My Pet Cat, Markiz

Cats...Where did they come from? It is believed that the first domestic cats appeared in Egypt. They are descended from the North African steppe cat. The cat was considered a holy animal among ancient Egyptian men. In Europe the cat appeared at the beginning of the last century. People kept a "hunter" at home to save them from mice and rats. Later, the decorative species of domestic cats appeared.

Cats are representatives of cat families. I can hardly believe that their relatives are lions, tigers, leopards and other wildcats. Victor Hugo, a famous French writer, said, "God created a cat, that a man could have a tiger, whom he could stroke."

I have got such a tiger at home. This is my cat, Markiz. How did he appear at my house? We brought him home when he was a little kitten. I was three at the time. It is thought that the presence of a cat in a house calms people. My parents got this kitten to calm me. Guess what color he is -- black! And without any white spots. Now my cat is 6 years old. He is very clever and sharp. But he was not always clever.

One morning my mother made the bed. She put the pillows and the blanket into the drawer. Soon, we heard Markiz's voice. We didn't know where it was coming from. We thought and thought and thought. Then we opened the drawer, and Markiz was there. How did he get there? It's a riddle. One day we came into the kitchen and heard a sad mewing. We looked for our cat. He was on top of the cupboard near the ceiling. He couldn't come down by himself. But how did he get there and what for? Markiz gave us a lot of trouble. We even wanted to take our cat to the village to our grandmother. But one day, I caught a cold and was in bed with a high temperature. I was feeling bad and delirious. My parents didn't know how to help me, but Markiz did. Later, Mother told me that when she came into my room, she saw Markiz on my bed, lying stretched out near me. His tail was in my hand. Soon, I got well. I think that Markiz sensed that I was ill and helped me.

Markiz is not a common domestic cat. He goes out for a walk. He knows his way home. My cat likes fish very much. He knows when my father comes from fishing and waits for him near our house. One day Markiz gave a fish to a little kitten and stayed hungry himself.

Markiz is very clever. He can do many tricks. I like to play with him. I love my cat very much. He understands me, calms me and I like it. Sometimes when he looks at me, I think that he wants to say something. If animals could speak! They would say a lot of interesting and useful things.

Any animal, which lives in our house, gives us its love and devotion. Markiz makes the world more beautiful and interesting.