Cats are famous for killing rats but why? The African folklore Why Cats Hate Rate explains the reason cats and rats have an unspoken oath of being sworn enemies.

African Tall Tale Folklore Why Cats Hate Rats

Ansa was King of Calabar for fifty years. He had a very faithful cat as a housekeeper, and a rat was his houseboy. The king was an obstinate, headstrong man, but was very fond of the cat, which had been in his store for many years.

The rat, which was very poor, fell in love with one of the king's servant girls, but was unable to give her any presents, as he had no money.

At last, he thought of the king's store, so in the nighttime, being quite small, he had little difficulty, having made a hole in the roof, in getting into the store. He then stole corn and pears, and presented them to his sweetheart.

At the end of the month, when the cat had to render her account of the things in the store to the king, it was found that a lot of corn and pears were missing.

The king was very angry at this, and asked the cat for an explanation. However, the cat could not account for the loss, until one of her friends told her that the rat had been stealing the corn and giving it to the girl.

When the cat told the king, he called the girl before him and punished her on the spot. The rat, he handed over to the cat to deal with, and dismissed them both from his service.

The cat was so angry at this that she killed and ate the rat, and ever since that time whenever a cat sees a rat she kills and eats it.

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Meet the Author.

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Being African in America I have grown up learning about different ethnic cultures. My mother is a historian of African culture and history and her influence expanded my activities to several best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, self-branded products, and a popular African culture and food blog.