Felis Catus Extraordinaire Trivia Quiz

Answer: Clavicle

The humerus, the upper bone of the forelimb, is attached to a cat's body via the scapula (also called the shoulder blade). A cat's clavicle, the bone which is called the collarbone in humans, is free-floating, and is not attached to the scapula, so it does not create the rigid shoulder structure we humans have. Since there are no shoulders as such, they do not impede the cat's progress once it has managed to work its head through an opening.

The cat also has extra vertebrae in the thoracic and lumbar parts of their spine, helping to give them extra flexibility as they wriggle through, but it is the clavicle which is essential to the process.

Answer: Catatonic

Catatonic, of course, has nothing to do with providing a tonic for a cat. It describes a condition of unresponsiveness, and often lengthy periods of physical immobility, sometimes in a rigid (rather than relaxed) posture. The 1990 film "Awakenings" involved patients who were suffering from catatonia. If read as three separate words, cat a tonic, it might be described in other words as medicine for a sick cat.

Answer: Tippi Hedren

A photo story in "Life" showed Neil, a male lion that Ms Hedren had raised from a cub, playing with the family and looking like a real pussycat. One shot showed Melanie Griffith on her bed, with Neil (so large that his head rested on a pillow, and his tail hung over the foot of the bed) under a blanket next to her; another showed Neil's paw resting playfully on Melanie's arm. Ms Hedren spent much of her life as an advocate for the conservation of wild cats, both through her Roar Foundation and the animal sanctuary Shambala she set up in California.

Answer: Frieda

These events were the focus of the cartoon strip for a few weeks in 1961, after which both Faron and Frieda pretty much disappeared. Charles Schultz has said that this was both because he didn't feel he drew cats well, and because the presence of a cat made Snoopy act too much like a real dog. Frieda had spent a lot of time trying (unsuccessfully) to get Snoopy to chase rabbits - after all, that is what beagles were originally bred for.

In her frustration, she decided to get a cat that would offer Snoopy some competition in the popularity stakes.

When Faron, a seemingly-boneless kitten, is produced, Snoopy is vastly relieved. He had anticipated something more along the lines of the never-seen Cat Next Door (named World War II in 1971), who periodically slashes holes in Snoopy's doghouse.

Answer: Bow tie

After all, cats don't really need much in the way of clothing - a large red-and-white striped hat and a red bow tie (as well as some gloves) were enough detail to indicate the anthropomorphic nature of the cat, who invited himself in to entertain Sally and her brother one rainy afternoon.

As an adult, I wonder why their mother left them all alone with only their pet fish to keep them company and protect them from harm, but as a child I had no such qualms, and just enjoyed the increasingly-zany antics of the Cat, and his offsiders, Thing One and Thing Two.

Answer: Japan

The name literally translates as Beckoning Cat, and that is what these little figures do. They come in all sizes, colors and materials, and are often seen at the entrance to shops. To my eyes, it looks as if that upraised paw is waving goodbye, but Japanese interpret it as being in the process of a downward swipe of welcome. There is widespread disagreement as to the significance of which paw is raised (or what each one represents if both are raised), but since it is generally agreed that the higher the paw the better the positive impact (whether in wealth, luck or health), modern figurines usually have the paw or paws raised up level with the ears of the cat, which is shown with its body upright, sitting on its hind legs. Since Chinese merchants in Western countries often display a Maneki-Neko, they are sometimes called Chinese cats, but their origin was Japan.

According to the story, a samurai's life was saved when he approached a cat that seemed to be beckoning at him, and as he did so the tree under which he had been standing was struck by lightning. In gratitude, he established a fund to care for the cat for the rest of its life, and create a statue in its likeness after its death. If you visit the Buddhist temple Gotokuji in Tokyo, where this is supposed to have happened, you will find over a thousand cat statues to commemorate the event.

