b> "In Spain, the people enjoy fighting bulls, in England, horse racing is the favorite pastime - a custom that has become fashionable in other countries as well - and in Belgium, cat races are held during a fair" - reported in 1883 the biweekly " New Cha
January night - the middle of the 19th century carnival in the Belgian city of Liege. At midnight, some of the townspeople are partying, others are trying to sleep, but when you look at the outskirts of the city, you notice a group of gentlemen with cats in baskets.
Each animal has a bib number on its back, and everyone is also irritated by an unexpected journey. - Why the hell are we locked up behind bars and taken to the outskirts of the city? - he might ask one with the other.
Meanwhile, it was part of the annual tradition - the cat race. In 1860, British author Harrison Weir wrote in the book "Our Cats" that the competition was: a sport that enjoyed great popularity among the public .
As befits progressive Belgians, sport was egalitarian. Women could also field competitors. And females - race with males. On the right side of the picture you can also see the prizes intended for the winners (New Time 1883).
The one who first got home won. The owner of the winning animal could count on a set of prizes, consisting of hams, sausages, cigars, pots, in some years even a silver spoon was given. At midnight the cats were released and the race was about to start…
Most pets didn't care about coming home. As "Nowy Czas" wrote, cats, irritated by a long cart ride, attack the racing commissioners, scratching their faces and hands mercilessly .
Cat Race, Shot One! Brave riders do their best to overtake others in the race ... back home (19th century British engraving).
Others, offended, only went in a direction known to them. In 1860 the blind cat won the race. By the way, it's quite a sign of sadism on the part of the owner to release a blind animal on a winter night in the hope that it will get home on its own.
In the 19th century, cat racing became popular in other Belgian cities. In the next century, it was decided to organize them in the British Isles - specifically in 1936 in the city of Portisham. The English approached the matter very professionally. They prepared a special track, 202 meters long, and electric mice, which were to be a decoy for racing cats.
And this time something definitely went wrong ... instead of the race the cats attacked their own judges and herds! (New Time 1883).
The event, however, was not particularly popular. Probably the last competition of this type was organized in Kent in 1949.
Well - cat racing was a Belgian national sport, not a British national sport ...
Bibliography:
- Cat-Racing , pawsonline.info.
- "Nowy Czas" (Cieszyn), No. 26 of June 30, 1883.
- Weir Harrison, Our Cats And All About Them , London 1892.