American Toby Jug Museum 

Cat and Mouse toby jug produced by Ditmar-Urbach of Trnovany, Czechoslovakia, circa 1930. The cat is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae.
Recent advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the domestication of the cat occurred in the Near East around 7500 BC. It is commonly kept as a house pet and farm cat, but also ranges freely as a feral cat avoiding human contact. It is valued by humans for companionship and its ability to kill vermin. Because of its retractable claws it is adapted to killing small prey like mice and rats. It has a strong flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp teeth, and its night vision and sense of smell are well developed. It is a social species, but a solitary hunter and a crepuscular predator. Cat communication includes vocalizations like meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting as well as cat body language. The cat's right ear is lowered in surprise at the mouse on her hind quarters and her tail curls up to form the handle of the jug.