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From Bastet to the Cat Café

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From Bastet to the Cat Café UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL THE HEALING CAT: FROM BASTET TO THE CAT CAFÉ A MYTHANALYSIS OF THE SYMBOL OF THE CAT AND AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF TWO MONTREAL CAT CAFÉS MÉMOIRE DE MAÎTRISE PAR KATHERINE RADECKI DÉPARTEMENT DE SCIENCES DES RELIGIONS AVRIL2017 UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL Service des bibliothèques - Avertissement La diffusion de ce mémoire se fait dans le respect des droits de son auteur, qui a signé le formulaire Autorisation de reproduire et de diffuser un travail de recherche de cycles supérieurs (SDU-522 - Rév.03-2015). Cette autorisation stipule que «conformément à l'article 11 du Règlement no 8 des études de cycles supérieurs, [l'auteur] concède· à l'Université du Québec à Montréal une licence non exclusive d'utilisation et de publication de la totalité ou d'une partie importante de [son] travail de recherche pour des fins pédagogiques et non commerciales. Plus précisément, [l'auteur] autorise l'Université du Québec à Montréal à reproduire, diffuser, prêter, distribuer ou vendre des copies de [son] travail de recherche à des fins non commerciales sur quelque. support que ce soit, y compris l'Internet. Cette licence et cette autorisation n'entraînent pas une renonciation de [la] part [de l'auteur] à [ses] droits moraux ni à [ses] droits de propriété intellectuelle. Sauf entente contraire, [l'auteur] conserve la liberté de diffuser et de commercialiser ou non ce travail dont [il] possède un exemplaire.» ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This is a paper about cats, and I feel I must therefore dedicate it to all the cats in my life since I began exploring this topic. First and foremost, I must, of course, thank my two current companions, Thomasina and Malika, who helped me, more or less, preserve my sanity during the many, many, many hours of research and writing (when they weren't distracting me, that is). I also spent crucial one-on-one time with Neon, Maury, Simon, Phoenix, and of course with the residents of the cat cafés: \ Peace, Big Foot, King Kong, Séa, Sidibou, Sauvageon, Munchkin, Snow, Zoopa, Luna, Luzerne, Luciole, Gustave, Boris, Chopin, Milady, Sheldon, Pumpkin, Mousse, and the many kittens who spent only a short time at the Café Chat l 'Heureux. Thanks for the therapy guys, I couldn't have done it with you! I also wish to mention some very special humans, who were with me at the beginning of my Masters journey, but did not make it to the end: Patrick, Dave, Rachel, and Judith. I miss you all. The rest of you, you know who you are. Thanks for giving me your time, lending me your homes, and listening to my (often incoherent) ramblings!- And thank you especially to all those who reread and corrected my paper before the final submission. *** "There is one way in which cats differ from all other animals and that is in the effect they have on human beings" (Dale-Green xv) *** TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .... ·.................................................................. vi INTRODUCTION............................................................... 1 CHAPTERI RESEARCH TOPIC............................................................. 6 1.1 Context. ... .. .. ... .. ... .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. ... .. ... .. .. .. .. ... 6 1.2 Research Questions. ... .. 9 1.3 Methodology................................................................. .. -. 11 1.4 Sources and Key Concepts.................................................. 13 1.4.1 Mythanalysis.................... ........ ... .......................... 13 1.4.2 Cats on the Internet.......... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... 17 1.4.3 Ethnography of the Cat Cafés . 18 CHAPTERII HISTORY OF THE HUMAN/CAT RELATIONSHIP.................... 31 2.1 Mediterranean Region........................................................ 32 2.1.1 The Cat in Ancient Egypt.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 32 2.1.2 Ships' Cats ............................ ~............................... 39 2.1.3 The Catin the Greco-Roman Empires.......................... 41 2.1.4 The Cat in Germanie and Celtic Traditions..................... 49 2.1.5 The Middle Ages................................................... 52 2.2 Asia............................................................................. 63 2.2.1 The Cat in China. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 64 2.2.2 The Cat in J apan.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... 66 2.2.3 Cats in India. ... .. .. .. ..... ... ... ... .. ... .. ... .. ... .. .. .. 69 2.2.4 Other Asian Cats.................................................... 70 iv CHAPTERIII THE CONTEMPORARY CAT.................................................. 74 3. l The Cat' s Retum to F avour 'in the West.