Of all the pets, perhaps the most popular are cats. They are loved not only for their practical use in catching rodents, in our time this is almost irrelevant.
They know how to create an inexplicable positive attitude, the owners of these animals smile more often. In the character of cats, there are many primordially human traits: they love freedom, are very independent and smart. There are many cases when cats saved their owners from troubles and troubles.
Sculptures and monuments have been erected in many cities in gratitude for their love and devotion. Let's take a look at some of the descriptions. It is noteworthy that many sculptures of cats (photo later in the article) have real prototypes. But first things first.
Ancient images of cats
Our distant ancestors are notonly loved, but sometimes deified cats.
For example, in the culture of ancient Egypt, there are often images of everyday scenes in which cats are present. The Egyptians revered them, in Egyptian culture they are sacred animals. They were forbidden to be taken out of the country, and the death pen alty was expected for the murder of an animal. The cat was the main one in the house, if she died, her body was embalmed and buried with all honors, and the whole family was in mourning for a long time.
The goddess Bast was portrayed as a woman with a cat's head. She was considered the keeper of the hearth and love, the goddess of fertility, motherhood.
In the zoological garden of the Egyptian city of Memphis, a sculpture of an ancient Egyptian goddess is installed, at the feet of which several cats froze.
A small realistic sculpture of a cat was considered an amulet from all evil, protected and kept the house of the Egyptian. Animal figurines were in every home.
On travel forums, there are often messages about the sculpture of an Egyptian cat. Many are interested in whether it is possible to bring it as a souvenir from a trip. It is believed that such a cat brings good luck to the house. So, a figurine with a tail raised up means prosperity, optimism, a cat with kittens patronizes mothers and acts as a home amulet, and a figurine of several cats symbolizes mutual love and friendship.
Wayward Frenchwoman
In France, in the ancient city of Bordeaux, there is an interesting bas-relief, whose age historians estimate at least two thousand years old. It is carved with a girl holdingcat. The image looks quite dynamic, it seems that the animal does not feel quite comfortable and is trying with all its might to break free from the hands.
Colorful cats of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg is rightly called the "cat" capital. There are several dozen sculptures and monuments to cats.
The monument to the guinea cat, installed on Vasilevsky Island, is considered the very first of those discovered in Russia. This idea belongs to Academician A. D. Nozdrachev, who thus decided to express gratitude to the numerous laboratory animals who gave their lives for the benefit of science. The famous sculptor Anatoly Gordeevich Dema created a meter-long granite cat. Murka proudly sits on a stone pedestal in the courtyard of the university.
The city remembers and honors the memory of cats, which, during the difficult time of the siege of Leningrad during the Second World War, literally saved the remnants of food in warehouses from breeding rodents. In gratitude, the famous St. Petersburg sculptor Vladimir Petrovichev made two small realistic bronze sculptures.
"Settled" in the old city center and the cat Elisha with the cat Vasilisa. Elisha importantly settled down on a high ledge and examines the strolling passers-by from there. And on the building opposite, on the second floor, the graceful cat Vasilisa stared dreamily into the sky.
These sculptures of cats in St. Petersburg attract many. There is a funny belief that if you throw a coin to the eaves of Elishaor to the corner of Vasilisa's pedestal, then you can catch luck by the tail. There are many who want to check whether this is true or not.
Funny pet figurines
Sculptures and monuments to cats are not only serious. There are a lot of cute funny statues of these animals on the territory of our country.
At the entrance to the meat processing plant in the city of Anzhero-Sudzhensk (Kemerovo region) there is a statue of a funny talking cat. A realistic fat cat is sprawled on a stone stand, with an appetizing bunch of sausages in its teeth. Its author, sculptor Oleg Kislitsky, managed to accurately depict a cat that had eaten enough. If you touch one of the sausages, you will hear a funny phrase that "The best fish is sausage".
In the center of Yoshkar-Ola, on a bench opposite the building of the State University, there is a cheeky Yoshkin cat. A large bronze cat smirks slyly, and next to it lies the remains of a fish on a bronze newspaper. Local students come before the session to scratch his nose. It is believed that this guarantees a good mark in the exam.