Answer: Middle East

Over the years, there have been various more precise locations posited, but almost all of them are in the region covered by the term Middle East (which stretches from Egypt through the countries bordering the eastern end of the Mediterranean up to Turkey, and east to Iran, Iraq and Syria). For a long time it was believed that they were first domesticated in Egypt, because that is where we first found records of them as being in close interaction with humans - if you can call being venerated a close interaction! However, more recent archaeological discoveries have shown the presence of cats with humans on a number of Mediterranean islands that predate Egyptian findings. Careful genetic analysis shows that all modern domestic cats are descended from those domesticated by farmers in the Middle East around 9,000 years ago. (Some would argue that cats opportunistically trained humans to provide their needs, and that they domesticated us. Those people are usually dog owners.)

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

While he is better remembered as the President who steered his country through four years of civil war, during which time he issued the Emancipation Proclamation and delivered the Gettysburg Address, or as the first President to be assassinated while in office, cat lovers appreciate him as a fellow ailurophile.

The family's dog (imaginatively named Fido) had to be left behind when the family moved to the White House, but Lincoln did have a photograph taken, so they could have a memento of their pet. Shortly after they settled in, he was given two kittens by William Seward, the Secretary of State. Tabby and Dixie became immediate favourites, and there are stories of Lincoln hand feeding them from the table during official banquets, and comparing members of his cabinet unfavourably with his cats in terms of intelligence.

Answer: A piece of string

Cat's Cradle is a game that involves using a loop of string placed on your hands in a specified manner, then manipulating it into other complex shapes. It is usually played by two people, who take turns lifting the work off each other's hands as they make the next shape, but it can be turned into a circle game for more people.

The starting figure is called Cat's Cradle; subsequent shapes in the pattern include Soldier's Bed (or Diamonds, depending on whether you moved the string over or under as you manipulated it), Candles or Chopsticks or Tram Lines, and Manger, which is an inverted Cat's Cradle.

Answer: Bastet

Ptah was the husband of Bastet, and Konshu (a moon god) and Maahes (a lion-headed war god) were their children. Originally, Bastet was a lioness warrior goddess associated with the sun, but over time she evolved into having the head (or sometimes the entire body) of a cat instead of a lion.

The changing descriptions of gods and goddesses in this part of Africa, as those of various cultures move in and merge or establish themselves as distinct by changing some details of one or both, makes it difficult to be precise as to what role Bastet played in the Egyptian pantheon, as it changed over time. What is known for sure is that there was a temple to her, described by Herodotus, in which several hundred thousand mummified cats were found when it was excavated. Scholars think that the role of the cat in Egyptian society was similar to that of the cow in Hindu society.

Answer: Richard Parker

After being shipwrecked in the Pacific Ocean, Piscine Patel, known as Pi, finds himself sharing a lifeboat with a full-grown tiger that was being transported from his family's zoo in India to a new one in North America. Due to a clerical error in the records, the tiger is listed as Richard Parker, only one of the anomalous names we encounter in the book.

As Pi recounts it, immediately after the shipwreck, the tiger's presence is not obvious, and Pi thinks he is sharing the boat with a hyena, a zebra and an orangutan.

After the hyena kills the other animals, Richard Parker emerges and kills it. After further adventures, they are washed up on a beach in Mexico, where investigators try to determine what really happened, as Pi's story is quite fantastic.

The reader is left to consider the meaning of reality, and how it is composed of the stories we tell.

Answer: Breakfast at Tiffany's

The Patsy Awards are the animal-actor equivalent of the Oscars, Originally the name was an acronym for Picture Animal Top Star of the Year; later additional awards for television were added, and those are said to be for the Performing Animal Television Star of the Year. The first recipient was Francis the Talking Mule, in 1951.

In "Breakfast at Tiffany's", Holly starts to feed a stray cat, whom she calls Cat, and likens herself to him as a free spirit, not to be tied down and domesticated. At the end of the movie, both Holly and Cat realise that they are better off in a settled and loving relationship than gadding about town, as Holly and Paul (George Peppard) kiss while she holds the wet cat in her arms.

Answer: Henry Mancini

The theme was played for the opening credits, which featured a cartoon pink panther (not the subject of the film - that was actually a diamond) moving across the screen in time to the music and organising the credits. The tune was released as a single, which won three Grammy Awards after making it to the Top Ten on the U.S. "Billboard" adult contemporary chart in 1964. Versions of it have been included in most of the later movies in the Pink Panther series, as well as a range of spinoffs in other media.

