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loves: you win if you guessed "pets" and "museums". Also books, art history, travel, British punk, Korean kimchi, bindis, martinis, and other things TBD. I will always make it very clear if a post is sponsored in any way. Drop me a line at thepetmuseum AT gmail.com !

Saturday, January 30, 2010

pirate cat

image courtesy Becky via Brit
This is Sagwa, and he's dressed as a pirate for Halloween! Of course you know what that means: a post about pirates' cats. Alas, I'm two days into it and haven't found anything solid on the history of feline sea buccaneers.
I did find this from Weatherby Chesney's ripping yarn for boys, John Topp, Pirate (London: Methuen & Co., 1901):

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The scent of the cooking brought an addition to the party. A gaunt, long-legged, black cat put his nose round the door, and leered at Alec and me with such an evil expression that we involuntarily shrank back ; and I at least had uncomfortable recollections of the stories I had heard of witches and of the Evil Eye. A cat may be a mere cat and nothing more ; but the other sort are much the same to look at, and I had no particular fancy for being hurried away on a broomstick to attend a witches' Sabbath.

Willie noticed my consternation and broke out into a roar of laughter.

" Ha, ha! Master Topp; afraid of Nep I see. Come Nep, there's a compliment for you ! You've scared the young gentleman with yer pretty smile. No need to fear him, my lads ; if there ever was any witchery in him the salt water has washed it all out by now. Nep's been half over the world with me, and you might rub him in the dark for a week without gettin' a spark out of him."

That was all very well, but when Nep set up the brine-stiffened bristles on his tail, and arching his back spat and swore at me through his jagged teeth, all because I moved my twenty-pounder out of his reach, I thought it advisable to rap out a piece of Latin just by the way of precaution. Nep, however, was nothing more than he seemed, and in later days we became shipmates and firm friends, though it took some time before I became sufficiently accustomed to his eccentricities to be able to pass him without a shudder.

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6 comments:

Noll's Nip said...

Cool...and love the face on the pirate cat =^..^=

P.S. stop by Noll's Nip when you can. I am working on a post of awards and I am giving one of them to your wonderful blog.

DILLIGAF said...

Maximus Spittimus has asked me to advise you that he is already a pirate as he steals from the rich (other food bowls) and gives to the poor (his food bowl)....;-)


Four Dinners
Aide de Camp
http://maximusspittimus.blogspot.com

curator said...

Noll, I am so grateful!
Maximus Spittimus, I think I adore you.

Petterritory said...

Your cat is very endearing. Thanks for sharing this beautiful snap with me. Super Pet Supplies

brit said...

Yea! Sagwa! :]

Your post sent me hunting for pirate cats too but I didn't have any immediate luck either. I did, however, find this wiki site on ship cats that has some pretty awesome historical photos that I thought you might enjoy if you haven't bumped into them already: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship's_cat

Everycat said...

"brine-stiffened bristles" now that's what I call Pirate Cat Style!

Sagwa is so handsome, I believe the pink tongue sticking out is probably secret signal to other pirate cats.

W. Wuudler esq.