Among the sculptures of cats, it is worth noting Alabrys the Cat in the center of Kazan. He is also called the Cat of Kazan. A rather well-fed kotofey imposingly settled down on an ottoman in the center of the gazebo, on the roof of which there is a small spire in the form of a mouse with a ball. The gazebo rests on four pillars, so the funny barbel lying on its back can be viewed from all sides.
Cat Alabrys is considered a collective image of all Kazan mice-cats. There isa historical legend that Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, admiring the hunting abilities of Kazan cats, ordered to bring several dozen furry predators to protect the Hermitage exhibits from rodents. And in our time, descendants of Kazan cats catch mice on the territory of the St. Petersburg museum.
A place where they whisper with cats
In Peterhof near the Red Lake there is a small well-groomed square. This place is loved by guests and residents of the city because multi-colored granite cats are installed on pedestals near the benches. There are three cat sculptures in total, they sit in different poses and differ in color.
People come to this square not only to relax and admire the sculptures. It is believed that these cats can grant wishes. You just need to whisper about the most intimate in the ear of the right figure. Each cat needs to be asked for different things. A white cat "helps" in family matters, a red cat adds courage and self-confidence, and a sculpture of a black cat is asked for protection from ill-wishers.
Day and night the scientist cat…
One of the popular sculptural compositions turned out to be a scientist cat with a book in one paw and chain links in the other.
Among the sculptures of cats in St. Petersburg, a colorful cat in glasses, reading a book in a cozy little garden, stands out. He sits under a large oak tree, from which hangs not a golden, of course, but a solid forged chain. On the page of the book that the wise beast reads, there is an inscription "Happiness is where you are!". There is a beliefthat if you wipe the cat's round glasses, the wish must come true. But there is one caveat: the desire should relate to the acquisition of knowledge.
Another Scientist Cat is freely located under a sprawling oak tree on the embankment of the city of Gelendzhik. He is dressed in the robes worn by scientists, and he holds an open book in his paw. It is always crowded here, tourists like to take pictures next to an educated cat.
There is a sculpture of a reading scientist cat in Orenburg. Moreover, he sits under the very oak under which, according to legend, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin rested in 1833.
Monuments of love and devotion
In the very center of Kyiv, opposite the Golden Gate, there is a bronze sculpture of the Persian cat Panteleimon. This monument had a real prototype. Everyone's favorite lived in a restaurant nearby - the Persian cat Panteleimon, surprisingly affectionate and hospitable. Many customers considered it a kind of hallmark of the restaurant. But the irreparable happened - during the fire, Panteleimon died, suffocating in the smoke.
In memory of their beloved comrade, the patrons of the restaurant ordered a bronze sculpture of Panteleimon and presented it to the owners. There are always a lot of tourists around the monument, it has become one of the attractions of the center of Kyiv.
The sculpture of a cat in the city of Ples depicts an ordinary pet, which looks thoughtfully from a pedestal at the water flowing by. The history of the creation of this monument is sad: the cat Mukha was the favorite of the family of a local artist, VitalyPanchenko. She died in a fight with a dog, protecting her offspring. In memory of the beloved, the artist created a concrete statue of the Fly, which now meets the fishermen coming with their catch. The cat sculpture in Plyos has become a symbol of people's boundless affection for their pets.
In Tyumen, where the locals treat animals very well, there is a real alley of Siberian cats. It has more than ten figures of cats and kittens in different poses. Some climb a pole, others sleep peacefully on a bench. All of them are painted with a special golden paint that shines brightly in the rays of the setting sun.
There is a sculpture of a cat in the city of Yaroslavl, which is impossible to pass by without stroking or scratching it behind the ear. A life-sized bronze cat seems to be walking along the street along the fence, looking askance at passers-by. Such a cute city landmark, although it does not carry any architectural value, is guaranteed to cheer you up.
