Cats and Corn

Let us continue our history lesson of the cat, thanks to Gloria Stephens' Legacy of the Cat. The cat eventually became so valuable in England that in 939 A.D. a kitten was paid for even before it opened its eyes. Once the kitten was old enough to catch mice, the price doubled. Anyone found guilty of killing a cat had to pay its worth in corn, measured by holding the dead animal by the tip of its tail, so that the nose touched the ground. Grain was then poured over it until the whole body was completely covered.