I was doing some reading on bottled water and cancer for Thursday’s op-ed column and the research brought me to the Snopes message boards. One of the members there uses the nickname Llewtrah lutra (the Known Minx) and the links to his/her site was right below his/her name. I clicked and I found a most amazing site on every imaginable topic about cats — poetry, legends, rescue stories, spooky tales…
I’ve only started reading but something from an ancient Chinese myth (I love mythology!) caught my attention. According to the myth, cats were the first chosen rulers of the world, not humans. But the sybaritic nature of cats got the better of them and they would rather loll the days away. So, the gods decided to let humans rule the world instead.
From that day on, mankind gained the power of speech while cats enjoyed the delights the world had to offer - sunshine, scents, textures and things to chase or play with. But the gods never forgot that the cat was their first chosen one to run the world and made them timekeepers so that humans could always tell the time of day by looking into a cat’s eyes. In the morning their eyes are pools of blackness rimmed with gold; at noon they are mere black slits on disks of gold while in the evening they open out into pools of blackness once more.
Not only that, the purring of the cat is the sound of the machinery moving the world around the heavens and should the cats cease to purr, the world would stand still in the sky and the seasons, and all of time, would come to an end. So while mankind has the day-to-day running of the world, the cat still remains its timekeeper and guardian which is why cats always look so inscrutable and so smug.
Of course, it’s myth and myth is not fact. But, I am so intrigued about the reference to the changing appearance of the cat’s eyes that I resolved to observe the kittens’ eyes tomorrow. 
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Patty 05.30.07 at 7:25 pm
“…which is why cats always look so inscrutable and so smug.”
hahaha i love it!!
Connie 05.31.07 at 1:25 am
Nicholas Lobie 07.09.07 at 1:19 pm
Indeed! My cats seem to know the time, as well.
For, at 4;45am each and every day, Isis and Lacy are meowing, licking, and all but forcing my arm up to pet and scratch their backs! Ah, but I wouldn’t change it for all the gold of the world, as they are not only a sure way to brighten my day…They are also my daughter’s pride and joy!
Paulina Jenkins 09.02.07 at 8:42 pm
Would you like to like to have an Egyptian Mau cat for a pet? Do you know much about this spotted cat breed? http://www.kittycatjoy.com has helpful information on this and other breeds. Learn all that at http://www.kittycatjoy.com