The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The medieval Latin words I used as the title of this post were written down by a scribe in Cologne, Germany, around 1420 AD after a cat peed on a page. The full text warns others not to leave books open in places where cats can come:
Hic non defectus est, sed cattus minxit desuper nocte quadam. Confundatur pessimus cattus qui minxit super librum istum in nocte Daventrie, et consimiliter omnes alii propter illum. Et cavendum valde ne permittantur libri aperti per noctem ubi cattie venire possunt.
Google translates it differently but I prefer my version: Confound that pesty cat. And, I am sure, it’s a curse that is still heard often, except that what is left open may not be a hand-crafted tome but, perhaps, the ruined keyboard of a laptop computer.
Though I never actually had a laptop ruined, I did have my own adventures with cats doing what cats do, to things they were not supposed to touch. A cat, after all, is the only cat who knows how to cat.
Illustration is by ChatGPT, not the poor Deventer scribe.
Wow, I passed the story and the picture of manuscript to my wife – she said that probably cat had good intention – using its scent as a mouse-retardant. As obviously mice were much more horrible enemies of ancient manuscripts, especially those on vellum etc.
After our cats (mainly Rameses who is notorious for large but imprecise jumps and running on the walls) crashed several teapots and shugarpots we eventually bought a couple made of metal (surprisingly, both 100+ years old). Though cats proceeded damaging them by and by. There was also large flower thrown from the high shelf unto my wife and probably the most costly mischief was the fall of my corporate laptop (I didn’t like the model – screen replacement was about $300) which I left unattended too close to the edge of the table.
But well, perhaps cats know better what they do and we should keep calm (and keep cleaning shards, soil from the flowerpots and, well, stains, pools and heaps when they found an alternative toilet).
I see you and your wife have both been well trained by your feline masters. Just like us.