Why do the Mongols dislike cats so much

To see a cat in a yurt by the Mongols is an incredible rarity and even strangeness. The fact is that traditionally the Mongols treat cats extremely negatively, up to hatred. These are disgusting creatures, according to the Mongols. There is even a Mongolian saying: "The dog wishes his master life and the cat wishes death." The Mongols also say that they do not like cats and fear them because they can strangle a small child or a sleeping man.

Ivan Efremov in the book “Wind Road” says: “We spent the night at the station in the ruins of Mogoyn-Khure and said goodbye to the snowy mountains (Tsastu-Bogdo) only the next morning. At the station owner I saw a skinny cat - an animal rarely found among the Mongols. When I asked why cats are not kept in Mongolia, the owner smiled and told the old belief about a dog and a cat, as if the dog came to see every morning whether her dear owner was alive and the cat looked in the morning to see if the owner had died. ancient belief and played a role in tsutstvii cats ... "

Why is this so?

Reasons to look in history. Modern Mongols are the heirs of nomads. Naturally, from time immemorial they interacted with dogs, which helped drive cattle and warned of danger. But the nomads never needed cats. In sedentary nationalities, cats played the role of defenders from the invasion of rodents and therefore were revered and wound up as pets. But the Mongols did not have warehouses for storing grain, and, accordingly, there was no need for cats. As a result, they could not fully feel the benefits of these fluffy lumps, which at first glance only sleep and eat all day. At the same time, nomads occasionally encountered wild representatives of the cat family (and about 25% of the entire population of snow leopards in the world still live in Mongolia), whose language cannot be called "fluffy lumps of happiness": leopards regularly stole cattle and prevent them from doing this no one could.

So, don’t give a kitten to a friend or girlfriend from Mongolia, they will not appreciate it ...