Answer: Salvador Dali

As a dedicated Surrealist, it is only fitting that Dali would revel in the confusion caused by seeing a wild animal being treated as a pet. Ocelots are about the same size as a large domestic cat, but with a coat like that of a jaguar or clouded leopard. Dali is reported to have told a person who was alarmed to see Babou tied up at the next table in a restaurant that it was actually a cat painted to look fancy. Babou lived a life of luxury, including a luxury cruise on the SSS France, and visits to top-flight hotels. One has to wonder, however, if it ever missed the Colombian forests where it grew up.

Answer: False

In fact, cats are only mentioned once in the KJV Bible, and then only in the book of Baruch, which is included in a section called the Apocrypha (not part of the Old Testament because there is historical disagreement as to whether or not these books are canonical). There are lions, of course, but no domestic cats.

There is a document called the "Gospel of the Holy Twelve", which some believe to be the original document often referred to as the Q Source, a collection of the sayings of Jesus of Nazareth which scholars believe was used by Matthew and Luke in compiling their gospels. Others consider it to be totally fraudulent. In either case, cat-lovers will appreciate its inclusion of a number of stories in which Jesus shows compassion for cats. In one story (in Lection 24), he stops people from mistreating a cat; in another (in Lection 34), he finds a stray cat, and gives it to one of his followers to care for, after he has organised food and drink for it.

Answer: Catkins

The name pussy willow is actually applied to a number of species of willows, all of which produce catkins, which are spiky flower clusters. In the early spring, before the catkins are fully opened, the male catkins appear to be covered in smooth grey fur, and it is at this time that the trees are called pussy willows. Later on, when the flowers are fully opened and no longer furry, the trees are usually called by their more precise specific names. Because they are often one of the first signs of spring, pussy willows are associated with a number of spring celebrations, including Chinese New Year and (especially in parts of Europe where palms were traditionally difficult to obtain) as part of the Palm Sunday celebrations in Christian churches.

Answer: Detroit Tigers

Big cats are almost as popular as birds for the names of professional sports teams in North America. In the National Football League, you will find Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals; the National Basketball Association has the Charlotte Bobcats; the National Hockey League includes the Florida Panthers. Of the teams listed, only the Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team, and that is the sport in which you will find someone playing at right field. (I threw in the Geelong Cats, an Australian Rules Football team, for a bit of international flavour.)

Al Kaline played his entire career, from 1953 through 1974, with the Detroit Tigers, earning himself the nickname "Mr Tiger". He spent most of that time in the outfield, most often right field, but also spent some time in the later years at first base, and was a designated hitter in his last season. He retired shortly after compiling 3,000 career hits, and was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1980.

Answer: Lucky

The Tanner family find themselves sharing their house with an Alien Life Form (ALF) named Gordon Shumway, whose space ship had crash landed in their garage. They have to keep him concealed while he tries to complete the necessary repairs. Their cat Lucky is the one who suffers most - on Melmac, cats are considered a standard food, and ALF (who has a seemingly bottomless appetite) periodically tries to catch and eat the family pet.

When Lucky dies, however, ALF realises that he has come to respect his feisty foe, and makes no attempt to eat the remains. (Phew!) In fact, when he gets himself a new cat with the express intention of eating it, he discovers that he has become that dreaded phenomenon, a cat lover, and lets the family adopt the cat to replace Lucky.

Answer: Pokemon

Meowth first appeared in "Pokemon Red and Blue", designed to resemble the Japanese good luck charm Maneki-Neko. It has since been a part of other parts of the franchise, including having a major role in the anime. Meowth is clearly feline, but with the addition of a coin embedded in its forehead. It has a signature move called "Pay Day" which allows it to collect coins.

Answer: Scotland

Between 1963 and 1987, a long-haired tortoiseshell cat named Towser was in charge of vermin extermination at Glenturret Distillery (home of The Famous Grouse single malt whisky) in Perthshire, near the banks of the Turret River. The "Guinness Book of Records" acknowledged her as the World Mousing Champion, with a tally of 28,999 mice.

At least, that's the assessors' estimate based on multiple days of observing how many she brought to display in the mornings, an average of three a day - she may have kept a few aside for herself.