History

I recently switched to the Google Chrome browser and have been pretty pleased with it. I was even happier to discover a free new “plug-in” for Chrome that displays a different cat from the catabulous Metropolitan Art Museum’s art collection each time you open a new browser tab!

Designed by recent Cornell Tech alumna Emily McAllister during an internship at the Met’s Media Lab, Meow Met is super easy to install and features works of art spanning thousands of years and ranging from Ancient Egyptian jewelry and sculpture to contemporary American photography. I’ve been using the plug-in for over a week now, and while I’ve seen several items repeat themselves, the feature still shows me new art work every day.

The picture that appears when you open a new tab is often a cropped version of the artwork, focusing on the cat. If you click on the title of the artwork (in the upper left corner of the screen,) a new page will open that shows you the entire piece, along with information about the artist, medium, when it was created, and how the museum acquired it. Most of the works are listed as “not on view,” so by using Meow Met you can enjoy feline finery that’s not even on display at the museum! You can also share the cat art on various social media platforms, or download it for your own enjoyment. I’m certainly enjoying it myself, and it’s always fun to see what kitties are going to pop up next on my computer! Two paws up for Meow Met!

A paw print made by a cat in Roman times has been discovered on a 2,000 year old roof tile in Gloucester. It was dug up in Berkeley Street in 1969 but the footprint has only just been discovered. The print was found by an archaeologist at Gloucester City Museum who was examining thousands of fragments of Roman roof tile. The cat is thought to have snuck across the wet tiles which were drying in the sun in about AD 100. The tile, a type called tegula, was used on the roof of a building in what became the Berkeley Street area of modern Gloucester, a spokesman said. Councillor Lise Noakes, from Gloucester City Council, said it was a “fascinating discovery”. “Dog paw prints, people’s boot prints and even a piglet’s trotter print have all been found on tiles from Roman Gloucester, but cat prints are very rare,” she said.

via Cat paw print discovered on Gloucester Roman roof tile – BBC News.

I found this news both fascinating and delightful! We know, of course, that domestic cats have been around for many thousands of years. We have proof in ancient works of art, not to mention cases & cases full of mummified cats from Egypt. What makes this discovery so enchanting to ailurophiles, I think, is that it proves that cats were part of our daily lives, part of our community, part of our family. Much like the medieval manuscript that was discovered in 2011 to contain the inky evidence of a feline writer’s assistant, these are the footprints of a friend!