is less of a stretch, though, is what happens to pregnant women infected with a cat parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, which has been implicated in causing a wide range of infant birth defects.
Cats can kill young children with a single scratch
Well, we know bacteria can kill anyone during the right circumstances. And in rural areas with poor nutrition and rudimentary medications, infected wounds from bacteria associated with cat bites and scratches can probably occasionally result in bad medical outcomes. We also know cat scratch disease, Bartonella hensalae, can cause significant medical problems, and it would not be unheard of for a young child with a compromised immune system to become sick or even die from that bacterial organism.
Cats suck the breath from babies
Tragedy is always difficult to bear, and it is human nature to try to find an explanation. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is both tragic and unpredictable, and the Old Wives’ Tale of cats sucking the breath from infants probably derives from this event. The danger to babies would come from an angry cat who was jealous of the newborn infant and upset about the loss of attention. These cats would seek the opportunity to smother infants in their cribs. Does this sound crazy? Well, as recently as 2000, an infant death was originally attributed to the cat lying in the crib with the dead baby. That cause of death was later documented as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, but the myth about cats sucking the breath from babies is still—to this day—pervasive. During the 1800s, women routinely testified at coroner’s inquests about their cats “sucking the wind” from infants and killing them by shoving their nose in the baby’s mouth while the baby was sleeping. In 1929, a Nebraska doctor said that he’d seen “the family pet in the very act of sucking a child’s breath, lying on the baby’s breast, a paw on either side of the babe’s mouth, the cat’s lips pressing those of the child and the infant’s face pale as that of a corpse, its lips with the blueness of death.” Pretty dramatic stuff! But cats as we know are attracted to warmth, and may cuddle with a child, who might lack the ability to turn its head away or push the cat off, and the rest…
So, our relationship with the number one pet in America is complicated. We have a much more matter of fact relationship with our dogs. There is nowhere near the number of dog superstitions or phobias, and the dog was neither worshipped as a god nor was it demonized as an emissary of Satan. Instead we find heroic dogs like Lassie and Rin Tin Tin. Not so with the cat. And because the relationship between cats and their humans has been so confusing, so unpredictable, it is easy to blame the mysterious and sinister cat for unexplained problems and maladies. Everyone likes to find a reason for tragedy and misfortune, and for much of the last several centuries, the cat was a believable culprit.
I am a Mighty Bug Hunter!
My name is Cleo. I live in Grand Rapids, MI. I live inside the house with 3 other cats. My mom is a vet. She doesn’t let me outside because she says there are too many risks in our area between traffic and getting into fights with other cats in our neighborhood. I know I would win those fights but she doesn’t trust me! So, instead I like to hunt in our house for bugs. We have air conditioning, but we still get some mosquitoes, moths, and other flying toys in the house periodically. Sometimes the mosquitoes bite me, but I don’t care. I keep hoping we get a bat in the house so I can catch a big flying toy- my mom says she sees that several times a year in her patients.
My favorites though are the bugs that crawl on the ground. Spiders, sow bugs, the occasional cricket and other creepy crawlies give me hours of entertainment. After I catch them and play with them for a while, I like to eat them. (I even caught a mouse last year and left the best part (the head) for my mom. She wasn’t too thrilled. Sometimes I get no appreciation for all my efforts. Sigh.
Most of the time my mom never even sees what I am hunting as I find the basement and other out of the way spots are the best places to find my prey. When she sees me playing with what I catch, my mom usually takes them away from me before I eat them. She says I can get parasites and other infections from them. I am not sure what parasites are, but mom says they can make me sick. Those parasites are why she keeps me on a monthly parasite medication year around, and keeps my vaccines up to date even though I don’t go outside. She says I can even get some parasites from walking through dirt or digging in potting soil and then washing my feet afterward. This is what she says I can get from:
- Mosquitoes- heartworms
- Fleas- tapeworms, Bartonella infection (cat scratch fever)
- Mice and other rodents such as voles, rats: tapeworms, roundworms, lung flukes, and toxoplasmosis
- Earthworms- roundworms
- Cockroaches- roundworms
- Snails and slugs- lungworms
- Crayfish- lung flukes
- Ticks- Bob cat fever (Cytauxzoon felis), Ehrlichia, Lyme disease
- Dirt and potting soil- roundworms, hookworms
- Outdoor water- Giardia
- Bats- rabies
I figure I am not going to worry about those things because my mom does the worrying for me and keeps me protected with the monthly parasite preventative and my yearly vaccines. Bugs of the world be very afraid- Cleo the bug hunter is on the prowl!
