Witches
My cats are not witches
and snitches get stitches.
Not saying these statements are related.
Hard to believe that people really thought cats/women could be witches. Cats are the only animal I can think of that is presumed female by default. By convention, we English speakers are much more likely to use “he,” “him,” etc when talking about an animal of unspecified sex. However, cat food products boast the best nutrition etc. for “her” on the labels, as if your cat is most assuredly female. I wonder just when cats were started to be seen as so feminine in Western culture, and if it aligned with the inception of superstitions about cats being the devil, or at least devil-adjacent. If cats are feminine, a lot of their behavior is certainly not “appropriate” for a human woman living in the middle ages (or most ages). In comparison to man’s best friend, the unquestioning loyal dog, cats are aloof and independent. They can be loving but only on their own timetable. They can be cunning and distrustful. They don’t really need you. Perhaps it is not a stretch to think of the connection between a woman who seems suspicious because she is out of place in society (a witch!!!), and a cat who refuses to stay at your heel like a dog. To this day, a vague negativity lingers around the idea of “cat ladies”- introverted recluses like myself who prefer the company of cats. But now, because of the internet we can find each other without leaving our houses and pollute the web with trillions of pictures of our cats doing stupid and adorable things. Truly, it is a new Renaissance.