Cats are good at hiding. This is probably why, in our human stories, we like to anthropomorphise cats and imagine they are in disguise. This probably accounts partly for why cats are the number one suspect when it comes to witches’ familiars. Humans have the ability to ‘know’ something is there, even if there is zero evidence, e.g. witches. We also have the ability to attribute intent where none is there; a bug in our comparatively advanced cognitive empathy.
Anton Seder Die Pflanze Naturalistischer Teil pl 138 (1886-87) catKagayama Hakuho, Byobu with Cat Lazing in a Summer garden,1920 – 1930A Cat Named Swan, Holly HobbieBernard KlibanBruno Liljefors (1860 – 1939)Various cats minding their own business in natureCarol Barker, 1964 catRonald Searle’s Cats, 1967 Cat of a thousand disguises concealing itself as a rugThe New Yorker Cover – January 15, 1979 – Ronald Searle, this time disguised as a cushion (sort of)Bernard Kliban (American, 1935-1990), Halloween Cats in masksBernard Kliban (American, 1935-1990) Halloween CatsSatoko WatanabeRemedios Varo – The Fern Cat (El Gato Helecho), 1957
Header image: Created with Midjourney using the prompt: cats in disguise, bauhaus style