A Most Holy Object

Posted on May 2, 2006 in Cats

As sincere devotees of the great cat goddess Bast, Boadicea and Fiona find it essential to perform certain rituals. After eating, sleeping, and staring out the windows, they practice the worship of the goddess through votive objects. First among these is Tiger Tail.

Tiger Tail (we don’t know what else to call it) looks like a striped yellow carrot with red foilage. It must be clasped between the forepaws and raked with the back claws. The worshipper might also champ at the red part. I do not know what this action represents. Perhaps they believe that they are communicating with the goddess by attacking a representation of her tail. Or maybe it is supposed to be the tail of Dog, who can be a fierce antagonist. It should be noted that among the Egyptians, cats were gods but dogs were just dogs. Anubis, I note, was a jackal not a dog.

The fetish disappears from time to time. Its worshippers may track through the house mournfully as they seek to locate it. They will lay on the floor, quite uninterested in Mouse, the trackball, and the other entertainments we provide them. Then — perhaps coinciding with some important feline holiday — Tiger Tail reappears to be clawed, bitten, and thrown in the air.

Trouble has descended on our household. Tiger Tail has become ragged, a thing unfit for propitiating the goddess. And what is more, we cannot find a replacement in any pet store. This, my cats agree, is a grave matter. They must have something to attack or else the goddess will not favor them.

We purchased Snake recently. Snake is about the breadth and length of Tiger Tail with a bell attached. Boadicea and Fiona have declared it fit for adoration but Virginia is dubious. It is mewed, she says, that Tiger Tail alone shall be venerated. So my search continues. Perhaps if she becomes disconsolate, we shall try Toucan or one of the other toys that came in the pack with Snake.