August 31, 1867

Charles Baudelaire (April 9, 1821 to  August 31, 1867) found cats mysterieux, seraphique and etrange. in "Voix Etranges" he says, of the cat's voice, "In order to say the longest sentences,/ It does not need words.

Elsewhere he writes of cats
....
"He is the homely spirit of the spot;
As judge he sees us all, and doth inspire
All things that pass in his domain;
Perhaps he is a fay—perhaps a god."

Theophile Gautier in his biography, Charles Baudelaire: His Life (1912), does not fail to stress the cats in Baudelaire's life, and says "in these sweet animals there is a nocturnal side, mysterious and cabalistic, which was very attractive to the poet."

Well, Gautier would say that---he shared Baudelaire's passion for felines. And in fact, so did a lot of French in the 19th century. The situation was so flagrant that certain scientists have speculated that these artists were infected with toxoplasmosis.

This parasitic condition is a suspect since these parasites can engineer rat brains to override the natural rodent sense of self protection, and make them approach cats. The parasite needs the cat for part of its life cycle. Scientists say that 80% of the French now have toxoplasmosis.

I don't believe it either, I am merely sharing the research.