"Having kittens" what does the phrase mean?

Having kittens means becoming hysterical and panicky about something. Is the phrase, "having kittens" used in the United States? It is used in the UK but it is not commonly used as it is a bit old fashioned.

Two newborns - Photo by theogeo

It originates from medieval times in Britain. We are talking about the 5th - 15th century. Apparently if a pregnant women had pain in her abdomen it was thought that she had kittens inside her  - she was possessed. The word "having" in the context of a pregnant woman means giving birth to. So having kittens meant giving birth to kittens. And if a woman was suffering emotional distress (e.g. panicky etc.) she might miscarry during pregnancy.

That, apparently, is the rather tortuous connection between "having kittens" and showing panic and hysteria.

Examples of use:

Women nattering over garden fence: "You know Ethel...She had kittens when she lost her Charlie....!"

"A burglar broke in to my house and I heard him and I was having kittens. "

"On November the fifth two rockets zoomed over my house and I was having kittens."

"I was having kittens all the way through the television program. I was scared he'd screw up..." (mother watching son on television competing in X Factor!).

Vile Air Gun Attacks On Cats Must Stop

In the United Kingdom there is a body of idle, idiotic and nasty young men who get a kick out of shooting high powered air rifle pellets at domestic cats.

It almost seems like an epidemic. It is something that consistently crops up when you do a Google search for animal cruelty in the UK.

Cats are the most likely to be targeted by a youth who wants to shoot at something, anything, as long as it moves and can be killed.

It is the RSPCA who are on the front line in this war against the domestic cat. They say that in 2010 they dealt with 567 complaints relating to air gun incidents. In addition to cats, birds, dogs and wildlife generally are at the receiving end of attacks.

Crucially they say that they only get to deal with a small proportion of the total number of attacks. Many go unreported or the cat simply finds a quiet place to die. The owner has no idea what happened.

The director of the RSPCA Harmsworth Hospital says that the injuries suffered by cats today are much more severe than before. This is because the guns are more powerful. The pellet passes through the skin and smashes into bone breaking it. Internal organs are damaged. More cats are killed.

It seems that youths under the age of 18 are taking air guns belonging to parents. Owners of air guns are now liable to a fine if they don't take adequate steps to prevent this happening. I can see enforcement problems there!

Broken legs are commonplace and injuries suffered by domestic cats cause both cat and human caretaker huge distress.

It is a very distressing situation. The problem is that I can't see it getting better. There is high unemployment amongst young people (Nov 2011). There is a lost generation it is said of youths who have never worked and perhaps never will. What can they do to alleviate the boredom and anger? Get Dad's air rifle and take a few shots at the neighbor's cat, that's what.

Associated page: Cat Abuse and Pictures of Animal Abuse.

Caracal Pictures

Eight fine caracal pictures by very good amateur photographers who have kindly licensed their work for publication. The caracal is one of the larger medium sized wildcats.

This species is famous for its fabulous leap from the ground, its very long ear tufts - the longest and most pronounced of all cats, wild and domestic - and its ferocity!

It has been tamed in the past as has the cheetah; tamed for use in sport hunting. Hunting with cheetahs.

Caracal in Germany - Photo by Tambako the Jaguar	Caracal in the Serengeti - Photo by nickandmel2006
Caracal in the Serengeti - Photo by nickandmel2006	Cedar Grove Feline Conservatory, Kansas. Caracals use ears for communication - Photo by KCZooFan
Caracal at Cat Survival Trust, England - Photo by andrewhalliday	Caracals at Cat Survival Trust, England - Photo by andrewhalliday
Photo by KRO-Media	Copenhagen - Photo by thy

Where allowed under the creative commons license the image quality of some of these images has been refined and the image cropped. People are free to use these images in a commercial environment but please click on the link under the caracal picture to find out which license has been granted. You must comply with the license.

Leopard Cat Pictures

Eight fine leopard cat pictures. This cat is also called the Asian leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis). These are images that I have refined in Photoshop to improve the image quality. There has been no other form of image editing. The pictures are either published under a creative commons license (siwild - camera trap images, thanks) or I have assessed the picture as being in the public domain or publication is justified under fair use (1). Click on the images to see larger versions and on the link to go to the Picasaweb library. This cat is called the money cat by the Chinese because the spots look like coins.

Camera trap image. Very interesting image of fine quality. The habitat is clearly shown. The eyes reflect in the usual way the flash light from the camera. From Leopard Cat	Camera trap image. This leopard cat picture shows a skinny cat. This is a leopard cat in Thailand. From Leopard Cat
Another really nice camera trap image. This image shows the habitat very nicely. This is a leopard cat in Thailand. From Leopard Cat	From Leopard Cat
From Leopard Cat	Shows the coat well. From Leopard Cat
From Leopard Cat	From Leopard Cat

Note: (1) Fair use claimed on the basis that the pictures of the leopard cat published here will have no detrimental financial effect on the website from which they were sourced and they are published here for educational purposes. The images have been improved also.

Abyssinian Cat Pictures

Eleven Abyssinian cat pictures by the celebrated Helmi Flick, one of the world's best and one of the best known cat photographers.

The photographs on this page are protected by copyright ©. Violations of copyright are reported to Google.com (DMCA). Sorry but Helmi is a professional photographer.

Abyssinian cat "Hawkeye" ©Helmi Flick	Abyssinian cat Ady Uber ©Helmi Flick
Abyssinian cat "Diego" ©Helmi Flick	Abyssinian cat Josephina ©Helmi Flick
Abyssinian cat "Gryf" © Helmi Flick	Abyssinian cat "Muscle Girl" © Helmi Flick
Abyssinian cat "Siggy" © Helmi Flick	Abyssinian cat "Siggy" © Helmi Flick
Abyssinian cat "Natalie" © Helmi Flick	Abyssinian Cat photo ©Helmi Flick
Abyssinian Cat photo ©Helmi Flick	Champion Abyssinian cat 1907 photo public domain

I have added the last and 12th picture as a comparison. You can see a marked difference to the shape of the cat's shape. In the early 20th century the Abyssinian cat had a more cobby shape. Selective breeding created what breeders consider to be a more elegant looking cat - called "foreign" body shape.

The Abyssinian is a tabby cat with few markings (tail and forehead). There are some subtle color types. The ruddy color is the one we are familiar with. Blue (gray ) is also popular. Personally, I think that this cat should have one color.