Responsibility Toward Pets 105
literature understood the danger from certain kinds of dogs which were indistinguishable from wolves, especially in the evening(Kil. 1:6, 8:6; Ber. 9b). A dog was considered among the poorest of all creatures and often had to subsist entirely on scraps and as a scavenger(Shab. 155b). Dogs used in sheepherding were viewed more favorably(Hul. 1:8).
On the other hand, the Talmud appreciated the atmosphere of safety created by dogs and suggested that one should not live in a town where the barking of dogs was not heard(Pes. 113a; Betza 15a). The potential danger of rabies was also recognized (Hul. 58b; Yoma 83b). Dogs were to be chained as they were considered dangerous(B.K. 79b; Yad, Hil Nizkei Mamon 5:9; Shulhan Arukh, Hoshen Mishpat 409). It was considered sinful to maintain a dog that was known to bite people(B. K. 15b), but one could let a dog run loose in harbor cities, presumably as an additional safeguard against lawless seamen(B.K. 83a). Enmity between human beings and dogs was mentioned in at least one passage of the Jerusalem Talmud(Ber. 8:8).
Hunting dogs were not mentioned in the Talmud but later by Rashi in his commentary(B.K. 80a). Dogs were sometimes kept as pets, and the Talmud in one place mentioned that if a woman spent her time entirely with lap dogs or on games(possibly chess), this was grounds for divorce(Ket. 61b).
Although cats were certainly known to ancient Israelites — after all they were considered sacred animals in Egypt — there was no mention of the domesticated cat in the Bible . The single reference in the post-biblical book of Baruch (6:22) may refer to a wild cat. The Talmud considered cats as loyal(Hor. 13a) in contrast to dogs. The principle purpose of keeping cats was to rid a building of mice (B.K. 80a) and other small animals(San. 105a), including snakes (Pes. 112b; Shab. 128b). They were, of course, dangerous to chickens and domesticated birds, as well as young lambs and goats (Hul. 52b, 53a; Ket. 41b). Cats also endangered babies(B.K. 80b). The limited intelligence of cats was blamed on their consumption of mice, which were supposed to decrease memory(Hor.. 13a). In nineteenth-century Russia , a folk myth warned yeshivah students from playing with cats because that might diminish their memory. Cats were, on the other hand, seen as a model of cleanliness and modesty(Eruv . 100b). Once cats established themselves in a house, they rarely left and remained very loyal(Shab. 51b). Sometimes their fur was used, as it was particularly soft(B.K. 80b).