# Cats have been walking on your paper since at least the 15th century **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 19, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-have-been-walking-on-your-paper-since-at-least-the-15th-century/650842 "2013-02-19T23:32:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pdunderhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4bbf92/32.png) [@pdunderhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdunderhill)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-have-been-walking-on-your-paper-since-at-least-the-15th-century/650842/21 "2013-02-22T15:55:50Z")
My last Cat Basil managed to destroy my nice widescree ntv by knocking a vase of flowers, with water, down the back of the set. Reminds me of this site: [simonscat.com](http://simonscat.com) , any feliophiles will recognize the behaviour! Peter ---
**Author:** ![pdunderhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4bbf92/32.png) [@pdunderhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdunderhill)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-have-been-walking-on-your-paper-since-at-least-the-15th-century/650842/22 "2013-02-22T16:11:37Z")
Should have added check out the films tab at the top of the simons cat page, meow for now. P ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-have-been-walking-on-your-paper-since-at-least-the-15th-century/650842/23 "2013-02-26T07:21:55Z")
**ALL YOU BAD KITTIES!!!** :eek: ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/59ef9b/32.png) [@FlyingRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRat)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-have-been-walking-on-your-paper-since-at-least-the-15th-century/650842/24 "2013-02-26T15:07:33Z")
It gets better: manuscripts have been [peed on by cats](http://medievalfragments.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/paws-pee-and-mice-cats-among-medieval-manuscripts/) since the 15th century. > [@](#): > > A Deventer scribe, writing around 1420, found his manuscript ruined by a urine stain left there by a cat the night before. He was forced to leave the rest of the page empty, drew a picture of a cat and cursed the creature with the following words: > > _Hic non defectus est, sed cattus minxit desuper nocte quadam. Confundatur pessimus cattus qui minxit super librum istum in nocte Daventrie, et consimiliter omnes alii propter illum. Et cavendum valde ne permittantur libri aperti per noctem ubi cattie venire possunt._ > > “Here is nothing missing, but a cat urinated on this during a certain night. Cursed be the pesty cat that urinated over this book during the night in Deventer and because of it many others [other cats] too. And beware well not to leave open books at night where cats can come.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-have-been-walking-on-your-paper-since-at-least-the-15th-century/650842/25 "2013-02-26T15:28:28Z")
It was undoubtedly an editorial comment. Or maybe he neglected to scoop the litter box. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-have-been-walking-on-your-paper-since-at-least-the-15th-century/650842/26 "2013-02-26T19:34:37Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I’ve finally trained my cat to not walk on pkokasefp[ovpjcwm [ej f [Catlike typing detected](http://www.bitboost.com/pawsense/)! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-have-been-walking-on-your-paper-since-at-least-the-15th-century/650842/27 "2013-03-16T23:08:34Z")
More specifically, the linked article provides positive proof that cats have been walking **on. the. exact. damn. papers.** with which their human underlings are trying to work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-have-been-walking-on-your-paper-since-at-least-the-15th-century/650842.md?page=1)