The Treatise on Cats ( th, ตำราแมว, , ), also referred to as the Cat-Book Poems, is a class of ''

samut khoi Folding-book manuscripts are a type of writing material historically used in Mainland Southeast Asia, particularly in the areas of present-day Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. They are known as ''parabaik'' in Burmese,; . ''samut thai'' in Tha ...

'' manuscripts, believed to originate from the

Ayutthaya period The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is conside ...

, though most extant specimens date to 19th-century

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. They contain illustrations and descriptions of various types of cats, and probably served as a

breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include physical or morphological detail, genetic criteria, or criteria of athletic ...

. The manuscripts contain painted illustrations of certain types of cats that were considered

auspicious Auspicious is a Latin-derived word originally pertaining to the taking of 'auspices' by the augurs of ancient Rome. It may refer to: * Luck * Auspicious number in numerology * Eight auspicious symbols; see Ashtamangala * Auspicious wedding date * ...

, accompanied by descriptions in Thai poetic verse, written in the

Thai script The Thai script ( th, อักษรไทย, ) is the abugida used to write Thai, Southern Thai and many other languages spoken in Thailand. The Thai alphabet itself (as used to write Thai) has 44 consonant symbols ( th, พยัญชนะ ...

(which was reserved for secular subjects—religious manuscripts of the time were written in the

Khom Thai script The Khom script ( th, อักษรขอม, akson khom, or later th, อักษรขอมไทย, akson khom thai; lo, ອັກສອນຂອມ, Aksone Khom; km, អក្សរខម, âksâr khâm) is a Brahmic script and a vari ...

). Typically, seventeen auspicious breeds are listed. Six inauspicious types are sometimes included as well.

References

Further reading