Those who meet sailors
In 2012, an unusual monument appeared on the pier in Kronstadt: a friendly cat and dog meet returning sailors at the Winter pier. As conceived by the authors, the monument symbolizes maritime friendship.
The animal statues are carved from solid wood and painted with bronze paint. The hemp ropes used to make the animal coasters were dried for a year so that the material would not deteriorate from exposure to bad weather.
At the neck of a wooden sculpture of a cat is a medal with the inscription "I want everything at once", a dog toothey didn’t deprive her, she had a medal “For Loyal Service” carved on her chest. Passengers descending the ladder throw money into a piggy bank with the inscription "To feed the ship's Cat and Dog", and funny animals sitting nearby "watch" this process.
Not only in Russia
In the UK, in the small town of Criff, there is an old distillery. There lived a cat named Towser, who became famous for her ability to catch rodents, which were always in abundance in the barley barns of the enterprise.
The cat had a habit of bringing the tails of the mice it caught to people, so the workers were able to count the number of mice caught quite accurately. The Towser cat lived for more than twenty years and during that time caught 28,899 rodents. This figure was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. In addition, the grateful owners of the plant erected a monument to the cat. A life-sized cat sits on a stone plinth. The bronze plaque shows her record achievement.
And in Rome there is a street named after a cat - Via della Gatta. A marble statue of a cat lurks on the facade of one of the buildings. It was found during excavations of the ancient temple of Isis, and the city authorities decided to make it a local decoration. There is a popular legend among the locals about a treasure, the path to which is indicated by the mysterious look of an ancient statue.
In the capital of Australia, Sydney, there is a monument to the black-and-white ship's cat Trum, who was the first of his domestic relatives to land in Australia. They say that the spoiled shippet once jumped overboard a warship. To the surprise of the crew, he did not drown, but swam briskly to the shore. So he became the first Australian cat.
The monument to the Raval cat, which stalks along the streets of Barcelona on thick paws, is very popular with tourists. The author is the famous sculptor Fernando Botero. Today, this sculpture is considered the largest monument to a cat in the world - its length is 7 meters, and its weight exceeds two tons.
Book and movie characters
In Regensburg there is an amazing stone sculpture of a cat, which the residents of the city confidently consider a monument to the Cheshire Cat. Although it is still unclear what this sculpture really symbolizes, his toothy smile is very reminiscent of Lewis Carroll's character.
In Moscow, in one of the quiet courtyards of Maryina Grove, you can see a sculptural composition depicting the characters of Mikhail Bulgakov - Koroviev and the cat Behemoth. An inseparable couple, made of artificial marble, sits on a bench and slowly talks about something.
Recently, a monument to the cute character of the cartoon "Kitten from Lizyukov Street" was erected in Voronezh. The monument is located on this street. Now funny cat Vasily and a crow sitting on a tree delight the local kids.
Monuments to cat breeds
Inhabitants of some countries love and appreciate their cats so much that they erect monuments to their breeds. For example, in Turkey, on Lake Van, a composition dedicated to the unique cats of the Turkish Van breed was placed. These are beautiful fluffy cats with multi-colored eyes and unusual dots on their heads. In Turkey, a legend is told that the very first couple of such cats descended from Noah's Ark to earth. In gratitude for the fact that they were good at catching mice that bred on the ark, Allah touched the cat and crimson spots appeared on its fur. Residents of Turkey sincerely believe that cats of this breed bring good luck and happiness.
Appreciate the uniqueness of their cats and the people of Singapore. A bronze sculpture of a cat with two playing kittens lurks on the support of the Caven Bridge. It is noteworthy that real cats often bask in the sun next to the bronze seals. Residents of the city even leave bowls of food for homeless animals there. This sculptural composition is considered one of the mascots of Singapore.
Favorites in the interior
Sculptures and monuments to cats are certainly interesting, but often quite far away. You can create a positive mood in the house and decorate the interior by choosing a cute cat figurine.
Even in ancient times, people used a cat figurine as a talisman and kept such talismans at home in a place of honor. And today, a porcelain, metal or glass cat will decorate the house and give a little joy.
