Cats do get a bad rap. Here, a famous English poet accuses them of being even more imperious than the most imperious of the Roman Emperors. And what can you say about a beast you bell to warn away the little birds and bunny pups on which it might pounce as prey?

Yet, cats have lots of fans. These days they now out-number dogs as America’s number one pet. That’s a statistic which probably has more to do with our lifestyles – more apartment and condo living. We also like to be free to travel, and, unlike needy dogs, cats can take pretty good care of themselves.

Cats have been very much in the news lately, even eliciting comment on the editorial page of The New York Times.

Using current advanced mitochondrial DNA technology, scientists have just recently traced the ancestry of the domestic cats living among us. It seems that they are all descended from the Near Eastern wildcat, or felis silvestris lybica.

Cats were probably first domesticated, not in Egypt as it was always presumed, but on Cyprus, around 10,000 years ago.
With this study, scientists also confirmed what they had long suspected: dogs and cats most likely chose to be domesticated, as a survival technique. Cats, however, never had to work as hard as dogs for our approval.

One place dogs come out on top is in the world of art and antiques. There are simply many more works of art and objects of art that feature dogs.

Cat lovers, however, can still put together quite a wonderful collection of beautiful and interesting things, especially vintage items from 1900 on, including prints, books, postcards, figurines, salt and pepper shakes, cartoon characters, cocktail items, cigar labels and trade cars, perfume bottles and other vanity items.
Of course, collectors should snap up anything pre-1900.

Appraisals: Pottery cat figure, 4-1/2", marked USA, probably Shawnee ($25): Beatrix Potter figure, #35, “Susan” the cat, Beswick, 1983 ($157); Lusterware child’s dish, “Made in Japan,” cat playing with ball, 1930s ($15); Kutani porcelain, “Maneki Neko,” lucky cat figure, 10-1/2" ($300); Perfume bottle, travel miniature, Max Factor “Hypnotique,” Sophisti-Cat figure ($145); Compact, gold colored base with ivory colored cat figure on top, Estee Lauder “Contented Cat,” 1982 ($225).

Also: Picture book, “Those Cats,” by Virginia Cunningham and Veronica Reed, 1947 ($25); “Puss-in-Boots” pop-up book, 1973 ($18); Rosenthal porcelain Art Deco sculpture, 1920s, pair of reclining cats, signed Willy Zuegel ($575)

Arthur Schwerdt, a certified appraiser, is the author of “The Antique Story Book: Finding the Real Value of Old Things,” and co-owner of The August Farmhouse Antiques on Route 9 in Swainton.