The internet is now over run with cute pictures of animals and pets. None more than cats.
I even saw a bus advert for a rescue home recently saying, “Will your cat be the next internet sensation?” (Or something like that, I couldn’t find it online.) We have gone crazy for cute animal pictures. But it didn’t start with the dawn of FaceBook; the Ancient Egyptians worshipped cats four thousand years ago and pictures (hieroglyphs) are all over the ancient world. So why are we so obsessed? A picture of Grumpy Cat can be shared by millions of people in a single day. Some days the only news I read is the news feed on FaceBook and am shocked when I discover I have missed this year’s upcoming Nobel Prize Winner or that Flight MH370 is still missing. (Seriously, how?)
I grew up with lots of animals around me. In our modest home we had two cats, a dog, two rabbits, a gerbil and a hamster. My brother even owned stick insects until they escaped all over the house. We also had the fairground goldfish from time to time, but they never lasted long with two cats in the house.
While going through my old photographs for #ThrowbackThursday I found pictures of the three pets that were with us for most of my childhood. They have all passed away now, but I still remember them fondly. Brandy was a (very well fed) Springer-Spaniel, the ginger tom cat was Frosty and favoured my bed over every other and then the Queen of the tribe was Poppy. She was the oldest and lived the longest. She died just months after Frosty and we think it was from missing him so much.
These images show just how tight their friendship was. A little like Disney’s Homeward Bound – they were really great friends. I have two cats myself now and they bring me much joy, love and constant entertainment.
So why are we obsessed with these images of animals? I think it’s because it gives us a break from the mundane day to day and the horrors we constantly see and hear about on the news. For a few minutes a day we can laugh, ahhh and talk about something other than the usual grind. It’s something we human beings have been doing for thousands of years and I imagine will continue to do forever.
#TerryGee