A note about cats
So, when I was a child, I had an advent calendar. On it, there was a nativity scene, with the infant christ surrounded by (in addition the the requisite Mary and Joseph, Kings, Shepherds, and oxen) a variety of different animals, whose presence suggested that the artist had not done a great deal of research. One that particularly irked me was a cat on the roof.
"There weren't cats in the ancient middle east" I said to myself, and probably to other people. What a ludicrous conceit - everyone knows that cats are cosy, friendly, warm creatures whose natural habitat is on the rug infront a blazing fire in a cottage in Dorset. Not the inhospitable streets of Palestine.
But the evidence indicates that I was wrong. I should have known - after all, we all know the high esteem in which ancient egyptians held cats, and they were just down the road. Turns out that cats love hanging around, minesweeping the scraps spilt from cart in the souk, and nuzzling bags of non-specific foodwaste.
None of them seem to have clearly present owners, and they all look emaciated. But not unhealthy, and generally quite clean. Some of them are even friendly. Apart from the one that had crapped in the wash basin in my (otherwise spotless, welcoming, cheap) hostel.
