A genetic predisposition is a genetic effect which influences the phenotype of an organism but which can be modified by the environmental conditions. Genetic testing is able to identify individuals who are genetically predisposed to certain health problems. I guess this might mean that I am a pet owner waiting to happen!
My family members seem to have a genetic predisposition to own cats. Tom has Butter, Dusty and Pepper. My younger brother Jerry has Sparky. My sister Christine has Pumpkin, shown here at Christmas.
The relationship between Felis Domesticus (the domestic cat) and the law extends thousands of years. In accordance with the ancient Egyptian laws of the 5th and 6th Dynasties, the cat, or “mau,” was regarded as a sacred animal (usually in the form of the cat goddess Bast or Bastet), and therefore protected from harm by humans. Capital punishment was the traditional sentence for anyone found guilty of killing a cat (Herodotus, Histories Book II). Even as recently as the 1st century B.C., the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus reported the killing of a Roman soldier who had been accused of causing the death of a cat.
[W]hoever kills a cat in Egypt is condemned to death, whether he committed this crime deliberately or not. The people gather and kill him. An unfortunate Roman, who had accidentally killed a cat, could not be saved, either by King Ptolemy of Egypt or by the fear which Rome inspired. [Diodorus Siculus, Library of History Bk. I, Ch. 83, §§ 8-9.]
The most recognizable cat case in modern American law is arguably Miles v. City Council of Augusta, Georgia, 551 F. Supp. 349 (S.D. Ga. 1982). Its more popular title, “The Blackie the Talking Cat Case,” featured prominently in Blackie The Talking Cat And Other Favorite Judicial Opinions (1996). The plaintiff alleged that the Augusta police insisted that in accordance with a local ordinance he be required to obtain a business license for his cat (“Blackie”) to perform on the streets of the city. The court observed “[T]hat a talking cat could generate interest and income is not surprising. Man's fascination with the domestic feline is perennial.” The court found judgment in favor of the defendant and declared the ordinance constitutionally valid.
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