With their purrs, their head butts, their slow blinks, most people with pets say their cats definitely love them. But do they really?
There’s been a lot of research on that very question. One recent study has proven that cats form emotional bonds with their owners just as dogs do. Most cats and kittens showed a ‘secure attachment’ with humans and were just as interested in their guardians as their surroundings.
But nothing proves that cats and humans love each other better than a story from real life. Like this one about a cat named Trixie, who lived back in the early 1600s:
The story begins in one of the spookiest buildings in England – the Tower of London. It was used as a prison for many centuries and there was a time when nothing was more terrifying than being sent to the Tower.
One Tower prisoner was Henry Wriothesley, busted for plotting against the Queen. He was a lord but that didn’t make life behind bars much easier. He was sick, lonely and down in the dumps. Imagine the look on Lord Henry’s face when his favorite cat Trixie appeared out of nowhere!
How did Trixie manage to find her way to his cold, dark cell? Some say she crept over rooftops, scaled the Tower walls and climbed down through the unlit chimney. A more likely story is that Lord Henry’s wife smuggled the cat in during a visit. It may always be a mystery. What is known is that Trixie kept Lord Henry company during his long and dreary imprisonment.
Lord Henry’s love for Trixie was just as remarkable. Mind you, this was a time when few would dare to admit they even liked cats. Yet the nobleman was so devoted to his furry friend that he hired an artist to paint their portrait. The painting contained clever clues that suggested Lord Henry was a fan of the newly crowned monarch, James I. In 1603, he sent the painting to the king and to his amazement, it worked.
Was it the secret messages? Or did the king decide that any man with such a loyal pet couldn’t be all that bad? Either way, the king freed Lord Henry (and Trixie too) and they both went on to bigger and better things.
The bond between Trixie and Lord Henry was a truly special thing. Maybe you have a similar bond with your own furry friend? If you don’t have a cat, you can still spend time with them by volunteering at a shelter, pet-sitting or being a foster for felines awaiting a forever home.
Charles Dickins once said, “What greater gift than the love of a cat.” Now that you’ve read about Trixie and Henry, we’re sure you will agree!
This story was excerpted from Fearless Felines: 30 True Tales of Courageous Cats (Scholastic 2019), written by FixNation board member Kimberlie Hamilton. So far, this book has been translated into 16 languages, proving that cats truly are loved by people all around the world!
