DENG XIAOPING’S CATS

By Dr.V.S.Gopalakrishnan Ph.D., IAS retd.

Most of us love cats and dogs although we may not keep them. When I shifted from a bungalow in Pune to a flat in Mumbai, I had to give away my dog. It’s simply more difficult to raise dogs in a flat than in a bungalow.

I have always wondered which one, the cat or the dog, was at a higher level of evolution. I have done a lot of internet browsing with no avail. I should think it is the dog. Basically it understands a human being very well, unlike another human being. Dogs love western classical music rather than grunge or heavy metal or pop music, as per experiments. They relax when they listen to the western classical. They get upset and agitated particularly with grunge and heavy metal. This is so much like a south Indian character like me. Give me just Beethoven’s pastoral or Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherazade!  

The domesticated cat has evolved from the African wild cats, as per studies. The domestication was a long process. The cats were lured by farmers to live in farms to catch the marauding rats, and then they became part of the home. The black cat brings bad omen as per our belief. But in the west, most believe it brings good luck. Black cats are said to be more healthy than the light ones due to melanin that reduces virus and other infections. They are better hunters too as less visible.

But why did I bring in Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997), the Chinese Communist leader who brought in sweeping reforms in China without holding the office of the head of State or head of Government? You might remember the famous statement he made, “It does not matter whether a cat is a black one or a white one, as long as it could catch mice.” I tried to find out how many cats he had in his simple household but my research drew a blank.

The real problem about China is not one of cat eating the mouse, but the man eating the cat. Cat is considered a great delicacy particularly in the southern parts of China. The international animal activists have made little difference to the ghastly age-old practice of the Chinese. You just have to go to the Xin Yuan market in Guangzhou, a big city and the capital of Guongdong province. Thousands of cats are kept in cages to be taken away to restaurants for an exotic and delicious meal. These lovely animals are kept unfed and hungry, cramped in cages almost in half dead condition. The meat of the starved animal is supposed to be tastier. The stomach, the intestines and the thigh are the parts sought to be eaten. Paul McCartney reportedly said, after watching gruesome footage of cats, that he would never perform in China.  

The same treatment goes for the dogs. The ‘Three Birds Market’ in the same city specializes in selling deliberately starved and half dead dogs for the restaurants. The dogs are repeatedly hit on the head to calm their barking. Their meat is said to be good for ‘positive energy’, the yang in the man.

So, where are the Deng Xiaoping’s cats ending up? After catching mice, finally on gourmet tables in restaurants.

v.s.gopalakrishnan