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 74 3.2 The Newly Elevated Status of the Cat.................................... 80 3.2.1 Beginnings of the Animal Rights Movement.............. ... 80 3.2.2 Expansion of the Pet Phenomenon.... ...... ................ .... 81 3.2.3 The Catin Popular Culture in the 19th and 20th Century.. .. 82 3.2.4 The Pet Cat Today.......................... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ...... 85 3.3 A New Medium: Cats and the Internet.. ................ ~.................. 86 3.3.1 Cat Memes.......................................................... 86 3.3.2 Cat Videos..................................................... ..... 88 3.3.3 Cat Celebrities.................................................... 90 3.4 The Cat Café Phenomenon.................................................. 91 CHAPTERIV ETHNOGRAPHY OF TWO MONTREAL CAT CAFES............... 95 4.1 Description of Fieldwork Undertaken.................................... 95 4.2 Description of the Cat Cafés................................................ 102 4.2.1 Café Chat !'Heureux.............................................. 102 4.2.2 Café des Chats..................................................... 104 4.2.3 Key Differences and Similarities Between the Cafés...... 106 4.3 Results.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..... ........ .. .. ... .. .. 110 4.3 .1 Are cat cafés therapeutic? .............. .... ................................ 110 4.3.2 Do the café cats serve as a social lubricant/catalyst?......... 115 4.3.3 What is the cat café setting like?....................................... 119 4.3.4 How are the cats described?............................................. 121 CHAPTER V CONCLUSION .............................................,..................... 126 APPENDIX A: RECRUITMENT POSTER .......................... ~...... 132 V APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE.......................................... 133 APPENDIX C: QUESTIONS FOR THE CAT CAFÉ OWNERS . .... .. 137 APPENDIX D: QUESTIONS FOR THE CAT CAFÉ STAFF............ 140 APPENDIX E: QUESTIONS FOR THE CAT CAFÉ PATRONS....... 142 APPENDIX F: PHOTOS OF THE CAT CAFÉS........................... 144 WORKS CITED ...... ~.......................................................... 147 BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................... .. .. 152 ABSTRACT In this paper, I address the cat' s present role and popularity through the example of two Montreal cat cafés, and the history leading up to its current status. I explore the similarities and differences that exist between the cat figures of the past and the contemporary cat café cats. This paper is thus divided into two distinct parts, which required two different types.of methodology. On the one band, I engaged in extensive documentary research in the hopes of presenting the basis for a mythanalysis of the cat; on the other band, I undertook fieldwork. In the first part of my paper, I thus outline the history of this animal' s symbolic representations from the early days of domestication to the present, focusing primarily on two themes: "healing" and "domesticity". As my central topic is the cat café, I concentrate on the Mediterranean region, birthplace of the domesticated cat, and Asia, origin of the cat café phenomenon. For the second part of my research, I undertook fieldwork in the first two permanent cat cafés to open in North America, the Café des Chats and the Café Chat l 'Heureux, both situated in Montreal. In the second part of this paper, I present an ethnography of these two sites. This ethnography contains the results of extensive observation at both cafés; many informal discussions with patrons, staff, and owners; a hundred anonymous questionnaires; and multiple in-depth interviews with several regular customers and the founders of the cafés. Coupled with my documentary research, my ethnography of these two sites seeks to define the essential features that characterise the contemporary phenomenon of the cat café. I notably draw parallels between these cafés and the historical perception of the cat previously explored, and find that the cat café cat is as linked to "healing" and "domesticity" as many of its real, and mythological, ancestors. Key words: cat _café, cat in mythology, mythanalysis, healing, domesticity RESUMÉ Dans ce travail, je m'intéresse au rôle et à la popularité contemporaine du chat, à travers, notamment, de l'exemple de deux cat cafés montréalais, et dans l'histoire qui précède son statut actuel. J'explore les ressemblances et les différences qui existent entre les figures félines du passé, et le chat du cat café moderne. Ce mémoire est ainsi divisé en deux parties distinctes, qui ont fait appel à deux types de méthodologie différents. Dans un premier temps, j'ai fait une recherche documentaire sur les différentes représentations du chat, pour pouvoir présenter les bases pour une mythanalyse de ce symbole. Dans
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