I was discussing ferrets with people on a Usenet newsgroup,
when someone posted info from a book by Muriel Beadle: _The
Cat, History, Biology, and Behaviour_. It said that the ancient
Greeks did not keep cats, but kept ferrets instead, and that
the word _ailouros_ (in ailurophile: cat-lover, and ailurophobe:
cat-hater) originally meant "ferret", but was mistranslated or
something. The person who posted this was from New Zealand, so
I don't know where the book can commonly be found. Anyone have
any other info on this?
A cute side-note: The poster of this info is a cat owner, and
we had discussed how cat things get used for ferrets, making
ferrets "pseudo-cats" at times. Well, he suggested that this
means that cats are really honorary ferrets, rather than the
opposite! :) Note: I like other pets too, and have owned dogs,
cats, fish, newts, an anole lizard, and hamsters. But ferrets
have a special place in my heart.
Happy ferreting!
Denise, plus Rocko and Randall, and Grumpy the hamster
/\\ ____ ,^-o, [log in to unmask]
``-,' `-';~~ "Ferrets are kittens with leather jackets
.',-'~`../' and no fear!" - John "Newdad" Reed
`~~ `~~
[Posted in FML issue 0997]
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