The history of the origin of cats is associated with Ancient Egypt. It was the Egyptians who domesticated these animals back in the III millennium BC. Domestic cats in England appeared much later - in antiquity. It is believed that the history of cats in the UK began when the Romans brought them there. Findings of cat remains in the ruins of British homes are proof of this.
Cats in Great Britain immediately began to enjoy the great love of the inhabitants of foggy Albion, and this love for them did not die out until the Middle Ages. In those dark times, the poor animals were hunted down, they were associated with black magic and witches, who supposedly turned into them. Black cats suffered the most from prejudice, but animals of other colors also fell under the distribution. The unfortunate sufferers were rehabilitated only in the 18th century. Such was the controversial history of the appearance of cats in the British Isles.
The British immediately began to respect and honor their new pets. At the dawn of the history of cats, they were not given away for nothing, they were necessarily sold. In 948, a special law was even passed, according to which each newborn kitten was worth 1 penny. As soon as the kid caught his first mouse, and its cost immediately doubled.
These tailed creatures were highly valued by the British as excellent rat-catchers and defenders of the master's crops, they were literally worth their weight in gold. As in ancient Egypt, cats were protected by law in England. For the theft of one of these creatures, the criminal was expected to receive a substantial fine, and for murder - the death penalty.
As mentioned above, from the very moment when cats appeared in Albion, until the beginning of the Middle Ages, they were cared for and cherished, but the people's love for these creatures overnight turned into hatred mixed with fear. At that time of prejudice, executions, cruel torture, persecution and terrible epidemics that swept Europe, cats were identified with witches, they were invariably mentioned along with the phrase "black magic". In the paintings of the artists of that time, these unfortunate creatures were often depicted in the society of witches, dark magicians and other villains.
The turning point in the history of cats in Great Britain (as well as in the whole Old World) came in 1727, when it became known that the famous French cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis Richelieu abandoned the theory that cats with devilish intrigues and black magic, and even started several animals as pets. Also at this time, a treatise by François Augustin de Paradis de Moncrieff "The History of Cats" was published, which finally rehabilitated the tailed rat-catchers.
The 18th century in Great Britain was the beginning of painstaking work to restore the status of domestic cats and develop new breeds. And in 1870 the first cat show opened its doors, at which new colors and species of these animals were presented to the guests.
