Slate, which ran its initial inquiry in 2005, was prompted to revisit the subject by the passage of the new Dudley, Massachusetts law that prohibits residents from owning more than three cats - which was prompted in turn by the out of control cat population of a resident C.L. Of course, one could argue that no self-respecting cat lady (or, for that matter, mere cat fancier) is going to heed any such injunction - either through obliviousness (the stereotypical cat lady isn't exactly glued to local news) or on animal-loving principle. So one wonders how effective such a law might prove.

Of course, as Slate's Daniel Engber points out, most of those whom we consider "cat ladies" are not mere animal-lovers, but those whose compulsion to collect and shelter has led to neglect, and often squalor - circumstances of which the perpetrators seen unaware. People toss the term around, but there's a difference between a woman with cats and someone who's a clinical animal hoarder.

Animal hoarding has also been viewed as an addiction, like compulsive gambling or alcoholism, or as a form of dementia. Though hoarders are usually quite old, many recall a history of neglect or abuse by their parents. Obsessive-compulsive disorder provides another psychiatric model; about a quarter of OCD patients exhibit object-hoarding behavior. No one knows why women are more susceptible than men. One member of the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium points out that women are also more likely to become veterinarians and less likely to perform acts of animal cruelty.

As the sympathetic new documentary Cat Ladies explains the phenomenon,"It's not the number of cats that defines someone as a 'cat lady', but rather their attachment, or non-attachment, to human beings. They create a world with their cats in which they are accepted and in control - a world where they ultimately have value." Of course, even from the preview, there seem to be a number of different types represented - and not everyone's motivations seem just the same. That's why legislation seems problematic; there are people who can take in a lot of animals and give them good lives. And then there's hoarding, which is a real concern for the Humane Society and the ASPCA.

And while it's clearly a phenomenon more common to women - no one knows why - it's obvious that the tendency has been conflated with witch mythology in ways we don't even question. You don't need to watch the Cat People movies (although you should, because they're fantastic) to know that felines have evil historical associations - and have often been regarded as the familiars of the sort of lone woman who was an easy target in Salem. Take this (which mythology I've long heard, but can't verify or cite to my satisfaction, so take it as lore)

A very early record of the linking together of witches and cats concerns the ceremony of Cat Wednesday which took place in the city of Metz in Northern France. This involved hundreds of cats being burnt alive in the belief that they were witches in disguise. Papal might was brought down upon witches and cats in the 13th century when horrible acts of atrocity were carried out on humans and felines. Black cats in particular were believed to be agents of the devil, especially if owned by an elderly woman.

Clearly, our cultural aversion goes deeper than we know. Of course, when it comes to the Rat Ladies - well, that's another matter. And another documentary.

What's The Deal With "Cat Ladies"? [Slate]

Cat Ladies Documentary

Hot Docs 2009 Trailers: CAT LADIES [YouTube]
Behind Closed Doors: The Horrors of Animal Hoarding [Humane Society]
Witches And Cats [Best-Cat]

Please note that when I talk about a "witchcraft phase," I'm referring to the period wherein tweens decided to "be witches" for a few months. It has nothing to do with actual Wicca, or the legitimate practice of the Wiccan religion; it's based solely on Hollywood stereotypes of witchcraft and the idea that we can suddenly become legitimate witches just by slipping on a pentagram from Claire's and lighting a scented candle. Many of us, myself included, went through this Faux Coven phase. When you're twelve years old and a bit lost, there is something quite powerful in this notion; though your parents seem to control your life and your classmates seem to overlook you, you can still connect with something deeper and dangerous in the comfort of your own home, surrounded by your best friends and a bag of Chewy Chips Ahoy.

The sleepover party is the center of all things fake witchcraft; my friends and I never actually took the time to research or practice Wicca the way it is meant to be practiced, mostly because we were 12 and simply into "making things happen," which essentially meant lifting our friends up off the ground while pretending our "Light As A Feather" chants were working, lighting special candles and making wishes, and playing with the Ouija board for about 4 seconds before we freaked out and put it away—not because we didn't believe in it, we argued, but because we knew how powerful a tool it was and we just didn't want to mess with it.

