Are you an ailurophile?
Despite its lofty allusions to ancient Greece, the word ailurophile was coined in England in 1931. Let’s take a quick look at ailurophilia…
It’s all Greek to me
The word ailurophile combines the following two Greek words…
- Ailouros, meaning cat
- Phile, meaning one who loves
An ailurophile is literally one who loves cats. To put it another way, ailurophile is a fancy word for cat person. Do you resemble that remark? We do, too. 😂
It probably was cupboard love
Cats are thought to have begun their journey towards domestication between 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.
There’s a strong possibility that cats attached themselves to human communities when our ancestors invented farming.
This won’t be much of a surprise to any cat owner!
What is the earliest known cat’s name?
The earliest known cat’s name is Nedjem. This name is an ancient Egyptian word that means “pleasant,” which suggests Nedjem was well-loved.
Nedjem lived in Egypt during the reign of Thutmose III, which ran from 1479 to 1425 BC, around 3,500 years ago!
Quirky cat facts for every ailurophile
Philofelist
Prior to 1931, a different word was used to describe one who loves cats: philofelist. That word was first coined in 1843.
Introverts
Cat people tend to be more introverted than their dog owners and prefer to spend time with their cats at home.
Facetious
The Collins English Dictionary describes the word ailurophile as a “facetious coinage.” Fancy!
The 10 most popular cat names
The ten most popular male and female cat names are listed below. Of course, it may pay to take these names with a grain of salt as they’re supplied by the noted canine enthusiasts at Rover.com 😅
Cats know their friend’s names
Researchers discovered that cats learn the names used by humans to refer to their fellow feline friends. An article in the scientific journal Nature says “Cats link a companion’s name and its corresponding face without explicit training.”
This fascinating paper is well worth a look. The study itself is interesting, of course, but our favorite part of the paper is this…
One cat completed only the first trial before escaping from the room and climbing out of reach.
Nature, 13 April 2022.