End of Life and Quality of Life
I would like to thank everyone for their kind wishes and moral support for Cosmo. If you would like to read more about him please click here for part one and here for part two.
He just turned 12 years old last week and has started acting very needy. He has been screaming for attention at all hours of the day. This is a little different than his normal behavior. I petted him under the chin and noticed that he had small bumps that were not there a week ago. His lymph node on the right shoulder is now enlarged.
I am planning on taking samples to prove that it is the return of the cancer. I feel certain that is.
I am now at the crossroads of how do I proceed. This is obviously a very aggressive cancer since it returned only 3 months after treatment.
Do I take him back for more surgery and treatment? That option does not make sense since he has been through so much by this time and it will last less time than the previous.
Do I treat him as “hospice”? I give him pain medication waiting until he stops eating and his quality of life is terrible.
I do not want him to reach the point of terrible quality of life. I will need to make my decision of the correct time. I have always told people that they will know the time. I wish not to be selfish and keep him alive for my sake or for that of others. This is a family decision.
He has been such a good friend and want to be respectful and say good bye before he is suffering.
Many thanks for everyone’s support and kindness.
My Cat Has a Murmur?
What this abnormal cardiac sound means for your cat
Your kitty appears perfectly healthy. You take it in for a routine physical exam and the veterinarian informs you that your precious family member has a murmur. How can this be? What does this mean? He runs around the house, eats like a horse and is borderline heavy on his weight. This is a perfectly healthy cat!
A heart murmur is an abnormal sound that occurs as blood moves through the heart and the valves. Your veterinarian detects it with a stethoscope during examination. Murmurs can be caused by congenital defects, acquired diseases such as hyperthyroidism, high blood pressure, anemia or primary heart muscle or valvular diseases.
Some murmurs occur due to stress or excitement and elevated heart rate. These murmurs are considered benign or innocent and do not cause problems with your kitty’s health.
Studies have shown that as many as 22% of “healthy” cats can have murmurs, unfortunately, the innocent murmurs cannot be differentiated from cats with actual heart disease. In addition, as many as 50% of cats with primary heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathy) that present to the veterinarian in heart failure will not have a murmur prior to presentation.
So, what should you do? Follow your veterinarian’s advice. If your kitty seems anxious at the clinic and the heart rate is elevated, your veterinarian may ask to just recheck your kitty on a different day or ask you to leave your kitty for the day so he/she can become acclimated to the hospital.
Your veterinarian may ask to run tests to rule out diseases outside the heart that can cause murmurs, such as checking blood pressure, a thyroid test or a CBC to screen for anemia. In some cases, a blood test called an NT-pro-BNP may be performed as well. This test looks for stretching or damage to the heart muscle.
If your cat has evidence of elevated or abnormal respiratory sounds, or if the NT-pro-BNP test is abnormal, your veterinarian may request to check thoracic (chest) x-rays or perform a cardiac ultrasound.
If blood testing is abnormal, treatment of the underlying disease can often times eliminate the murmur. If your cat is diagnosed with cardiomyopathy it may be mild and just require monitoring. If disease is more severe medication may be prescribed.
In some cases, no disease will be identified, but most importantly, by following your veterinarian’s advice, you will be armed with information regarding your kitty’s health that allows you to have peace of mind and be pro-active in his/her care for life.
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