We made love potions out of various creams and perfumes and slathered them on before going to school, where we most likely drove our fellow classmates away by smelling like a rose-vanilla-lavender-jasmine mess, and we completely fudged our way through tarot card readings, making sure our dreams would come true ("You are going to marry David Bowie when you are 48") by neglecting to actually learn to read the cards properly. Eventually, our terrible run as fake witches faded out, and we moved on to other things.

By the time The Craft hit the scene, I was 15 and scoffed at the eleven year olds who were calling the corners while drinking Capri-Suns on the playground. Secretly, I was a bit jealous, because they were still in the realm of make believe; the place where they could scream, "I made that leaf move!" after shouting, "Move, leaf, do as I say" for twenty minutes in a row. For a while, they'd get to rule the universe, until the novelty wore off and they were forced to face an uncertain world again.

Of course, as I grew older I began to understand the deeper historical and sociological connections between women and witchcraft and was clearly able to differentiate between Hollywood witches and legitimate Wicca, and looking back, I laugh at my failed attempts to put a spell on Bobby Taylor in 1993. But I wouldn't trade my dumb fake coven days for anything, as they taught me to believe, if nothing else, in the power of my friends and our abilities to create a world outside of our own. Sure, we never actually made anything happen, but we had a lot of fun imagining a place where we could make anything we wanted come true, and that kind of confidence lasts, even after the candles go out and all of the magic dust is washed away.

Bush Officials Objected To Awarding Medal To JK Rowling Because Harry Potter Books Promote Witchcraft [ThinkProgress]

The Human Rights Watch has come to the aid of Falih and has appealed to the Saudi government to halt the execution. "The fact that Saudi judges still conduct trials for unprovable crimes like 'witchcraft' underscores their inability to carry out objective criminal investigations," Joe Stork, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, told CBS.

This obviously isn't the first time that the Saudi government has come under international fire for their legal system's foibles. Last year, another Saudi woman was sentenced to lashings and imprisonment after she was gang raped. She had been sentenced because she was riding in a car alone with a man to whom she was not related, which at that point was illegal according to stringent Saudi laws concerning male/female contact. That woman was eventually pardoned, and on the bright side, the Saudi government has plans to lift its ban on female drivers.

The death sentence of the Saudi "witch" comes on the heels of an edict from the UN yesterday, in which the Saudi government was encouraged to provide a legal framework to stop violence against women. According to Reuters, Yakin Erturk, the U.N.'s human rights expert on violence against women, said, "The lack of written laws governing private life constitutes a major obstacle to women's access to justice...The need to address women's rights will grow increasingly urgent as the voices of women in Saudi society are heard."

When women in Saudi Arabia are reliving the Salem witch trials, it's definitely time for international intervention. What's next, dunking women in the Persian Gulf to see if they float?

Saudi Woman Faces Death For Witchcraft [CBS News]
Saudi Woman Faces Death For Witchcraft [Telegraph]
U.N. Tells Saudis To Tackle Violence Against Women [Reuters]

Earlier: Saudi Rape Victim Pardoned Due To "Psychological Effects"
Milestones

Unexplained deaths of infants, which would now be called cot deaths, were enough for the mother to be burnt as a witch. Even a prominent birthmark was often taken as a sure sign of witchcraft. Most confessions of witchcraft were extracted by torture, Scott argued.

This got us thinking: What would we be burned at the stake for? Our pseduoreliance on astrology? Our love of tarot cards? The time we were pissed at our frenemy and then she, ahem, coincidentally had a bad experience with her colorist?

The Ancient Witch Guide Way Ahead Of Its Time [The Times]

Today's New York Post brings us conclusive evidence that sacked Long Island teacher Lauren Berrios is indeed a) a witch, and b) madder than a bag of monkeys. They say she "couldn't have looked nuttier in court yesterday if she donned a pointy hat and flew around on a broom."

Oh really? And why is that?

"Berrios was also exposed as an obsessive-compulsive bulimic on Prozac who owns 300 pairs of shoes and 60 handbags......."

Well, if that's the test of demonic insanity, you'll have to color us Wiccan.

Bad Spell For Fired 'Witch' [NY Post]