"If Anything Makes a Home, It Is a Kitten" : On the Role of Cats in Establishing Domesticity in European Households
Abstract
The paper explores the role of domesticated cats in past societies and how they participated in creating people's notion and understanding of domesticity. The author observes the physical and symbolic presence of cats in European households, dating from the Middle Ages until early 20th century, and presents the interconnected - though not always unambiguous - relationship of cats and the ideas of a house, home and domesticity.
The paper analyses not only the ways in which cats participated in creating the idea of a home, but also the influence of the household on the perception of cats. The relationship of cats and homes is incorporated into a broader understanding of the materiality of human-cat coexistence in the past and the symbolic meaning of cats in human culture.